v  y; 


X..-W 


V-;'     v--/.|\ 


\w  -i*" 


ifc<jV;J 


vy   .-   y 


^'MMw^SV-WWi  yH^1 

^MSb^S 


'V*'.  'O    VV 


•;W 


U 


NIVERSITY   OF 


A  RESOLUTION  FOR  PRINTING  ADDITIONAL  COPIES  OF  THE  APPENDIX  TO  THE  DIPLO 
MATIC  CORRESPONDENCE  OF  1865. 

llesolred  l»j  tlte  Semite  and  House  of  Representatives  of  ihc  United  States  of  America  in  Con 
gress  assembled,  That,  in  addition  to  the  number  of  copies  of  papers  relating  to  foreign  affairs  now 
authorized  by  law,  there  shall  be  printed  for  distribution  by  the  Department  of  State,  on  fine 
paper,  with  wide  margin,  a  sufficient  number  of  copies  of  the  Appendix  to  the  Diplomatic  Corre 
spondence  of  1865  to  supply  one  copy  to  each  senator  and  each  representative  of  the  Thirty-ninth 
Congress  and  to  each  foreign  government,  and  one  copy  to  each  corporation,  association,  or  public 
body,  whose  expressions  of  condolence  or  sympathy  are  published  in  said  volume;  one  hundred 
of  these  copies  to  be  bound  in  full  Turkey  morocco,  full  gilt,  and  the  remaining  copies  to  be 
bound  in  half  Turkey  morocco,  marble  edged. 

Approved  March  2,  1867. 


INDEX. 


AUSTRIA,  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC,  BELGIUM,  AND  BAVARIA. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Pasre. 

AUSTRIA. 
Government  of  Austria  

1 

Do  

2 

Do       

:t 

Do  

3 

Do 

4 

Do 

4 

Biclitx  

5 

0 

Do  

do                                                              .       . 

0 

ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC. 

Government  of  the  Argentine  Republic. 

9 

Do        

10 

Do  

]0 

Do  

jl 

Buenos  Ayres  . 

11 

Do  

12 

Do  

13 

Do  

13 

Do  

14 

BELGIUM. 
Government  of  Belgium  ..  . 

15 

Do  

16 

Do  

16 

Do                  .           ... 

1<) 

Brussels  ....  

20 

Do  

do 

21 

Ghent  

22 

New  Orleans  . 

BAVARIA. 
Government  of  Bavaria  

23 

Do  

83 

Do.. 

llaiini  von  der  1'1'ordten  to  Mr.  Hifedorn.. 

'24 

II  INDEX. 

BRUNSWICK,  DUCHY  OP  BADEN,  BRAZIL,  BOLIVIA,  CHILI,  AND  COSTA  KICA. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

BRUNSWICK. 

BADEN,  DUCHY  OF. 

Mr   Schmidt  to  Mr   Hunter                     

Do 

Swiss  Residents  to  the  Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne  

K           Rh  in 

BRAZIL. 

Do     

Senhor  Ignacio  de  Avellar  Rarboza  da  Silva  to  Mr.  Scward  

Mr   Webb  to  Mr   Sewurd                       .  .                     

Do                         

Do           

BOLIVIA. 

Mr  Hall  to  Mr.  Hunter  

CHILI. 

Do 

Do  

Quillota  

Santiago  

Do  

do  

Do  

do 

Do  

Do  

Do  

DO  ....;  

Do     

Valparaiso  

Do  

Do  

COSTA  RICA. 

Government  of  Costa  Rica 

Sefior  J   Volio  to  Mr  Riotte 

Do  

do 

Do.. 

Seiior  J.  Volio  to  Sehor  Don  Luis  Molina.  . 

Pag,, 


20 

26 

27 
23 


28 
•29 
29 

:so 
30 

31 


32 
33 
34 
34 
35 
36 

37 
38 
39 
40 
41 
41 
42 
43 
45 
45 
47 


49 
49 

50 


INDEX. 
COSTA  RICA,  CHINA,  DENMARK,  ECUADOR,  EGYPT,  AND  FRANCE. 


Ill 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

Government  of  Costa  Rica  

Seuor  Don  Luis  Molina  to  Mr.  Hunter 

51 

San  Jos6  

Mr.  Riotte  to  Mr.  Hunter  .           . 

5'J 

Do  

do  

53 

CHINA. 
Government  of  China  

Prince  Kung  to  Mr.  Williams  . 

53 

Peking  

Mr.  Williams  to  Mr.  Seward  

54 

DENMARK. 
Government  of  Denmark  

Mr.  Raasloff  to  Mr.  Hunter  

55 

Do  

55 

Copenhagen  

56 

St.  CroU  

57 

ECUADOR. 
Government  of  Ecuador  

Seuor  Pablo  Herrera  to  Mr.  Hassaurek    . 

58 

Do  

do  

58 

Do  

59 

Guayaquil  .  

5i) 

Do  

do             

GO 

EGYPT. 
Alexandria  

01 

Do  

01 

FRANCE. 
Government  of  Franco  

62 

Do  

62 

Do  

do 

OS 

Do  

(55 

Do  

do  

05 

Do  

66 

Do  

07 

Boyan-on-the-Sea  

Inhabitants   ... 

68 

Choisy-le-Roi  .  

68 

Chavaniac  .  ..  

Oscar  do  Lafayette  

09 

Churente  

Perfect  Union  Masonic  Lodge          

70 

Caen  

<v 

Edward  Talbot  

70 

Do  

Inhabitants  

71 

Guingamp  

do  

7-' 

Grasse  ... 

73 

Geutilly  .. 

73 

(iiiillac  .  . 

74 

Guadeloupe  .  . 

Creoles  of  African  descent.  . 

75 

IV 


INDEX. 

FRANCE— Continued. 


"Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

70 
77 
77 
78 
78 
79 
80 

81 
83 
82 
83 

83 
84 
85 
86 
87 
88 
89 
89 
90 
91 
91 

93 

93 
94 
94 
95 
96 
96 
97 
98 
98 
99 
99 
100 
101 
101 
101 
10-2 
104 
105 
109 
110 

Lyons  

Do  

Toleration  and  Progress  Lodge  

Lure  

Lihourue  

Les  Arts  Reunis  Lodge  

Macon  

Motz  

Members  of  the  Protestant  Church  and  London  Society  for  the 
Abolition  of  Slavery. 
St   John  of  Jerusalem  Lodge  —  •  

French  Residents.     (See  United  States.) 
French  Society  of  Beneficence.     (Sec  United  States.) 
Mr.  Bigelow  to  Mr.  Scward  
do                             

Paris  

T\n 

T)n 

do                

Tin 

do         

Do 

..do     

T)n 

Eminent  Republicans  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  ...  .  —  

Do 

T>n 

Tin 

Do 

Do  

Do 

Mars  and  Arts  Lodge,  

T>n 

Do 

Do 

Do 

St  John's  Lodge  No  147,  the  Heroes  of  Humanity  

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Scotch  Lodge  No  146'   the  Right  Line                    .       ... 

Do      .     . 

Do  

Do  

Do  

Do  

Do  .. 

.    International  Committee,  of  the  Darie.n  Canal  Comnanv  .  . 

INDEX. 

FRANCE— Continued. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

Paris  

National  Union  for  Commerce  and  Manufactures 

Ill 
112 

112 

u:t 

114 

nt 
nr. 
IK; 
IK; 

117 

118 

Mi) 

110 
120 
120 
122 
123 
125 
125 
127 

128 
129 

Do  

Universal  Religious  Alliance 

Do  

Conference  of  French  Pastors 

Do  

do  

Do  

Address  of  the  Press 

Do  

M.  Imbert  . 

Do  

J.  C.  Lusinc     

Do  

J.  C.  Lusine  :  Ode 

Do  

Alfred  Monod  ,  .  

Do  

Ph.  Target  and  E.  Villetard,  Editors  of  the  Sunday  Courier. 
(See  also  page  127.) 
Augustc  L'Alloux  :  Ode 

Do  

Do  

Ed.  Laboulaye  .  . 

Do  

Do  

do 

Do  

Paul  Thouzery:  Ode 

Do  

F.  Campadt'lli        

Do  

F.  CrtmpadelH  :  Ode  

Do  

J.lI.Vries  

Do  

do  

Do  

Ph.  Target  and  E.  Villetard,  Editors  of  the  Sunday  Courier. 
(Sec  also  page  1  17.  ) 

Do  

Do  

Do  

189 

130 

Do  

Charge^  d'Affnires  of  Persia 

Do  

American  Residents 

130 

i:w 
135 

i:!<; 
136 
i:rr 
138 

]:•') 

Do  

do  

Pau  

Do  

Pons  

Reformed  Church  of  France 

Perpignan  .-  

Friends  of  Perfect  Union  Lodge  

Do  

do  

Do  

do  

Do  

do   

i:'.!> 
140 
140 
141 
142 
142 
14:! 
14:; 
ill 

1  11 

Riete  

F.  15.  :  Poem  

St.  Stephen  

Royal  Scotch  Lodge  

Do 

Turan*                   .   . 

Tours    .     . 

Do  

do                    ..                    ... 

Toulouse  

Members  of  the  Protestant  Church  and  tin*  London  Society  for 
the  Abolition  of  Slavery.     (See  Montauban.  ) 
Inhabitants  

Vierzon  

VI 


INDEX. 


FRANCE— Continued. 

FROM  THE   PRESS   OF   1'AHIS. 


Date. 

Name. 

Page. 

A  i*ril  97    1Hi;r» 

145 
145 

146 
147 
147 
149 

50 
51 
51 
52 
53 
54 
54 
55 

April  °8    1805                                         

do  

April  21   1865 

do  

Mny     1    1865 

do   

M-iy     1    186"> 

do            

May     4    1865 

...do         

April  29   1865 

M'iy     2   1805 

do                       

April  28   ]8flr> 

April01)   1805                             

do  

May     3   1805                               

do  

April  30    1805 

do  

Mav     1    1865 

do                                                     

May     1    1865                             

do  

55 
156 
157 
158 
100 
104 
164 
106 
169 
170 
170 
171 
171 
173 
174 
175 
175 
176 
176 
178 
179 
180 
180 
181 
lf'0 
187 
188 
188 
180 
189 
190 
191 
192 

May     :!    1805                                   

do  

April  28   1865 

April  28    1865 

do  

April  30    1865                   

...   do                   

May     5    1865 

...do                         ,                                     

April  28   1865 

April  29   1805 

do 

May     3   1865 

do 

May     4,  1805  

do  

May     8,  1805  

do  

April  27,  1865  

Monde,  Le                  ..           .        

April  28,  1865  

April  28,  1805  

do..     .. 

April  28,  1865  

do 

April  28,  1805  

do 

April  30,  1865  

do  

May     1,  1805  

do  

April  28,  1865  

Presse,  La  

May     1,  1805  

do        

April  28,  1805  

Pays,  Le.    . 

April28,  1805  

May     3,  1865  

do 

May     1,  1865  

Revue  des  Deux  Mondes 

April  28,  1865  

Siecle 

April  28,  1865  

do 

April  30,  1865  ...  

.     do 

May     2,  1865  

do 

April  27,  1865  

Temps 

April  28,  1865  

do 

May     1,  1805  

do 

May     2,  1865  

do 

May     4,  1865  

do 

INDEX. 

GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  DEPENDENCIES. 


vn 


\VLere  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  DEPEND 
ENCIES. 

Government  of  Great  Britain  

192 

Do  

Earl  Russell  to  Sir  F.  Bruce  

193 

Do  

do  

193 

Do  

Resolutions   of  Parliament  and   tbe  Queen's  answer   to   tbo 

194 

Do 

Address. 

194 

Do 

201 

Do  

Mr,  Burnley  to  Mr.  Hunter 

205 

Aberdeen  

205 

Do 

206 

do  

20G 

Anstruthcr  Easter..  

do  

207 

Ayr 

do  

207 

Arbvoatb  

do  

207 

do 

208 

Do  

Temperance  Society  .     .   ..  .. 

209 

Do 

209 

Beuumaris  

Anglesey  Baptist  Association.   .....  

211 

Bolton 

211 

Do  

do     .                               .                                                 

211 

Brecbin  

do  

212 

BerwicU-upon-Twecd 

...do 

212 

Burnley  

do  

212 

Burntislund  

do 

213 

BarnsUipIe  

do       

213 

Brecon  

do                                                                   

213 

Banbury  

do 

211 

Bridport  

do   

214 

Bat  b  

...do                 

215 

Buckingbam  

do  

21G 

Bedford  

.do                  .                .            

216 

Bridgeuortb  

do  

217 

Bristol  

do.   ...                                           ... 

217 

Do  

Inhabitants  ..  ..      

217 

Do 

218 

Do  

219 

Do  

Reform  Union  ..  

219 

Bri^bton  

220 

Do  

do  

221 

Do  

221 

Do 

222 

BaUallHeatb  .. 

Local  Board  of  Health  .  . 

222 

VrIII 


INDEX. 
GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  DEPENDENCIES -Continued. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

2-23 
223 
224 
225 

225 
226 

220 
2J7 
227 
229 

229 
230 
230 
231 
231 
232 
234 
234 
235 
235 
235 
236 
236 
237 
233 
239 
240 
240 
241 
241 

242 

242 
243 
243 
243 
244 
245 
245 
24U 
24Ii 
247 
247 
248 
24t> 

...do  

do   

...  do  

do                         

Do 

.do  

do  

do     

Brockville   C  W                             

...  do  

Belfast 

do  

Do                                          

Wesleyan  Ministers  and  Stewards.     (See  Dublin.) 

Do                                              

do  

Do 

Chamber  of  Commerce  

Do 

Do 

Do         .                        

Representatives  of  the  Baptist  Churches  of  England  

Municipal  Council      - 

Do  . 

Bury  ..       .           .         ..     .   

Do 

Ballyclare  .  .  

Barnsley       ... 

Local  Board  of  Health 

Berlin,  C.W  

Birkenhead  .  ...... 

Bahamas  .  

Do  

do 

Do  

Do  

Colonial  Secretary.     (See  Hamilton.) 

Canada  -  . 

Calcutta  

Do  

do 

Do  

Do  

Chelsea  

Camden  Town  

Chatham  

do 

Cramlington  West  

do 

Crail  

Chester  

,   do 

Chippenham  

do 

Cardigan  

...do  .. 

INDEX. 
GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  DEPENDENCIES— Continued. 


IX 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Pago. 

Cardigan  

Independent  Ministers.     (See  PcmbToke.) 

249 

do  

249 

Cork  

do  

249 

Congleton  

do  

250 

Do  

250 

Cardiff 

do                        ... 

251 

Do  

251 

251 

Do  

Inhabitants  

252 

252 

Do  

The  Chancellor  of  the  University.  

253 

Do  

253 

Municipal  Council  

253 

Do                  

254 

Municipal  Council  

254 

Do 

255 

Cobourg   C  W 

Grand  Division  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance  of  Canada 

255 

.do     

256 

Town  Commissioners  

257 

Do 

257 

257 

Do 

258 

259 

Independent  Ministers.     (See  Pembroke*  ) 

Deal                            

260 

do  

201 

do                      

261 

do       

262 

do                           

262 

do  

263 

do                       

263 

..do  

264 

Do 

264 

265 

Derby           ... 

.do  

265 

do  

266 

do                       

207 

Do 

]  5th  Durham  Rifle  Volunteers  

268 

Dublin~- 

268 

Do 

do                                    

269 

Do 

270 

Do 

271 

Do 

272 

Do 

272 

Dundee  .. 

Municipal  Council  ..                                      

274 

INDEX. 

GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  DEPENDENCIES— Continued. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

Magistrates,  Bankers,  Manufacturers,  and  other  Inhabitants... 

275 

Do 

276 

277 

Municipal  Council  -  

278 

do  

278 

do  

279 

Do 

280 

Do         

do  

280 

Do 

Chamber  of  Commerce  

281 

Do 

282 

Do 

282 

Flp-in 

Commissioners  of  Supply  

283 

.Emerald  Hill                   ... 

284 

Ladies1  Negroes'  Friend  Society.     (See  Birmingham.} 

Falkirk           

Municipal  Council  

284 

do  

285 

Do           

Commissioners  of  Supply     

285 

Inhabitants  

286 

286 

do  

287 

do..     .. 

287 

do  

288 

Great  Bardfield  

289 

Gait,  C.  W  

,a  do  

289 

do 

291 

Glasgow  .  

do  

291 

Do  

Chamber  of  Commerce  

293 

Do  

293 

Do  

Union  and  Emancipation  Society 

294 

Do  

295 

Do  

do  

296 

Do 

907 

Guernsey  .  

Chamber  of  Commerce 

298 

Gateshead  

298 

Hclyhead  

Huntingdon  

Municipal  Council 

300 

Hastings  .  ...    

do 

300 

Hertford  

do  

300 

Hereford  

do 

301 

Hanley  

do 

301 

Hawick  

• 
..   .     do 

302 

Do  

30'* 

Halifax,  N.  S  

Do  

Do.. 

Proceedings  in  the  Tjfifrislativfi  Cliamlwrn.      fSpp.  Nnna.  Rr.ntia.  } 

INDEX. 
GREAT  BRITAIN  AND.  DEPENDENCIES— Continued. 


XI 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Puge. 

Halifax.  N.  S  ?  

Municipal  Council  

303 

Do  

Halifax,  York  Co  

304 

Do  

Inhabitants  „  .... 

304 

Ilaslingden    

do  

305 

Halstead.  

do  

306 

Heckmondwike  .  

do  

306 

Hamilton,  Bermuda.  .. 

do  

307 

Do. 

Do  

308 

Do    .     .  . 

Alexandria  Lodge  *of  the  G    U   O  of  Odd  Fellows 

•i0g 

Do,  C.W  

309 

HuddersfiVld  

310 

Do  

"511 

Do 

311 

Hull  

Chamber  of  Commerce  

312 

I  lolmfi  rth  

do  

313 

Hiuton  Martel  ...  .... 

Workingraeii  ..-.               .                         

313 

Do  

do  

313 

313 

Do                        

do 

313 

Do  

Inhabitants  

314 

Do  

315 

Inhabitants. 

315 

Do        

316 

316 

Jedburgh  

317 

Do  

Kilmarnock  

Roxburgh.) 

317 

Kidderminster  

do 

318 

.   ...do  . 

318 

Kirkcaldy  -  

do  

319 

Do  

do 

3"0 

Krndal    

do 

3°0 

Do  

do  

321 

Do  

331 

do   .     .. 

3''3 

.  .  .  do  .  . 

« 
333 

Kingston,  Jamaica.  

do  .  .             ... 

333 

Do  *   

do 

334 

Do  

do 

335 

Do  

do  

336 

Kinpston-npon-Hull  

do  

337 

33ri 

Lliuiidlocs  .. 

...do  .. 

:<2b 

XII 


INDEX. 

GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  DEPENDENCIES— Continued. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

:!28 
328 
329 
329 
330 
331 
331 

do           

.     ...do  

do                                

T>n 

« 

do  

do               

Municipal  Council  —  •-  ••  — 

332 
333 
333 
334 
334 
335 
335 
336 
336 

Do                                         

Lord  Lieutenant,  Sheriff,  and  Commissioners  of  Supply  

Do 

Do                        

do  

Do 

American  Chamber  of  Commerce  

Do 

Do 

Mercantile  Marine  Service  Association  *  

Do 

Do 

337 
337 
338 
339 

339 
340 
340 
341 
342 
344 
345 
345 
348 
349 
349 
351 

351 
252 
353 
354 
355 
355 
355 
356 
357 
357 
358 
359 

Do 

Do 

Do                    

Wesley  an  Ministers  and  Stewards.     (See  Dublin.) 

Do  

Do  

Do  

Do  

Do 

Do  

Do.,  south  

do                            

Do.,  west  
Do  

Do         .... 

Do  

White  Chapel  District  Board  of  Works.     (See  White  Chapel.) 

Do  

Do  

Do  

Do  

Do  

Do  

Do  

Do  

Do  

Do  

Do  

Do.. 

Germau  National  Vereiu  .  . 

INDEX. 

GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  DEPENDENCIES— Continued. 


XIII 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

359 

Do 

American  Residents  .  ..  

360 

Do                                           

do  

361 

Do 

368 

Do 

369 

Do 

370 

Do 

Welsh  Residents  

370 

Do                            

Irish  Residents  

371 

London  C   W 

372 

Do 

373 

Do 

lioard  of  Trade  -  .*.  

373 

Do                      .           

Grand  Trunk  Railroad  Company  -_  

374 

374 

Leith 

375 

Do                                          ... 

Chamber  of  Commerce  ,*---  r  --• 

375 

Lynden    C\V                      

376 

376 

do  

376 

Lieutenant  Governor.     (See  Bahamas.) 

377 

do         

377 

do     

377 

...do          

378 

.   ..do     ,  

379 

do     

379 

Do 

380 

Do 

do                                

380 

Do                                        

381 

Do     .  .  ,   

381 

Do  «... 

do     

383 

Do                      

384 

Do 

384 

Do  

Executive  of  the  United  Kingdom  Alliance  for  the  Total  Sup 

385 

pression  of  the  Liquor  Traffic. 

386 

Do 

do                

387 

Merthyr  Tydvil 

.do                  

387 

Do                                   

...do     

388 

Do  

Welsh  Baptist  Association.     (See  Dotclais.) 

388 

Do 

389 

do                        .          

389 

Do 

390 

Do 

391 

Do 

393 

Muenclochoe  .  .' 

Independent  Ministers.     (See  Pemlrokt.) 

XIV 


INDEX. 

GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  DEPENDENCIES— Continued. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

39li 

do               ,  

394 

do              

394 

Do                             

Independent  Ministers.     (See  Pembroke.) 

395 

Do 

do            

395 

396 

397 

397 

397 

do..*  

398 

Do 

398 

Do 

398 

• 

400 

400 

Do 

400 

Do 

Conference  of  the  Methodist  New  Connection  

401 

402 

New  South  Wales        .  .                    ,  

402 

Governor  of  the  Bahamas.     (See  Bahdiftas.) 

Do  

Legislative  Councils.     (See  Bahamas.) 

Northampton  .  

Municipal  Council  --  

403 

Do                           ... 

404 

405 

Do  

405 

Do  

Proceedings  in  the  Legislative  Chambers  

405 

Do  

do  

406 

British  Consul      (See  United  States  ) 

New  York                            .     

Oldham  

408 

Do  

.do                                                                       

408 

Do 

409 

Old  Ford 

410 

Oxford  

410 

Do  

411 

Do  

411 

Ottawa  .  . 

412 

Patrick    

do           .              

413 

Pollokshaws  ..                    .   

do  

413 

Portsmouth  

.  ..  .do  

414 

Paisley  

do  

414 

Perth  

do            

415 

Peterborough 

416 

Do  .. 

416 

Pudscy,  near  Leeds 

Local  Board  of  Surveyors  

417 

Preston  

417 

Do.. 

Inhabitants... 

417 

INDEX. 
GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  DEPENDENCIES— Continuea. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Preston  

Anti-slavery  Society.  .  .   .  

Do  

do  

Do  

Pembroke  .  -.  ..  

Do  

Plymouth  

gan,  and  Pembroke. 
Municipal  Council  ... 

Do  

Inhabitants  

Plaistow  ...  .     .                  

do 

Do  

do     

Port  Rowan  

do  

Portadowu  ...  

Quebec.  

Do  

Rochester  ...  

do  

Rothesay  

do  

Rochdale  

do  .        .              

Do  

Ramsgate  ....  

do     .     ... 

Reading  

do  .     . 

Rhyl  

Improvement  Commissioners                           

Roxburg  ..  .  

Ryde  

.  .do 

Do  

Sudbury  ...  

Stratford-upon-Avon  

do     

Strashrog  ....  . 

Scarborough  .  

Shrewsbury  

do 

Sanquhar  .  

do 

Sai  nt  Albun's  

do     

Southampton  

do  ...                        

Salford  

do  

Stirling  .    ... 

do  .    . 

Do  

Stalybridge  ...  .                .. 

Sunderland  

do  

StAplehurst  ..  

do 

Stewarton.  

do  

Saint  Helen's  

do  

Stroud  

do 

South  Shields  

do  

Southport  ...  

do     . 

Selby  

do                                                          

St.  Catharines  

do         

Do.. 

...do  . 

XV 


Page. 

418 
41!) 
419 
420 
4-21 

42-2 
423 
4-23 
424 
424 


425 
426 

420 
427 
427 
427 
428 
428 
421) 
429 
429 
430 
430 

431 
431 
432 
432 
432 
433 
433 
434 
434 
434 
435 
435 
436 
436 
437 
437 
43S 
439 
439 


XVI 


INDEX. 
GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  DEPENDENCIES— Continued. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

440 

^t    Ttinmnu   P    W 

do  

441 

GtltAffial/1 

Municipal  Council  -  

442 

443 

Do 

do  

443 

l^n 

Chamber  of  Commerce  

444 

Tin 

444 

Dn 

445 

Selkirk 

446 

T)n 

446 

SllCTQ 

447 

Do 

447 

448 

Do 

448 

Stafford 

448 

448 

Do 

449 

St   Martin-in-the-Fields 

450 

451 

Do      

451 

St.  Marylebone  

451 

452 

Stockton  .  

452 

Do 

453 

St.  John  

453 

Do  

Saint  George's  

454 

Do  

455 

Sydney,  N.S.W  

456 

Do  

457 

Toronto  

459 

Tewkesbury  

do                                     

459 

Thetford  

do 

459 

Tynemouth  

460 

Vancouver's  Island 

460 

Do  

do 

401 

Do  

461 

Victoria,  V.I  

461 

Do  

462 

Do  

do 

462 

Wigan  

464 

White  Chapel  District  

465 

Winchester  

465 

Worcester  

do 

466 

Walsall  

do 

466 

Wells... 

..do.. 

466 

INDEX. 


XVII 


GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  DEPENDENCIES— Continued. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

Municipal  Council  

4G7 

do  

467 

Do 

4fi7 

Do                                        .  - 

Wesleyan  Ministers  and  Stewards.     (See  Dublin.} 

Waterloo   C  W           

Inhabitants.     (See  Berlin.) 

Inhabitants  

408 

Wakefield 

do                                                  

409 

.do                  

469 

470 

471 

471 

York        

472 

FROM  THE   PRESS   OF   GREAT   BRITAIN. 


Herald  and  West  Coast  Advertiser  April  29   1805 

472 

Belfast 

Ulster  Observer  April  27   1805            .                      ... 

474 

Review  April  29   1805                      

478 

Examiner  April  29   18G5         

481 

Dublin                        

484 

Do         

Evening  Post  April  29,  1865     

485 

Do 

Express   April  29   1805 

486 

Do 

Reformer  April  29   1805            .           .         

489 

491 

Observer  April  29,  1865            

493 

Herald  May  1    1865            

495 

Morning  Post   April  27   1865 

497 

Do 

499 

Do  

Times  April  27   1865                      

501 

Do  

Daily  News,  April  27   1865    

503 

Do  

Morning  Star  April  27   1865                   

508 

Do  

do       

511 

Do 

Evening  Star  May  2    1805                              

519 

Do 

Daily  Telegraph   April  27   1865                  

522 

Do 

Daily  Telegraph   April  28    1865    

527 

Do            .          ..               

Spectator  April  29   1865     

r>:«) 

Do  

do       

53!! 

Do 

John  Ball   April  29   1865.                                   

538 

Do 

I'uurh   May  6   1865                         

540 

Daily  Post  April  27   1865         

541 

Mercury  April  27  1805     

544 

Do 

do           .       .              

548 

549 

Times  April  ''9  1865                                           

552 

8altcoats     ..  

XVIII 


INDEX. 


GUATEMALA,  GREECE,  HONDURAS,  HANSEATIC  REPUBLICS,  DUCHY  OF  HESSE-DARMSTADT, 
HAYTI,  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS,  AND  ITALY. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

GUATEMALA. 

Serior  de  Irisarri  to  Mr.  Hunter.    (See  Salvador.) 
Seiioi  de  Irisarri  to  Mr.  Seward.     (See  Salvador.) 

553 

| 

554 
554 
555 
556 
557 
557 
558 

558 
559 

560 

561 

561 
561 

566 

567 
568 
568 
569 

570 
571 
571 
571 

Do       

GREECE. 

HONDURAS. 

Seflor  Don  Luis  Molina  to  Mr.  Hunter.     (See  Costa  Rica.) 
Mr.  Rosing  to  Mr.  Hunter  -  -.  

HANSEATIC  REPUBLICS. 
Government  of  the  Republics  

Do  

House  of  Burgesses        ..       .   . 

Government  of  Hamburg  

Senate    .  ..  -  .  .  ... 

Do  

HESSE-DARMSTADT,  DUCHY  OF. 
Government  of  Hesse-Darmstadt  

Do  

HAYTI. 
Government  of  Hayti  

Mr.  Bruno  to  Mr.  Hunter  .......       ...         . 

HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS. 
Government  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  .  - 

Mr.  Oddl  to  Mr.  Hunter 

Do  

do 

Honolulu  . 

Lahaina  

ITALY. 
Government  of  Italy  

Do  

Do  

Ancona  

Abruzzo  

Inhabitants.     (Sec  Chieti.) 
do 

Acireale  

Alessandria  

15arga  

^resc'a  .    Mechanics'  Mutual  Aid  Societv  .  .  . 

INDEX. 

ITALY— Continued. 


XIX 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

572 

Do                    

573 

Inhabitants  

r>74 

Do 

Municipal  Council  

575 

Mechanics*  Mutual  Aid  Society  

575 

Cliieti 

575 

Do 

570 

Do 

577 

Workiugmen's  Union  ,  

578 

Do                 

Sons  of  Labor  

578 

Do 

579 

Society  of  Operatives  ..  . 

580 

Mechanics'  Society  

E69 

Municipal  Council  

581 

Koerffia  .  . 

\Vorkingmen1  s  Mutual  Aid  Society  

581 

Mr.  Marsh  to  Mr.  Hunter.     (See  Turin.) 

Do                      

Democratic  Republican  Association  

582 

Do             

Democratic  Association  

583 

Do         

Social  Progress  Lodge  

584 

Do     

Fraternity  of  Artisans  

584 

Do 

r>85 

Do               

586 

.Forli         

Mechanics'  Society  and  the  Society  of  Progress 

587 

Inhabitants  

5gf> 

Do  

Union  of  Operatives  

589 

r>90 

Do 

591 

Messina  

Lodge  Le  Lumc  e  la  Verita  ^..  . 

502 

Do  

Municipal  Council  

592 

Milan       

593 

Montcroduni  

593 

Marsala  

do  

594 

Workingmen's  Union  .  ...  .. 

504 

Do      

Garibaldian  Mutual  Aid  Society  ..... 

5°5 

Do  

Working-men's  Uinevolent  Society  .   .. 

r>96° 

Do  

Students..  

r>97 

Do  

Juvenile  Society  of  Progress  

598 

Do  

Italian  Electoral  Association  

599 

Do  

Municipal  Council  

50<> 

Do      

Juvenile  Scientific,  Literary  and  Political  Association 

GOO 

Do  

From  the  Press.     Reunion  of  Students 

601 

New  York  

Italian  Residents.     (See  United  Staffs  ) 

Parma  

Italian  Una  Lodge  

601 

Pavia  

Students  of  the  Royal  Ilniversitv  ...  

60° 

Perugia  

Juvenile  Politico  Literary  A.ssociation.  . 

002 

Do.. 

Students  of  the  University  .  . 

f>03 

XX 


INDEX. 

ITALY,  JAPAN,  LIBERIA,  MEXICO  AND  MOROCCO. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

Pisa 

004 
605 
606 
606 
607 
608 
608 
609 
610 
610 
611 
Cll 
612 
614 
614 
616 
617 
017 
618 
618 

619 
(idO 

620 
622 
623 
624 
625 

626 

627 
627 
628 

628 
628 

629 

Do 

Sissa 

Do 

..do       

Do                    

Do 

Do         

Do  

Do  

JAPAN. 
YcJo    

LIBERIA. 
Government  of  Liberia  

Do  

Do  

Monrovia  . 

Do  

MEXICO. 
Government  of  Mexico  -  

Senor  Lerdo  De  Tejada.     Circular  addressed  to  the  Governors 
of  the  various  States. 

Do  

Do  

La  Paz  

New  York  

Mexican  Club.     (See  United  States.) 

Providencia  

San  .1  nan  I3autista 

MOROCCO. 
Tangier  .  

Mr.  McMatb  to  Mr.  Iluuter  .  . 

INDEX. 
THE  NETHERLANDS,  NICARAGUA,  PRUSSIA  AND  PORTUGAL. 


XXI 


Where  from 

From  whom. 

Page. 

THE  NETHERLANDS. 

031 

«:!! 
032 
033 

634 

035 

G35 

030 
037 

038 
c:?9 

039 
640 

040 
041 
04-2 
043 
044 
044 
040 
646 
648 
04!» 
650 

051 
051 
057 
658 
059 
059 
600 
660 
001 
001 
662 

Do 

do  

The  Hiffue 

Mr.  Pike  to  Mr.  Hunter  .  

Do 

do  

NICARAGUA. 

Do 

Scfior  Pedro  Zeledon  to  Senor  Don  Luis 
Seiior  Don  Luis  Molina  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

Do       

(Sec  Costa  Rica.) 

PRUSSIA. 

Do 

House  of  Deputies  

Do 

do  

Tin 

Polish  Members  of  the  House  of  Deputie 
Baron  Gerolt  to  Mr.  I  luuter  ......  ..... 

s  ..  

Do 

Do  

Mr.  Judd  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  communicating  the  sympathy  of 
the  Royal  Household, 
Municipal  Council  

Mr.  Judd  to  Mr.  Seward  

Do 

do  

Do 

do      

Do 

do  

Do 

do  

Do 

do  

Do 

Mr.  Judd  to  Mr.  Hunter  

Do 

Do 

Artisans'  and  Mechanics'  Union  

Do 

Workingmen's  Union  

PORTUGAL. 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

do             ..                       

Do 

Chamber  of  Peers  to  Count  d'Avila  

Do 

Do 

Chamber  of  Deputies  to  Count  d'Avila  . 

Do 

Do 

Count  d'Avila  to  Senhor  do  Figaniere  . 

Do. 

,..do. 

XXII 


INDEX. 

PORTUGAL,  PERU,  RUSSIA,  ROME  AND  SPAIN. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

662 

Mr  Harvey  to  Mr.  Scward  

G03 

Do 

.do       

663 

Dn 

664 

Do 

665 

T»n 

665 

607 

Portuguese  Residents.     (See  United  States.) 

PERU. 

668 

Do 

668 

Do                                             

Scfior  Garcia  to  Mr.  Seward  

669 

669 

'    P 

670 

Do                                 

.do            

672 

Do 

672 

Do 

673 

Do                   

674 

Do     

do     

675 

Do                                          

676 

RUSSIA. 

679 

Do           .            

679 

Do  

..do           

680 

St  Petersburg           ..         

681 

Do         

682 

Do                        ... 

082 

Do   

083 

Do  

683 

ROME. 

684 

Do  . 

<jo                                                        

685 

Do 

do                                                                                         

685 

Do 

686 

SPAIN. 

087 

Do 

687 

Do 

68g 

Do 

68e 

Do 

68e 

Do.. 

Senate  ..                                           

68fl 

INDEX.  XXIII 

SPAIN,  SWEDEN  AND  NORWAY,  SAXE-MEININGEN,  AND  SWITZERLAND. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Pago. 

<)!>() 
(i9() 
092 

095 

(100 
G96 
Oil? 
097 
093 
609 
702 
70I{ 

704 

705 
700 
700 
707 
708 
708 
700 
711 
711 

714 

715 
715 
716 
717 
717 
718 
718 
719 
710 
720 
720 
721 
722 
7*2 
723 

Do 

Debate  in  the  Senate  --  

Do 

Debate  iii  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  

Do 

Do 

Cuba 

Captain  General   communicated  through  Seiior  Tassara  

Do 

do     

Do 

do                                                

Do 

do               

Do 

Cuban  and  Porto  Rican  Residents  

Spanish  Residents.     (See  United  States.} 

SWEDEN  AND  NORWAY. 

Government  of  Sweden  and  Norway  .  .  . 
Do 

do     

Do                      ... 

do  

Do 

Do 

do                                       

Do 

Count  Manderstrom  to  Karon  <le  Wetterstedt  

Do 

Do 

SAXE-MEININGEN. 

SWITZERLAND. 

Do 

do                           

Do 

Mutual  Aid  Society  of  the  North  Part  of  the  Canton  

Altorf 

Do 

Appcnzell  

Government  of  tho  Canton  of  Appenzell  of  the  Inner  Rhodes  .  . 

do                

Do 

do                           

Do 

Do 

4 

XXIV 


INDEX. 

SWITZERLAND— Continued. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

Editor  of  the  Bund  to  Mr.  Fogg  

724 
725 

727 
727 
727 
728 
728 
728 
729 
729 
729 
730 
730 
730 
731 
732 

732 
732 
733 

733 
734 
735 
735 
736 

736 
737 

738 
738 
738 
739 
740 

740 

741 
741 
741 

742 

Tin 

Congratulatory  Address  to  President  Lincoln  

"Hn 

Tin 

Justus  Schnllcr,  Director  of  the  Berne  Railroad  

T)n 

Commercial  and  Manufacturing  Association  

Y\  n 

T)n 

Students  of  the  Coiicordia  Society.  ...  ...  —  —  .  —  .  

Do 

Typo°raphia  Society  

T>n 

Dn 

Men's  Gymnastic1  lTnion  ..  —  - 

P   Welchli                                           

N   T   Mollett    

Municipal  Council  and  Choral  Union  

Do 

Do                  

Representatives  from  all  the  District  of  Berne.    (See  Tavannes.  ) 

Government  of  the  Canton  of  Basel  Town  -.- 

Swiss  Residents.     (See  Turkey-} 

Grutli  Union.     (See  Travzrs.) 

Bulle 

Do                . 

Polish  Refugees.     (See  Zurich.) 
Grutli  Union.     (See  Tracers.) 
Radical  Electors  

Couvet    _  

Chaux-de-Eond  .-  --  -. 

Do                    

Do  

Grutli  Union.     (See  Tracers.) 
Dr.  Carl  Hilton                                   

Chur  

Do 

Do  

do  

Do  ....                       .  .     .. 

.  .  do  

Do   - 

C'arlsruhe  

Swiss  Residents.     (See  Ducliy  of  Baden.) 
Representatives  from  all  the  District  of  Berne.     (See  Tavannes.  ) 

Courtelary  .  . 

Dietgcn  

Delemont  

Representatives  from  all  the  District  of  Berne.     (See  Tavannes.) 

Kmsiedelu  . 

Do  

do                                     

Estavaycr  

I'ranches  Montagues  

Do.. 

Recresentatives  from  all  the  District  of  Berne.     (See  Tavannes.  ) 

INDEX. 


XXV 


SWITZERLAND— Continued. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Pago. 

748 

74:} 
744 
744 
744 

745 
745 
7-4(5 
740 
747 
749 
750 
750 
751 
751 

Inhabitants  

Do  

do  

Fraueufeld  

Government  of  the  Canton  of  Thurgau  

Do  

Thurgau  Mutual  Aid  Society  .  

Grutli  Union.     (See  Travers.) 
Gnitli  Union     

Do  

Do  

do  

Do           

do  

Do  

Inhabitants  

Do  

Polish  Mutual  Aid  Society    

Do  

Swiss  Work  Unions    

Singino1  Society  

Do         

John  Ivilchman  

75:! 
751 
754 

755 
756 

75(i 
757 
757 
758 
758 
758 
759 
759 
700 
701 
70-2 
7(W 

7m 

70:! 
704 

704 
704 

7(55 
705 

Do                  

Jvasimer  Pfyffcr    

Government  of  the  Canton  of  Basel-Landschaft   

Representatives  from  all  the  District  of  Berne.     (See  Tavanncs.} 
Government  of  the  Caiiton  of  Ticino     

Do  

do  

Do           

do  

Do  

do  

Inhabitants  -  

Do 

Do                        

Do                             

Singing  Society,   Friends  Aid   Society,   City  Schools,   Under 
Officers  Union,  Grutli  Union,  and  Mutual  Aid  Society. 
Representatives  from  all  the  District  of  Berne.     (See  Tavanncs.) 

Do 

Representatives  from  all  the  District  of  Berne.     (See  Tavannes,) 
Teachers  of  the  District  

Workingmen's  Union  

Grutli  Union.     (See  Tracers.) 
Government  of  the  Canton           .  

Do. 

...do.. 

INDEX. 
SWITZERLAND— Continued. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

766 

767 

Swiss  Residents.     (See  Great  Britain.) 

767 

Tin 

do    

768 

Consul  of  Switzerland.     (See  United  States.) 

Representatives  of  all  the  District  of  Berne.     (See  Tavannes.) 

768 

R   "^    f 

768 

769 

St   Gall 

do  

769 

Do 

do    

770 

Do 

Chancery  of  the  Canton  -  -  .  

770 

Do 

771 

Do 

771 

Do 

Polish  Mutual  Aid  Society.     (See  Geneva.) 

Schoftland 

771 

Do 

Riflemen's  and  Private  Club  --  

ri-i 

Grutli  Union  -  

773 

773 

773 

773 

Do                        ... 

Government  of  the  Canton  of  Valais  --  ---  

774 

Do                 

do  

774 

Do 

do                                                        

775 

775 

Government  of  the  Canton    

775 

St.  Maurice  ....  .. 

Inhabitants  

776 

776 

Do                               .     . 

do 

777 

777 

Do  

do     ...              

777 

Schaffliausen  . 

778 

Do  

do  

778 

Tcuffen  

779 

779 

Thurgau  

Thun  

780 

Travers  

780 

Thierachern  

Fahrni  Dubois                 

780 

W  nngen  

Zurich  

781 

Do  

do 

781 

Do  

781 

Do  

783 

Do  .. 

Editor  of  the  Weisse  Adler  .  . 

783 

INDEX.  .  XXVII 

SWITZERLAND,  SALVADOR,  TURKEY,  TUNIS  AND  UNITED  STATES  OF  COLOMBIA. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

783 

Do             

do  

784 

78G 

Zlio- 

786 

780 

Do         .  .              

767 

SALVADOR. 

787 

Do 

788 

Do  

do                   .                    

788 

TURKEY. 

789 

71)0 

790 

71)1 

Do                              

Sir.  Morris  to  Mr.  Hunter  

71)3 

Do 

79:$ 

Do 

794 

Do      

Germania  of  the  Golden  Horn  Masonic  Lodge  

71)4 

Do 

7!)f> 

Do 

796 

Do 

7D7 

Do                     .... 

7D8 

Do           

800 

Do 

801 

802 

Do                  .... 

803 

TUNIS. 

804 

Do 

805 

Do 

80(i 

Tunis 

807 

Do 

807 

Do 

808 

UNITED  STATES  OF  COLOMBIA. 

809 

lombia. 
Do 

Seiior  Perez  to  Mr.  Burton  .  ..  .  

809 

Do 

810 

Do 

811 

Buirotu  .  . 

Mr.  Burton  to  Mr.  Scwiird  .  . 

811 

KXV1II 


INDEX. 


UNITED  STATES  OF  COLOMBIA,  URUGUAY,  VENEZUELA,  WURTEMBURG  AND  UNITED 

STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

Mr  Burton  to  Mr.  Seward  

812 
813 
814 
814 
815 
815 
816 
817 
822 
824 
824 
824 
825 
826 
827 
828 
828 
829 

829 
830 
830 

831 
833 

834 
835 
835 
836 

836 

837 
837 

838 
838 
83'J 
841 

812 

Do 

President  of  the  State  of  Cuudinamarca  -  

Do 

Do 

Do 

Consul  General  of  the  Netherlands  -  

Do 

Do 

Do 

lion.  Salvador  Camacho  Roldan  

Do                                  

From  El  Tiempo  

Do 

do             

Do 

do  

President  of  the  State  of  Bolivar     

Do           

Convention  of  the  State  of  Bolivar  

Do                        ... 

Do 

URUGUAY. 

Do                 

VENEZUELA. 

Do  

Do 

Do  

....  do                       .            

Do  

WURTEMBURG. 

Government  of  Wiirtemburg  .  . 

Do 

Do  

UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

Government  of  the  United  States 

Do  

Do  

Albany,  N.  Y  

Albany  Zouave  Cadets,  Company  A,  10th  Regiment  National 
Guards,  State  of  New  York. 
YOUIIP-  Mon's  Christian  Association  .  . 

Do.. 

INDEX. 


XXIX 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA— Continued 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Pag.-. 

Albany   N  Y 

842 

84li 
84(5 
H47 
848 
849 
850 
852 
853 
854 
855 
850 
858 
859 
800 
81)1 
8!l;i 
805 
805 
8015 
80T 
867 
809 
870 
871 
872 
874 
875 
870 
879 
'  879 
880 
881 
894 

895 

Do 

Do 

Jacksou  Literary  Society  

Do 

.  .  do          .             

do                                                        

do                                          

1st  Brigade  3d  Division  Department  of  West  Virginia  

Do 

New  York   N  Y 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do       .  .                

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do                           ..            ... 

Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  

Do 

Do 

Do        

Do  

Do       

do  

Do 

Ode,  by  Heury  T.  Tuekerman,  delivered  before  the  Athcnauim 
Club. 

Do 

Do 

890 
897 
897 
898 
900 
800 
90] 
90] 
903 
905 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Council  No.  iiO  Union  League  of  the  State  -  

Oystor  Bay   N   Y 

Historical  Society  of  the  State  ...  .  .  . 

Do  .. 

Ministers  of  the  Baptist  Church  .  . 

XXX 


INDEX. 
UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA— Continued. 


Where  from. 

From  whom. 

Page. 

National  Union  League  of  the  7th  ward  

90(5 
907 
909 
910 

911 
912 
913 
914 
915 
915 
9i7 
917 
920 
922 
924 
925 
926 
927 

Do 

Do 

Do                               

Annual  mooting  of  Friends  of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and 
Maryland. 
French  Society  of  Beneficence  -  

Do 

Do 

Inhabitants           ..         

Baptist  State  Convention  .  

Grand  Council  of  the  Union  League  

Washington   D.  C     

Do  

Citizens  of  Connecticut          ..    ..   .. 

Do  

Lodge  No.  0,  I.  O.  O.  F  

LIBRA  ]f  V 

UNIVKRSITY   Of 


CORRESPONDENCE 


RKLATI.VO    TO 


THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


AUSTRIA. 


[Translation.] 

Count  Meysenbug  to  Mr.  Motley. 

VIENNA,  April  28,  1865. 

The  undersigned  has  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  from  the  honor 
able  J.  Lothrop  Motley,  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  of  the  esteemed  note  concerning  the  frightful  act 
perpetrated  against  the  President,  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  to  state  that  he 
at  once  laid  the  said  note  before  his  most  gracious  master,  the  Emperor. 

The  imperial  government  could  not  receive  the  news  of  this  horrible  event 
without  the  deepest  indignation,  which  has  made  upon  it  the  more  painful 
impression  as  shortly  before  it  had  seen  reason  to  instruct  its  minister  at 
Washington  to  express  to  the  government  there  its  sincere  congratulations  upon 
the  brilliant  results  which  promised  a  speedy  end  to  the  bloody  contests  in 
the  States  of  the  Union. 

The  horrid  crime  of  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  the;  victim  could  not  but 
inspire  the  government  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  with  the  more  sincere  grief 
as  at  no  time  have  the  relations  between  Austria  and  the  United  States  borne 
a  more  friendly  character  than  during  the  official  term  of  Mr.  LINCOLN. 

The  imperial  government  cannot  but  cherish  the  liveliest  desire;  that  the 
hopes  of  a  happy  future  for  the  United  States,  which  in  this  country  it  was 
believed  might  be  confidently  based  on  the  distinguished  characteristics,  the 
wisdom,  and  moderation  of  the  lamented  President,  may  be  fulfilled  under  his 
successor,  and  the  peaceful  relations  between  the  United  States  and  foreign 
powers  be  preserved  undisturbed. 

In  conclusion,  the  undersigned   feels  it  his  duty  to  give  expression  to  the 


2  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

sincere  wish  of  the  imperial  government  that  it  may  please  Providence  to  pre 
serve  to  the  country  still  farther  the  eminent  Secretary  of  State,  whose  life  has 
also  been  in  danger  from  murderous  hands. 

The  undersigned  avails  himself  of  this  occasion  to  renew  to  the  honorable 
minister  the  assurance  of  his  distinguished  consideration. 

In  Ihe  absence  of  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  the  under  secretary  of 

state, 

MEYSENBUG. 

His  Excellency  J.  LOTIIROP  MOTLEY, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 


[Translation.] 

SESSION  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  DEPUTIES. 
Ai-RiL  29,  1865 

The  session  opened  at  10.40. 

Deputy  Dr.  BERGER  spoke  as  follows : 

GENTLEMEN:  The  news  of  the  tragical  fate  which  has  befallen  the  President 
of  Ihc  United  States,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  through  a  murderous  hand,  at  the 
very  moment  in  which  the  cause  of  the  northern  States,  and  with  it  the  cause 
of  freedom  and  civilization  and  humanity,  was  victorious,  has — I  believe  I  may 
announce — deeply  moved  all  circles  and  all  classes  of  society  in  our  fatherland 
also. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  that  eventful  and  bloody  struggle,  which  has 
lasted  several  years,  Austria  was  always  on  the  side  of  the  North ;  and  on  the 
day  on  which  the  news  of  the  last  victory  of  the  northern  States  reached 
Washington,  the  man  who  now  stands  at  the  head  of  the  United  States 
declared  that  the  sovereign  of  the  state  to  which  we  belong,  from  the  beginning 
an  enemy  of  every  rebellion,  had  always  stood  on  the  side  of  the  North. 

I  think  that  it  becomes  this  house,  which  represents  the  population  of 
Austria,  to  express  its  sympathy  for  the  cause  of  the  northern  States,  its  sym 
pathy  for  the  tragic  fate  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  plain,  simple  man  who  has 
risen  out  of  the  people  to  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  greatest  state,  and  I 
move  that  the  president  should  summon  the  house  to  signify,  by  rising  from 
their  places,  this  its  double  sentiment — sympathy  for  the  tragic  fate  of  President 
LINCOLN — sympathy  for  the  cause  of  the  northern  States. 

The  PRESIDENT.  I  doubt  not  that  the  house  shares  the  views  and  feelings 
which  the  deputy  Berger  has  expressed,  and  will  be  ready  to  give  proper 
evidence  thereof  by  rising  from  their  seats. 

The  assembly  rises.  During  this  ceremony  the  ministers  are  in  their 
places  as  deputies. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  3 

[Translation.] 

VIENNA,  April  27,  1865. 

BARON  :  It  is  with  the  deepest  indignation  that  the  imperial  government 
has  heard  the  news  of  the  horrible  crime  which  has  put  an  end  to  the  days  of 
President  LINCOLN,  and  also  that  of  the  attempted  assassination  of  the  Secretary 
of  State,  Mr.  Seward. 

The  more  the  success  obtained  by  Ihe  northern  States  in  the  bloody  strife 
with  the  South  caused  us  to  experience  satisfaction,  from  seeing  therein  the 
security  for  the  early  re-establishment  of  peace  over  the  vast  territory  of  the 
republic,  the  more  must  we  deplore  this  day  the  tranquil  end  of  the  eminent 
statesman  whose  energy,  combined  with  wise  moderation,  has  so  powerfully 
contributed  to  these  brilliant  results,  and  caused  the  hope  for  his  country  of  a 
future  of  peace  and  prosperity.  We  love,  at  any  rate,  to  think  that  the  sad 
event  which  has  happened  will  not  bring  about  any  change  in  the  conciliatory 
interests  of  the  American  government,  and  that  its  enlightened  efforts  will  con 
tinue  to  tend  towards  an  early  pacification  of  countries  so  long  ravaged  by  civil 
war,  as  well  as  towards  the  maintenance  of  friendly  relations  with  foreign 
powers. 

I  invite  you,  baron,  to  express  yourself  in  these  terms  to  the  Secretary  of 
State,  by  rendering  you  the  eventual  interpreter  of  the  wishes  we  form  for  the 
preservation  of  the  life  of  Mr  Seward. 

Receive,  baron,  the  assurance  of  my  distinguished  consideration. 

MEYSENBUG, 
The  Under  Secretary  of  State,  for  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs 

The,  BARON  DE  WYDENBRUCK,  Washington 


[Translation  ] 

NEW  YORK,  June  14,  1865. 

SIR  :  1  have  received  by  the  European  mail  of  yesterday  a  despatch  from 
my  government,  dated  18th  May,  which  charges  me  to  express  to  his  Excel 
lency  President  Johnson  the  felicitations  of  my  august  court  on  the  occasion  of 
his  advent  to  the  presidency  of  tin;  United  States 

Finding  myself  still  not  in  condition,  in  consequence  of  the  breaking  of  my 
arm,  to  go  to  Washington  to  acquit  myself  of  these  orders  of  my  court,  I  take, 
the  liberty  to  send  to  you,  Mr.  Secretary  of  State,  the  above-mentioned  despatch, 
in  the  original,  begging  you  to  place  it  before  his  Excellency  the  President. 
Let  me  be  allowed  to  add.  that  I  participate  in  the  most  lively  manner  in  the 
sentiments  of  which  1  am  charged  by  Count  de  Mensdorff  to  be  the  interpreter 
in  respect  to  yourself,  and  that  I  offer  the  most  sincere  wishes  for  the  complete 
restoration  of  that  health  so  precious  in  so  many  respects. 


4  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Begging  you,  Mr.  Secretary  of  State,  to  return  to  me,  after  using  it,  the 
aforesaid  despatch,  I  seize  this  occasion  to  reiterate  to  you  the  assurance  of  my 
most  distinguished  consideration. 

WYDENBRUCK. 

Hnn  WILLIAM  H.  SKWARD,  Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation.] 

VIENNA,  May  18,  1865. 

BARON  :  I  have  received  the  despatches  you  have  done  me  the  honor  to 
address  to  me  up  to  the  2d  instant, 

By  one  of  these  despatches  you  transmit  a  copy  of  the  note  of  the  Acting 
Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  William  Hunter,  enclosing  the  official  announcements  of 
the  tragic  events  of  the  14th  April,  and  of  the  advent  of  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson 
to  the  presidency  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  the  answer  you  made  to  that 
communication. 

Having  already  previously  had  occasion  to  request  you,  baron,  to  signify  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States  the  deep  share  we  have  taken  in  the 
calamity  which  has  plunged  the  American  people  in  sorrow,  it  remains  now 
that  I  should  ask  you  to  express  to  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson  our  felicitations  on 
the  occasion  of  his  accession,  which  we  hope  will  not  bring  about  any  change 
in  the  relations,  so  satisfactory,  which  subsisted  between  the  two  countries 
during  the  presidency  of  Mr.  LINCOLN. 

Please,  baron,  to  say  to  Mr.  Seward,  when  occasion  may  offer,  how  happy 
we  are  to  hear  of  the  progress  of  his  cure,  and  accept  the  assurance  of  my 
distinguished  consideration. 

MENSDORFF. 

BARON  DE  WYDKNBRUCK,  Washington. 


[Translation.  ] 

IMPERIAL  LEGATION  OF  AUSTRIA, 

Washington,  April  18,  1865. 

Mr.  SECRETARY  :  I  can  scarcely  find  words  to  express  my  consternation  at 
the  news  of  the  tragic  event,  the  subject  of  your  respected  missive  of  this  day, 
which  deprived  President  LINCOLN  of  his  life. 

No  one  participates  more  sincerely  than  I  do  in  lamenting  the  sad  catas 
trophe  that  has  filled  the  American  nation  with  mourning;  for,  though  but 
recently  arrived  in  this  country,  1  had  learned  to  appreciate  the  rare  and 
eminent  qualities  of  him  whose  loss  we  deplore  this  day. 

It  is  my  painful  duty  to  announce  the  sad  news  to  my  august  court.  It 
will  certainly  be  received  with  a  feeling  of  affliction ;  and  I  think  I  may  add  that 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.          5 

the  entire  Austrian  nation  will  sympathize  deeply  with  the  American  people 
in  their  distress  lor  the  great  calamity  that  has  overwhelmed  them. 

The  abominable  attempt  upon  the  lives  of  the  Secretary  of  State  and  his 
son  has  also  fdled  me  with  horror.  I  thank  Heaven  the  crime  was  not  accom 
plished  ;  and  I  sincerely  desire  the  speedy  and  perfect  recovery  of  the  intended 
victims. 

I  will  also  hasten  to  inform  my  august  court  of  the  inauguration  of  Mr. 
Andrew  Johnson' as  President  of  the  United  States. 

Have  the  kindness  to  accept  the  expression  of  my  most  distinguished 
consideration. 

WYDENBRUCK. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation.] 

BIELITZ,  AUSTRIA,  April  29,  1865. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  We,  the  undersigned,  members  of  associations  of  the 
several  branches  of  commerce  and  industry  in  the  contiguous  cities  of  Bielitz 
und  Biala,  in  the  interior  of  the  Austrian  dominions,  who  have  always  followed 
with  the  liveliest  interest  and  the  sincerest  sympathy  all  the  events  that  affected 
the  country  and  the  people  of  the  United  States,  take  the  liberty  to  beg  of  you, 
Mr.  President,  to  receive  the  expression  of  our  most  heartfelt  sympathy  for 
the  terrible  loss  the  Union  has  sustained  in  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN. 
Amidst  our  rejoicings  over  the  triumph  of  the  Union  we  received  the  intelli 
gence  of  this  great  calamity. 

Sorrow  and  deep  affliction  followed  our  exultation,  and  the  deepest  abhor 
rence  for  the  terrible  crimes  to  which  this  great  and  wise  man  fell  a  sacrifice, 
and  which  brought  his  faithful  co-laborer  in  the  difficult  undertaking,  the  Sec 
retary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward,  to  the  brink  of  the  grave,  fdls  every  heart. 

With  terrible  violence  the  noble  leader  was  deprived  of  the  happiness  to 
enjoy  with  his  self-sacrificing  and  devoted  people,  after  the  most  tremendous 
struggle,  the  fruits  of  a  long-hoped-for  peace. 

May  the  final  complete  victory  of  the  good  cause,  and  the  great  work  of 
re-establishing  the  Union  to  its  former  greatness,  be  reserved  for  you,  Mr. 
President. 

That  reverence  for  law  and  justice,  as  well  as  love  for  liberty,  which  the 
people  of  the  United  States  have  ever  manifested  during  this  great  war,  will 
support  you. 


6  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

With  feelings  of  the  inmost  sympathy  we  beg  to  assure  you  of  our  most 
distinguished  consideration. 

LUDWIG  BRULL,  and  2(>  others, 
lion.  ANDKKW  JOHNSON, 

President  United  Slates,  North,  America. 


Mr  Motley  to  Mr.  Seicard. 

No  101.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Vienna,  April  30,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  news  of  the  great  tragedy  which  lias  brought  desolation  upon 
our  country,  in  the  very  moment  of  our  highest  joy,  reached  this  place  on  the 
2Gth.  This  is  the  first  post  which  leaves  Vienna  since  the  receipt  of  the  intel 
ligence. 

I  shall  not  even  attempt  to  picture  the  consternation  which  the  event  has 
caused  throughout  the  civilized  world,  nor  to  describe  the  anguish  which  it  lias 
excited  in  my  own  heart,  as  in  that  of  every  loyal  American,  whether  at  home 
or  abroad. 

The  European  public  spontaneously  expresses  in  every  public  way  its 
admiration  for  the  character  of  the  murdered  President,  and  its  horror  at  the 
vile  assassin  who  has  taken  his  life.  And  if  the  inhabitants  of  foreign  and 
distant  lands  arc  giving  expressions  to  such  deep  and  unaffected  sentiments, 
what  must  be  the  emotions  now  sweeping  over  our  own  country]  I  confess  that 
I  shudder  at  the  thought  of  the  despatches  and  journals  now  on  their  way  to 
Europe.  As  yet  we  have  nothing  but  the  brief  telegraphic  tale  of  horror 
published  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  Mr.  Adams,  in  London,  and  by  him 
transmitted  to  the  United  States  legations  on  the  continent. 

Not  often  in  human  history  has  a  great  nation  been  subjected  to  such  a 
sudden  conflict  of  passions. 

In  the  midst,  not  of  triumph  nor  vulgar  exultation,  but  of  deep,  religious, 
grateful  joy  at  the  final  suppression  of  a  wicked  rebellion,  the  redemption  of 
the  land  from  the  perils  of  death  and  the  certainty  of  its  purification  from  the 
great  curse  of  slavery,  blessings  brought  about  under  God  by  the  genius  of  our 
great  generals,  the  courage  of  our  armies,  and  the  sagacity  of  our  statesmen,  the 
American  people  have  seen  their  beloved  and  venerated  Chief  Magistrate  mur 
dered  before  their  eyes. 

The  eminent  statesman  who  with  such  surpassing  ability  has  guided  our 
foreign  relations  during  the  most  critical  and  dangerous  period  of  our  history 
seems,  thank  God,  to  have  escaped  death — if  we  may  trust  the  more,  recent 
telegrams  received  last  night;  but  we  must  await  with  intense  anxiety  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.          7 

arrival  of  more  than  one  post  before  we  can  feel  confidence  that  the  cowardly 
and  murderous  assault  upon  him  in  his  sick-bed  has  not,  after  all.  been  success 
ful.  May  God  grant  that  his  invaluable  life  may  be  spared,  and  that  the  country 
may  long  have  the  benefit  of  his  wise  and  faithful  counsels  May  the  life  of 
that  excellent  son,  who  has  so  nearly  perished  in  the  attempt  to  defend  his 
father,  also  be  preserved. 

What  may  be  the  effect  of  this  sudden  revulsion  in  the  national  feeling  I 
hardly  dare  to  contemplate. 

The  benignant  heart  of  the  late  President  was  filled,  as  we  have  reason  to 
believe,  with  thoughts  of  peace  and  reconciliation  and  reunion — with  feelings  of 
compassion  for  the  criminals,  mingled  with  detestation  of  the  crime,  becoming 
the  chief  of  a  great,  free,  and  magnanimous  nation  in  the  hour  of  its  victory — 
when  the  assassin  took  his  life.  And  the  country  itself,  conscious  of  its  strength, 
seemed  fully  to  respond  to  these  sentiments  of  the  President. 

Will  not  these  gentler  feelings  give  way  to  a  desire  for  vengeance,  to  a 
conviction  of  the  necessity  of  terrible  severity,  now  that  the  great  treason  has 
just  accomplished  its  darkest  crime,  now  that  the  most  illustrious  of  all  the 
innumerable  victims  of  the  slaveholders'  rebellion  has  been  so  basely  and 
wantonly  sacrificed  1 

I  should  apologize  for  giving  expression  to  these  thoughts,  not  suitable  to 
a  formal  despatch ;  but  in  such  days  as  these,  and  in  the  midst  of  such  a 
national  sorrow,  it  is  difficult  to  be  formal  and  impossible  to  be  calm. 

Nor  can  I  resist  the  impulse  to  add  my  humble  contribution  to  the 
universal  eulogy  which  I  know  is  pouring  forth  at  this  moment  from  so 
many  more  eloquent  tongues  than  mine,  and  out  of  many  millions  of  sorrow 
ing  and  affectionate  hearts,  now  that  the  most  virtuous  of  chief  magistrates 
is  no  more. 

1  know  that  one  should  avoid  the  language  of  exaggeration,  of  over 
excited  enthusiasm,  so  natural  when  a  man  eminent  in  station,  mental  abili 
ties,  and  lofty  characteristics  is  suddenly  taken  away;  yet  I  am  not  afraid  to 
express  the  opinion  that  the  name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  will  be  cherished, 
so  long  as  we  have  a  history,  as  one  of  the  wisest,  purest,  and  noblest  magis 
trates,  as  one  of  the  greatest  benefactors  to  the  human  race,  that  have  ever 
lived. 

I  believe  that  the  foundation  of  his  whole  character  was  a  devotion  to  duty. 
To  borrow  a  phrase  from  his  brief  and  simple  but  most  eloquent  inaugural 
address  of  this  year,  it  was  ''his  firmness  in  the  right  as  God  gave  him  to  see 
the  right "  which  enabled  him  to  discharge  the  functions  of  his  great  office,  in 
one  of  the  most  terrible  periods  of  the  world's  history,  with  such  rare  sagacity, 
patience,  cheerfulness,  and  courage;.  And  God,  indeed,  gave  him  to  see  the 
right,  and  he  needs  no  nobler  epitaph  than  those  simple  words  from  his  own 
lips. 


ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

So  much  firmness  with  such  gentleness  of  heart,  so  much  logical  acuteness 
with  such  almost  childlike  simplicity  and  ingenuousness  of  nature,  so  much 
candor  to  weigh  the  wisdom  of  others,  with  so  much  tenacity  to  retain  his  own 
judgment,  were  rarely  before  united  in  one  individual. 

Never  was  such  vast  political  power  placed  in  purer  hands;  never  did  a 
heart  remain  more  humble  and  more  unsophisticated  after  the  highest  prizes  of 
earthly  ambition  had  been  obtained. 

Certainly  "government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people" — to 
quote  again  his  own  words — shall  never  perish  from  the  earth  so  long  as  the 
American  people  can  embody  itself  in  a  character  so  worthy  to  represent  the 
best  qualities  of  humanity — its  courage,  generosity,  patience,  sagacity,  and 
integrity — as  these  have  been  personified  in  him  who  has  been  one  of  the 
best  of  rulers,  and  is  now  one  of  the  noblest  of  martyrs. 

If  it  seems  superfluous  and  almost  presumptuous  that  I,  a  comparative 
stranger  to  Mr.  LIXCOLN,  although  honored  with  his  commission,  should  speak 
of  him  thus  at  length  to  those  who  shared  his  counsels  ami  enjoyed  his  inti 
macy,  1  can  only  reply  that  the  grief  which,  in  common  with  every  loyal 
American,  I  most  profoundly  feel  at  his  death,  demands  an  expression,  and 
that  at  this  distance  from  my  country  it  is  a  consolation  for  me  to  speak  of 
his  virtues  to  those  who  knew  him  best. 

I  have  followed  his  career,  and  have  studied  every  public  act  and  utterance 
of  his  with  an  ever-increasing  veneration  for  a  character  and  an  intellect  which 
seemed  to  expand  and  to  grow  more  vigorous  the  greater  the  demand  that  was 
made  upon  their  strength. 

And  this  feeling,  I  believe,  is  shared  not  only  by  all  Americans  worthy  of 
the  name,  but  by  all  the  inhabitants  of  foreign  lands  who  have  given  themselves 
the  trouble  to  study  our  history  in  this  its  most  eventful  period. 

I  wisli  to  conclude  this  despatch  by  requesting  yon  to  convey  my  most 
respectful  compliments  to  President  Johnson,  together  with  my  prayers  for 
his  success  in  administering  the  affairs  of  his  great  office. 

That  he  is  animated  with  the  warmest  patriotism,  and  by  a  determination 
to  meet  wisely  and  manfully  the  great  responsibility  which  has  devolved  upon 
him,  we  are  all  convinced,  and  I  am  sure  that  the  best  wishes  of  every  patriotic 
heart  and  the  counsels  of  the  wisest  minds  will  be  ever  ready  to  support  him 
in  the  great  task  of  reconstructing  that  blessed  Union  which  traitor  hands  have 
failed,  with  all  their  efforts,  to  destroy. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  LOTHROP  MOTLEY. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  9 

Mr.  Motley  to  Mr.  Scu-ard. 

No.  102.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Vienna,  April  30,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  impression  created  in  this  capital  by  the  horrible  murder  and 
attempts  to  murder  just  committed  in  Washington  has  been  intense. 

The  whole  diplomatic  corps,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  have  called  upon 
me  as  representative  of  the  United  States,  and  their  warm  and  sincere  expres 
sions  of  sympathy  at  our  national  loss,  of  cordial  good-will  for  the  Union,  and, 
more  important  than  all,  of  decided  respect  and  admiration  for  the  character 
of  our  lamented  President,  have  been  most  grateful  to  my  heart. 

The  journals  of  the  capital — all  of  them,  as  I  have  often  had  occasion  to 
remark,  conducted  with  great  ability — have  vied  with  each  other  in  eloquent 
tributes  to  the  virtues  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  in  expressions  of  unaffected  sympathy 
for  the  great  cause  of  which  lie  was  the  impersonation,  and  of  horror  at  the 
accursed  crime  by  which  one  of  the  best  of  men  has  been  taken  from  the 

world. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

I  send  a  translation  of  the  report  taken  from  the  journals  of  the  day 
of  the  action  taken  on  the  subject  in  the  Reichsrath. 

Dr.  Berger,  the  member  who  pronounced  the  brief  but  feeling  eulogy 
upon  Mr.  LINCOLN,  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished  and  eloquent  members  of 
the  house. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  LOTHROP  MOTLEY. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State.  . 


ARGENTINE    BEPUBLIC. 


[Translation.] 

MINISTRY  OF  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 

Buenos  Ayrcs,  May  27,  18G5. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  your  excellency  a  copy  of  the  resolutions 
issued  by  the  government,  ordering  all  (lags  of  the  republic  to  be  put  at  half- 
mast,  as  sign  of  mourning  for  the  death  of  the  illustrious  citizen  President  of" 
the  United  States  of  America. 

The  Argentine  government  laments  with  the  most  profound  sorrow  the 
2 


IQ  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

irreparable  loss  that  deprives  the  United  States  of  their  noble  President, 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  whose  persevering  efforts  were  just  being  crowned  by 
victory  in  favor  of  the  cause  of  the  Union. 

In  communicating  this  resolution  to  your  excellency,  I  take  pleasure  in 
offering  my  most  distinguished  regards. 

RUFINO  DE  ELIZALDE, 

Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

Hon.  ROBERT  C.  KIRK, 

Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


[Translation.] 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR, 

Buenos  Ayres,  May  27,  1865. 

Resolved:  The  illustrious  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  having  been  assassinated  just  as  the  cause  so  nobly  sustained 
by  the  American  people  was  being  crowned  by  the  most  splendid  triumph,  the 
Argentine  government  and  people,  sorrow-stricken  by  the  loss  that  deprives 
that  o-reat  republic  of  the  distinguished  and  important  services  of  so  illustrious 
a  citizen,  resolve,  that  in  testimony  of  their  deep  regret  for  so  irreparable  a 
loss,  the  offices  and  other  public  establishments  on  which  the  national  flag  flies, 
as  also  the  national  vessels  of  war  in  port,  keep,  during  the  day  of  to-morrow, 
the  28th  instant,  their  respective  flags  at  half-mast.  The  present  resolution  to 
be  communicated  to  whom  it  may  concern  for  its  accomplishment. 

WILLIAM  RAWSON. 

RUFINO  DE  ELIZALDE. 

LUCAS  GONZALES. 

EDWARD  COSTA 

JOHN  A  GELLY  Y  OBES. 
A  correct  copy : 

EDWARD  T.  BARBAL. 


[Translation.] 

LEGISLATIVE  CONGRESS  OF  THE  ARGENTINE  NATION, 

Buenos  Ayres,  June  3,  1865. 
Marcos  Paz,  president  of  the  Congress  of  the  Argentine  nation,  to  the  president 

of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America,  greeting : 
Conscious  of  the  loss  that  liberty  and  democracy  have  suffered  by  the 
death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  great  republican,  the  Argentine  congress  joins 
the  people  of  the  United  States  in  their  mourning,  by  a  resolution  that  its 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY         11 

members  shall  wear  mourning  for  three  days,  as  you  will  see  by  the  accom 
panying  authentic  copy  of  the  resolution,  which  you  will  please  transmit  to  the 
Congress  of  the  Union. 

MARCOS  PAZ 
Hon.  PRESIDENT  of  t  lie  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


[Translation.  ] 

The  senate  and  chamber  of  deputies  of  the  Argentine  nation,  in  general 
assembly  convened,  resolve : 

ARTICLE  1.  The  senators  and  deputies  of  the  Argentine  people  shall  wear 
mourning  tor  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  for  three  days  after  the  adoption  of  this 
resolution. 

ART.  2.  The  national  banner  shall  remain  at  half-mast  over  the  house  of 
sessions  for  the  three  days. 

ART.  3.  The  president  of  the  Argentine  congress  shall  address  a  letter  of 
condolence,  with  a  copy  of  this  resolution,  to  the  president  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States. 

ART.  4.  Let  this  be  promulgated,  &c. 

Given  in  the  hall  of  congress,  in  Buenos  Ayres,  on  the  second  dav  of  June, 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-five. 

JOStf  E.  URIBURU. 
MARCOS  PAZ. 
CARLOS  MARIA  SARAVIA, 

Secretary  of  the  Senate. 

BERNABE  QUINTANA, 

Secretary  of  the  House  of  Deputies. 
A  true  copy : 
[L.  s.]  BERNABE  QUINTANA, 

Secretary  of  the  House  of  Deputies. 

CARLOS  MARIA  SARAVIA, 

Secretary  of  the  Senate. 


[Translation.] 

BUENOS  AYRES,  May  28,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  assassination  of  the  illustrious  republican,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
President  of  the  United  States,  has  caused  in  Buenos  Ayres  the  most  profound 
regret, 

The  governor  of  this  province,  the  same  as  all  his  countrymen,  moved  by 


12  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

this  execrable  crime,  sympathizes  most  heartily  with  your  excellency  for  the 
misfortune  that  casts  into  mourning  that  joy  caused  by  the  recent  victories 
obtained,  that  would  secure  the  union  and  liberty  of  the  great  republic  you  so 
nobly  represent. 

May  it  please  your  excellency  to  accept  the  sympathy  of  this  province,  and 
the  respect  that  I  have  always  had  for  the  eminent  citizen  that  the  country  of 
your  excellency  has  just  lost. 

I  salute  your  excellency  with  most  distinguished  esteem. 

MARIANO  SAAVEDRA, 
Governor  of  the  Province  of  Buenos  Ay  res. 
His  Excellency  Hon.  ROBERT  C.  KIRK, 

Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


Mr.  Kirk  to  Mr.  Seward. 

[Extract.  J 

No.  115.]  LEGATION  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Buenos  Ay  res,  May  30,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  awful  report  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  the 
attempted  assassination  of  yourself  reached  here  on  the  27th  instant.  I  will 
not  attempt  to  describe  the  intense  excitement,  indignation,  and  heartfelt 
sorrow  it  has  produced  throughout  this  part  of  South  America,  During 
Saturday  and  Sunday  I  had  continual  calls  from  ministers  and  citizens  giving 
expression  to  words  of  condolence.  On  the  same  day  the  news  arrived  here  I 
received  a  letter  from  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs,  with  a  resolution  passed 
by  his  government. 

Agreeably  to  that  resolution,  on  Sunday  the  national  and  provincial  Hags 
were  at  half-mast,  and  the  flags  of  foreign  consuls  followed  the  example. 

All  the  newspapers  of  this  city  appeared  in  mourning.  *  * 

The  native  press  is  filled  with  glowing  editorials  on  President  LINCOLN. 

It  has  never  been  my  lot  to  witness  such  intense  sorrow  as  this  sad  event 
has  produced,  and  the  universal  prayer  is  that  you  may  speedily  be  restored  to 
health.  The  same  mail  which  brought  the  sad  news  brought  the  news  of  the 
surrender  of  Lee's  army. 

The  provincial  legislature  has  passed  a  decree  authorizing  the  next  town 
started  in  this  province  to  be  named  "  Lincoln." 

Hoping  sincerely  that  you  may  soon  recover  from  your  injuries,  I  am,  sir, 
your  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  C.  KIRK. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.         13 

SPANISH  DEMOCRATIC  COMMITTEE  OF  BUENOS  AYRES. 

[Translation.] 

BUENOS  AYRES,  June  4,  1865. 

The  Spanish  democratic  committee  in  this  city  would  fail  in  one  of  its  most 
sacred  duties  did  it  not  manifest  to  the  superior  government  of  the  United 
States,  which  you  represent,  the  sad  impression  caused  by  the  news  of  the 
assassination  of  the  illustrious  citizen  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  min 
ister  of  foreign  affairs,  Mr.  Scward,  and  all  the  other  victims  of  that  drama  of 
murder  and  consternation. 

The  committee  earnestly  wishes  that  the  tomb  of  those  great  men  may 
inspire  their  successors  with  fortitude  and  firmness,  so  that  along  with  the 
triumph  of  the  United  States  of  America,  republican  principles  may  triumph 
wherever  the  want  of  liberty  is  felt. 

Please,  then,  citizen  minister,  to  lay  this  manifestation  before  the  superior 
government  of  the  United  States,  which  you  so  worthily  represent  near  this 
republic,  and  rely  on  the  assurances  of  the  most  distinguished  consideration 
and  respect  of  the  committee. 

By  order  of  the  committee : 

THE  DIRECTOR. 


Mr.  TOIHUS  Giddo  to  Mr.  Kirk. 
[Translation.] 

BUENOS  AYRES,  May  30,  1865. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  do  not  fear  to  renew  your  sorrow  by  uniting  mine  to  the 
unutterable  grief  that  the  American  people  and  all  friends  of  liberty  feel  at  the 
sight  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'S  grave. 

That  great  republican,  torn  from  his  country,  family,  and  friends  at  a  time 
when  his  sacred  patriotism  had  gained  its  end,  has  sealed  his  work  with  his 
blood.  That  blood,  though  a  stain  on  his  murderer's  hand,  will  cherish  yet  the 
seed  of  liberty  in  all  generations. 

Peace  to  the  memory  of  that  great  and  just  man,  worthy  brother  of  Wash 
ington,  with  whom  he  is  now  in  a  better  world  to  come. 

You,  dear  sir,  who  so  honorably  represent  your  country,  let  it  mitigate 
your  sorrow  to  find  sympathy  among  Argentines  for  this  great  misfortune,  and 
I  as  one  of  them  feel  most  deeply  affected. 
I  am  your  most  obedient  servant, 

TOMAS  GUIDO 
ROBERT  C.  KIRK,  Esq., 

United  States  Minuter 


14  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolutions  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  American  citizens  resident  in  Buenos  Ayres, 

held  May  31,  1865. 

Whereas  the  sad  tidings  have  reached  us  of  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
President  of  the  United  States,  by  the  hand  of  a  vile  assassin— 

Resolved,  First,  that  as  loyal  and  ever  faithful  citizens  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  now  resident  in  Buenos  Ayres,  we  have  been  severely  shocked, 
and  at  the  same  time  filled  with  indignation  and  sorrow,  on  the  receipt  here,  on 
Saturday  last,  the  27th  instant,  of  intelligence  of  the  dastardly  murder  of  the 
late  eminently  distinguished  President  of  our  country,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  in 
whom  we  have  always  recognized  inflexible  honesty  and  pure  patriotism,  and  to 
whom  we  now  assign  in  our  memories  a  place  among  the  very  ablest  and  best 
statesmen  of  America. 

Resolved,  Second,  that  to  the  grief-stricken  family  of  the  illustrious  deceased 
we  tender  our  most  unfeigned  and  profound  condolence. 

Resolved,  Third,  that  in  celebration  of  the  obsequies  of  our  late  beloved 
President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  whom  we  would  proclaim  and  consecrate  to 
posterity  as  the  second  Father  of  his  Country,  the  Reverend  William  Goodfel- 
low,  the  American  clergyman  resident  in  this  city,  be  invited  to  deliver,  at  an 
early  day,  an  appropriate  discourse,  commemorative  of  the  distinguised  virtues 
of  the  deceased. 

Resolved,  Fourth,  that  as  a  measure  emblematic  of  our  sincere  distress  at 
this  most  deplorable  occurrence,  we  will  wear  a  badge  of  black  crape  around 
Ihe  left  arm  for  the  space  of  thirty  days. 

Resolved,  Fifth,  that  we  gratefully  accept,  as  a  compliment  to  our  country 
and  to  ourselves,  the  voluntary  and  considerate  action  of  the  authorities  here 
on  Sunday  last,  the  28th  instant,  in  causing  all  the  national  and  provincial  flags 
to  be  hoisted  at  half-mast,  as  a  token  of  grief  at  the  untimely  loss  of  the  honored 
and  lamented  subject  of  these  resolutions.  And  we  feel  thankful  that  amid  the 
unparalleled  trials  of  the  most  gigantic  rebellion  ever  organized  among  rational 
and  misguided  men,  our  leaders  and  defenders  have  acted  with  such  moderation 
and  justice  as  to  secure  the  sympathies  of  such  enlightened  and  progressive 
statesmen  as  those  whom  we  have  the  honor  to  know  in  the  persons  of  Presi 
dent  Mitre  and  his  cabinet, 

Resolved,  Sixth,  that  Governor  Saavedra  and  the  legislature  of  the  province 
of  Buenos  Ayres  are  equally  entitled  to  our  thanks  for  their  complimentary 
resolutions  of  last  evening,  declaring  that  the  next  new  town  or  city  which  shall 
be  organized  within  the  province  shall  be  designated  "  Lincoln." 

Resolved,  Seventh,  that  in  a  corresponding  vein  of  thankfulness  and  grati 
tude,  we  make  our  acknowledgments  to  the  press  of  Buenos  Ayres  for  appearing 
in  mourning  on  Sunday  last,  and  for  their  numerous  and  well-expressed  eulogiums 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        15 

of  our  own  martyred  President,  and  also  to  the  whole  body  of  the  Argentine 
congress,  for  their  sympathetic  resolutions  of  yesterday,  among  which  was  one 
to  signify  their  sad  and  painful  recognition  of  this  solemn  occasion  by  wearing 
the  badge  of  mourning  for  the  space  of  three  days ;  and  to  the  Argentine  people, 
whose  sympathies  with  us  have  been  so  unreservedly  shown  during  the  long  and 
severe  trials  of  our  country,  and  particularly  in  this  last  and  saddest  event. 

Resolved,  Eighth,  that  to  our  fellow-citizens  in  the  United  States  we  renew 
our  pledge  of  continued  and  unfaltering  fidelity  to  the  Union  and  to  the  federal 
government  as  constitutionally  organized  in  Washington. 

Resolved,  Ninth,  that  four  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  presented  to  our 
minister  resident  in  this  city,  the  honorable  Robert  C.  Kirk,  with  the  request 
that  he  will  transmit  one  of  them  to  the  -bereaved  family  of  our  late  President, 
one  to  the  Department  of  State  in  Washington,  one  to  the  government  in  the 
Argentine  republic,  and  the  other  to  the  government  of  the  province  of  Buenos 
Ay  res. 

Also  resolved,  That  in  the  attempted  assassination  of  William  Henry 
Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  part  of  the  same  dastardly  conspiracy  which 
resulted  in  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  we  recognize  the  fitting  close  of  a 
rebellion  begun  in  robbery  and  perjury,  and  ending  in  cowardly  and  cold 
blooded  murder,  and  we  extend  to  him  our  warmest  sympathies,  and  offer  at 
the  same  time  our  best  hopes  and  wishes  for  his  speedy  recovery. 

ROBERT  C.  KIRK,  Chairman. 

GARDNER  B.  PERRY,  Secretary 


ELGIUM. 


[Translation.] 

BRUSSELS,  April  29,  1865. 

MY  DEAR  MINISTER:  While  1  transmit  to  Washington  the  expression 
of  the  sentiments  of  the  government  of  the  King,  on  account  of  the  horrid 
crime  perpetrated  upon  your  venerable  President,  I  must  inform  you  of  our 
astonishment  at  the  sad  news  that  has  resounded  through  the  entire  country, 
and  beg  you  to  be  the  medium  of  our  sentiments  to  your  government. 

I  also  take  the  liberty  of  asking  you  to  have  the  kindness  to  be  my 
interpreter  with  the  family  of  Mr.  Seward,  for  whom  I  have  always  professed  a 
particular  regard.  The  news  given  by  the  papers  leave  some  hope  for  the 
recovery  of  the  eminent  statesman,  and  it  is  my  dearest  wish  that  he  may  be 


16  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

restored  to  perfect  health,  and  give  peace  to  a  country  so  long  desolated  by  the 
calamities  of  a  war  greatly  to  be  deplored  by  all  friends  of  liberty. 

Accept,  my  dear  minister,  the  new  assurance  of  my  very  high  and  affec 
tionate  consideration. 

GIL  ROGIER, 

Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs. 
H.  S.  SANFOKD,  Esq., 

Minister  of  the  United  States. 


[Translation.] 

LEGATION  OF  BELGIUM  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Washington,  April  16,  1865. 

Mr.  SECRETARY  :  It  is  with  real  grief  that  I  have  the  honor  of  acknowledg 
ing  the  reception  of  your  communication  of  the  15th,  announcing  the  horrid 
crime  that  has  deprived  the  United  States  of  its  Chief  Magistrate. 

The  government  of  the  King,  my  august  sovereign,  will  sympathize 
sincerely  with  the  American  nation. 

The  sentiments  of  respect  and  affection  which  I  personally  entertain  for 
the  honorable  Secretary  of  State  and  Mr.  Frederick  Seward,  induce  me  to 
hope  their  injuries  will  have  no  serious  consequences. 

Wishing  them  a  speedy  recovery,  I  beg  you,  Mr.  Secretary,  to  accept  the 
assurance  of  my  most  distinguished  consideration. 

A.  .BERGHMANS. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation.  ] 
MOTION  IN  ORDER. 


Mr.  LE  HARDY  DE  BEAULIEU.  Gentlemen,  you  were  all  horrified  three 
days  ago  on  hearing  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
You  all  felt  that  it  was  not  only  the  chief  of  a  free  nation  that  was  struck  down, 
but  at  the  same  time  it  was  law,  the  safeguard  of  all,  and  I  may  say  civilization 
itself,  for  there  is  no  longer  any  personal  security  when  political  passion  substi 
tutes  brutal  action  for  the  protective  power  of  law.  I  have  thought  it  becoming, 
gentlemen,  for  us  not  to  let  this  occasion  pass  without  the  expression  of  our 
painful  sentiments. 

I  will  not  give  you  the  history  of  the  eminent  man  who  is  no  more ;  he 
sprung  from  the  humblest  ranks  of  society,  and  elevated  himself  by  labor  and 
industry;  when  the  American  nation,  with  that  acumen  that  rarely  fails  an 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY         17 

intelligent  people  in  important  emergencies,  chose  him  as  a  guide  to  direct  it 
through  a  dangerous  situation,  where  a  formidable  insurrection  had  placed  it. 

You  all  know,  gentlemen,  what  difficulties  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  to  overcome. 
Confronted  by  a  portion  of  the  nation  that  rebelled  against  the  laws  they  them 
selves  had  made,  he  did  not  falter  once  in  his  patriotic  duty.  In  the  most 
perilous  circumstances,  in  face  of  all  kinds  of  dangers,  external  and  internal,  he 
was  always  calm,  and,  I  may  even  say,  benevolent  to  his  bitterest  enemies. 

After  gigantic  efforts,  after  a  struggle  of  four  years,  Mr.  LINCOLN  at  last 
reached  the  close  of  that  most  bloody  contest  on  American  soil,  and  the  greatest 
troubles  of  his  life  seemed  over.  He  had  already  expressed  the  sentiments  of 
conciliation  that  animated  him — it  was  in  his  last  message,  his  political  testa 
ment — when  the  assassin's  bullet  struck  him  in  the  back  of  the  head,  and  laid 
him  low. 

I  cannot  foretell  the  consequences  of  that  crime,  so  horrid  that  no  terms 
are  strong  enough  to  condemn  it ;  all  I  can  say  is,  that  the  parliament  of  a  free 
nation  like  Belgium  would  fail  in  its  duties  of  international  confraternity,  if  it 
did  not  express  its  feelings  of  horror  and  regret  at  a  crime  that  has  robbed  a 
great  and  generous  nation  of  its  eminent  Chief  Magistrate. 

In  expressing  these  sentiments  we  confirm  the  unanimous  wishes  that  the 
deplorable  loss  may  not  deprive  the  American  nation  of  that  calmness  which  is 
necessary  to  finish  the  great  work  of  conciliation  and  pacification  which  Mr. 
LINCOLN  has  so  nobly  begun.  I  am  done. 

Mr.  DE  HAERNE.  I  agree  with  my  honorable  colleague  in  the  sentiments  he 
has  expressed,  and  I  am  persuaded  that  the  feeling  of  horror  produced  by  this 
sad  news  from  America  is  felt  not  only  in  this  house,  but  in  every  quarter  of 
the  globe.  Yes,  gentlemen,  we;  feel  the  greatest  indignation  at  this  political 
crime  that  has  plunged  a  great  people  in  the  deepest  mourning,  but  has  not 
discouraged  it,  we  must  hope  ;  for  the  great  President  who  was  the  victim  of  the 
barbarous  and  cowardly  act  has  set  an  example  which  his  successors  should 
follow,  for  the  good  of  the  nation  they  represent  and  the  enlightenment  of  a 
free  people. 

The  dreadful  catastrophe  that  has  thrown  America  into  the  greatest  con 
sternation,  and  has  appalled  the  world,  contains  a  great  lesson  for  the  people, 
particularly  when  contrasted  with  the,  victories  that  had  rejoiced  the  American 
Union  only  a  few  days  before. 

On  Palm  Sunday  the  news  of  General  Lee's  capitulation  was  announced  in 
most  of  the  cities  of  the  United  States — on  that  day,  consecrated  to  the  Prince 
of  Peace,  as  an  American  paper  expresses  it ;  and  on  Good  Friday.  Mr.  LINCOLN 
and  Mr.  Seward  were  attacked  by  barbarous  assassins.  And  this  recalls  a 
profound  remark  of  the  august  and  holy  pontiff  Pius  IX,  who,  speaking  of  the 
many  vicissitudes  of  his  reign,  said,  "Truly  Good  Friday  is  very  near  to  Palm 
Sunday  !" 


18  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

The  people  of  the  Union,  who  were  identified  with  their  chief,  particularly 
after  the  last  presidential  election,  were  morally  immolated  with  him,  after 
enjoying  the  national  triumph,  to  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  added  glory  by  his 
moderation. 

The  nation  is  plunged  in  grief;  but  hope  will  resurrect  her  from  the 
gloom,  like  the  Prince  of  Peace  and  Glory.  This  grand  and  terrible  lesson  of 
misfortune  to  the  people  and  their  government  will  prove  a  valuable  instruction 
by  the  spirit  of  conciliation  bequeathed  them  by  their  worthy  President,  as  a 
mysterious  pledge  of  future  prosperity,  the  secret  of  which  is  hidden  in  their 
past  glory. 

If  there  is  a  nation  that  ought  to  sympathize  with  America  in  its  grief  on 
this  occasion,  that  nation  is  Belgium ;  for  we  are  the  only  nation  that  has 
remained  faithful  in  spirit  to  traditional  rights,  and  followed  America  from  the 
foundation  of  her  political  establishment  and  her  liberal  institutions.  Yes, 
gentlemen,  we  looked  upon  England,  on  the  one  hand,  as  worthy  of  imitation  in 
the  march  of  progress  in  the  path  of  true  and  practical  liberty  ;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  we  were  conscious  that  there  were  certain  customs  iti  the  institutions  of 
that  country  we  could  not  adopt,  and  we  cast  our  eyes  beyond  the  Atlantic, 
where  we  found  a  great  people  worthy  of  entire  imitation,  and  it  is  the  institu 
tions  of  that  people  we  have  chiefly  inscribed  upon  our  organic  charter.  \Ve 
have  followed  their  example  in  all  that  regards  public  liberty,  the  distribution 
of  power,  the  election  of  representatives  and  decentralization  of  rule.  For  that 
reason,  I  say  that  Belgium  ought  to  sympathize  with  America  by  expressions 
of  horror  and  indignation,  such  as  all  civilized  nations  feel,  and  protest  against 
the  act  of  barbarism  that  has  stained  the  soil  of  America  with  the  last  mournful 
trace  of  expiring  slavery,  which  has  now  vanished  before  the  vivifying  breath 
of  modern  civilization. 

The  sentiments  manifested  in  this  house  are  felt  throughout  all  Europe. 
England  has  protested  through  Parliament ;  France  has  spoken  by  the  mouth 
of  her  Emperor;  Prussia  by  her  legislative  assembly,  where  all  the  members 
arose  to  declare  that  the  infamy  of  the  horrid  act  deserved  the  condemnation  of 
all  civilized  nations.  We  must  also  do  homage  to  the  man  who  was  the  victim 

of  that  atrocious  crime,  to  the  man  who,  as  the  honorable  Mr.  De  Beaulieu  has 
truly  said,  sprung  from  the  people  to  adorn  a  nation,  and  like  certain  popes, 

come  from  the  lowest  ranks  of  society  to  be  the  greatest  honor  to  the  church. 
LINCOLN  was  a  self-made  man  ;  he  drank  from  the  spring  of  liberty  ;  he  was 

guided  by  the  light  of  a  democratic-  nation,  and  merit  elevated  him  to  the 

highest  dignities  of  the  country. 

He  has  set  a  worthy  example,  which  his  successor  ought  to  follow,  relying 

on  the  support  ofpublic  opinion,  which  should  be  his  constant  guide,  never  to 

be  abandoned  or  opposed. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.         19 

That,  gentlemen,  should  be  his  greatest  honor,  which,  united  with  his 
firmness  and  wise  impartiality,  will  mark  him  a  place  in  history. 

In  joining  other  civilized  nations  in  our  protest  against  this  political  crime 
we  do  a  good  deed  ;  by  our  participation  in  the  sentiment  of  universal  indigna 
tion,  we  help  to  arrest  the  contagion  of  an  abominable  example  that  might 
attack  other  nations. 

By  outlawing  monsters  guilty  of  such  crimes,  we  terrify  those  who  might 
be  tempted  to  commit  them. 

Mr.  ROGIER,  minister  of  foreign  affairs.  It  is  useless  for  me  to  say,  gentle 
men,  that  the  government  participates  in  the  sentiments  so  eloquently  expressed 
by  the  two  honorable  members  of  this  assembly  entertaining  different  political 
opinions.  Our  government  sympathizes  with  the  bereaved  nation,  and  has 
transmitted  the  expression  of  its  sorrow  to  the  government  of  the  United  States 
and  their  honorable  representative  in  Brussels. 

The  motion  just  made  is  new  to  Belgium  ;  but  it  has  been  made  elsewhere, 
and  the  importance  of  the  event  justifies  it.  I  consider  the  sympathy  expressed 
in  the  speeches  of  the  honorable  Mr.  l)e  Beaulieu  and  Mr.  1'Abbe  De  Hearne 
as  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  house ;  and  thus  the  legislative  assembly  joins 
the  government  in  the  regrets  felt  and  expressed  on  the  occasion  of  a  crime  that 
has  filled  Belgium  and  the  rest  of  the  world  with  dismay. 

We  must  also  express  our  wishes  for  the  recovery  of  the  eminent  statesman 
who  was  attacked  at  the  same  time  with  the  venerable  President  of  the  republic. 
His  life  must  be  preserved  to  insure  the  final  pacification  of  a  splendid  country, 
too  long  desolated  by  the  calamities  of  a  war  afflicting  to  all  friends  of  true 
liberty. 

May  that  great  statesman,  now  burdened  with  a  heavy  duty,  persevere  in 
the  sentiments  of  moderation  he  has  always  shown  through  the  excitement  of 
the  great  struggle,  and  may  we  soon  hear  of  the  restoration  of  his  health,  and 
the  return  of  peace  between  the  factions  of  a  great  people  whom  we  admire, 
who  have  always  had  our  sympathies,  and  who  will  soon  resume  their  exalted 
station  in  the  world. 

THE  PRESIDENT  OP  THE  HOUSE.  Gentlemen,  as  no  objection  is  offered,  it  is 
now  decided  that  this  house  is  unanimous  in  its  approval  of  the  sentiments  just 
expressed  by  the  two  honorable  members  whose  speeches  you  have  just  heard. 


[Translation.  ] 

(Note  from  the  Moniteur  of  the  30^  April,  1865J 

The  King  Ordered  one  of  his  aides-de-camp  to  go  to  Mr.  Sanford's  and 
express  to  him  the  sorrow  his  Majesty  felt  at  the  news  of  the  attacks  on  the 
President  and  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


20  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

His  highness  the  Count  of  Flanders  also  sent  one  of  his  aids  to  the  minister, 
on  the  same  mission. 

The  minister  of  foreign  affairs  and  other  members  of  the  cabinet,  on  their 
part,  hastened  to  call  on  Mr.  Sanford,  and  instructions  were  sent  to  the  Belgian 
legation  in  Washington  to  express  to  the  American  government  the  sentiments 
of  regret  and  condemnation  excited  by  such  odious  acts. 

In  the  house,  session  of  yesterday,  Mr.  Hardy  De  Beaulieu  spoke  in  the 
most  moving  terms  of  the  emotions  produced  in  Belgium  by  the  news  of  the 
tragic  event  which  has  just  occurred  in  the  United  States.  He  called  general 
attention  to  all  the  eminent  virtues  of  President  LINCOLN. 

Mr.  De  Haerne  joined  Mr.  De  Beaulieu  in  a  eulogy  of  much  beauty  upon 
the  character  of  the  late  lamented  President. 

The  minister  of  foreign  affairs  added,  that  the  government  sympathized 
sincerely  in  the  sentiments  just  expressed  by  the  honorable  members,  and  that 
he  had  already  despatched  a  communication  of  that  effect  to  the  government 
of  tlic  United  States,  and  to  their  honorable  representative  in  Brussels.  He 
expressed  the  most  fervent  wishes  lor  the  recovery  of  the  distinguished  states 
man,  Mr.  Sevvard,  whose  life  was  necessary  to  the  linal  pacification  of  a  country 
that  had  been  so  long  ravaged  by  the  desolation  of  war,  and  the  prosperity  of 
which  was  greatly  desired  by  all  friends  of  liberty. 


Mr.  Sanford  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  257.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Brussels,  April  28,  1865. 

Siu:  The  tragic  tidings  from  Washington  of  the  assassination  of  the 
President  and  murderous  assault  upon  the  Secretary  of  State  has  caused  a  deep 
impression  here  of  horror  and  indignation  at  the  cowardice  arid  cruelty  of  the 
confederate  plotters. 

Following  so  rapidly  upon  the  excitement  created  by  our  late  victories,  and 
the  public  demonstrations  on  account  of  them,  the  announcement  has  aroused 
unusual  agitation  in  this  city  and  through  the  country.  The  King  from  his 
sick-bed  sent  to  me  one  of  his  aides-de-camp,  Major  General  Bormann,  to 
express  in  his  name  his  deep  feeling  at  this  tragic  event,  and  for  the  great 
loss  we  have  sustained. 

The  minister  of  foreign  affairs  and  the  other  members  of  the  cabinet,  the 
president  of  the  house  of  representatives,  the  high  dignitaries  of  the  court,  and 
most  of  the  foreign  legations,  and  a  very  large  number  of  persons  of  every  rank 
and  station,  have  come  personally  to  offer  their  condolence  and  to  express  their 
horror  at  this  crowning  atrocity  of  the  rebellion. 

M.  Rogier  informed  me  he  had  sent  a  despatch  to  the  Belgian  charge" 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        21 

d'affaires  at  Washington,  to  offer  directly  to  the  government  the  expression  of 
their  sympathy  at  the  sad  event. 

Immediately  on  receipt  of  Mr.  Adams's  telegram,  I  addressed  a  circular  to 
our  consuls. 

The  shock  caused  by  this  news  is  too  great  to  permit  me  to  appreciate 
calmly  its  influence  on  public  sentiment  touching  our  affairs  abroad.  It  cannot 
fail,  I  think,  to  cause  a  far-reaching  reaction  in  the  sympathies  heretofore  enter 
tained  by  the  so-called  "better  classes"  in  Europe  for  the  rebels  and  their  cause, 
and  to  stimulate,  on  the  other  band,  a  more  friendly  feeling  toward  us  and  the 
cause  of  the  Union. 

The  fact  that  the  confederate  loan  at  the  London  exchange  yesterday  rose 
three  per  cent,  upon  the  news,  is  a  significant  indication  of  the  effect  which  the 
instigators  of  this  dreadful  crime  imagined  it  would  have  upon  their  cause. 

The  calm  transition  of  the  executive  power  to  other  hands,  at  Washing 
ton,  contrasted  with  what  would  be  likely  to  occur  on  a  similar  occasion  in  most 
European  states,  cannot  but  help  to  strengthen  the  conviction,  already  becoming 
general  by  the  influence  of  the  success  which  has  crowned  this  trial,  under  the 
strain  of  the  rebellion,  of  the  power,  fitness,  and  durability  of  our  system  of 
government. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

H.  S.  SANFORD. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Mr.  Sat/ford  to  Mr.  Seward. 

[Extract.") 

No.  2(51.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Brussels,  April  30,  1865. 

SIR:  His  royal  highness  the  Count  de  Flanders  sent  to  me  yesterday 
one  of  his  officers  of  "ordnance"  to  express  in  his  name  his  condolence  on  the 
untimely  death  of  the  President. 

I  also  received  in  the  afternoon  a  private  note  from  M.  Rogier,  expressive 
of  his  sentiments,  of  which,  as  he  refers  to  it  in  public  debate,  I  venture  to 
enclose  a  copy,  "A."  I  replied  to  it  by  a  few  lines  of  thanks. 

In  the  house  of  representatives  this  afternoon,  M.  Hardy  De  Beaulieu,  a 
member  of  the  extreme  left,  moved,  in  accordance  with  previous  notice,  for  an 
expression  of  feeling  at  the  late  tragic  events  at  Washington.  He  was  followed 
and  warmly  seconded  by  the  late  Canon  De  Hearne,  of  the  "conservative"  party, 
who  is  the  author  of  a  widely  disseminated  pamphlet  on  our  war,  and  is  an 
ardent  friend  of  the  cause  of  the  Union,  and  by  M.  Rogier,  who  announced  that 


22  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

lie  adopted  on  the  part  of  the  government  the  views  just  expressed,  and  that 
he  hoped  the  house  would  join  in  the  expression  of  his  desire  for  the  recovery 
of  the  eminent  statesman,  Mr.  Seward,  to  whose  existence  was  attached,  in  so 
great  a  degree,  the  definitive  pacification  of  the  country,  for  too  long  a  time 
desolated  by  war;  and  after  rendering  homage  to  the  moderation  which  he  had 
displayed,  the  minister  expressed  the  hope  "that  they  might  one  day  rejoice 
over  the  restoration  of  his  health,  at  the  same  time  with  the  re-establishment  of 
peace  between  the  factions  of  a  great  people  whom  they  admired,  and  which 
has  always  had  their  sympathies,  and  which  he  hoped  would  take  again  in  the 
world  the  great  part  which  is  assigned  to  it." 

All  which,  interrupted  by  frequent  marks  of  approval  by  the  members, 

was  declared  by  the  president  to  be  the  unanimous  sentiment  of  the  house. 

********** 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

II.  S.  SANFORD. 
lion.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  §c.,  §c.,  §c. 


[Translation.] 

GHENT,  May  20,  1865. 

Mr.  MINISTER  :  The  Septentrion  Masonic  Lodge  of  Ghent  could  not  remain 
indifferent  in  presence  of  the  crime  which  has  spread  consternation  through  the 
civilized  world.  During  the  strife,  our  sympathies  and  our  prayers  accompanied 
the  heroic  efforts  and  unshakable  perseverance  of  the  defenders  of  justice  and 
humanity.  We  are  associated  with  the  triumphs  of  the  Americans  of  the 
northern  States,  whose  noble  persistence  has  saved  the  federal  Union  from  a 
fearful  disruption,  and  caused  to  issue  from  the  social  tempest  a  new  corrobora- 
tion  of  the  indissoluble  powrer  of  the  United  States;  and  inasmuch  as  the  news 
of  the  monstrous  crime,  which  has  brought  mourning  into  the  midst  of  joy,  has 
reached  us,  we  feel  stricken  as  yourselves  ;  for  LINCOLN  personified  the  cause 
of  liberty  and  human  fraternity,  and  this  cause,  which  unites  nations  in  a 
common  aspiration,  honors  and  mourns  in  him  one  of  its  most  illustrious 
martyrs. 

The  Septentrion  Lodge  at  its  solemn  meeting  on  the  16th  of  this  month 
unanimously  decided  to  address  through  you  a  tribute  of  regret  and  of  sympathy 
to  the  republic  of  the  United  States. 

Receive,  Mr.  Minister,  the  assurance  of  our  sentiments  of  high  consideration. 

R.  MADRENNIGER,  President. 
ALPH.  BUISMAN,  Secretary. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE    AND    SYMPATHY.  23 


BAYARIA. 


Mr.  Hagedorn  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

BAVARIAN  CONSULATE, 

Philadelphia,  May,  1 865. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  the  very  eloquent  instructions  sent  me 
by  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs  at  Munich,  with  a  translation  attached  to  it, 
dated  Munich,  April  29,  1865,  (which  translation  fidls  short  of  the  original  in 
regard  to  beauty  and  feeling  expressed  in  the  original,)  in  which  his  excellency 
Baron  Von  der  Pfordten  directs  me,  in  the  name  of  his  Majesty,  Louis  the 
Second  of  Bavaria,  whom  I  have  the  honor  to  represent  in  this  country,  to 
express  to  your  excellency,  and  through  you  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  the  regret  and  deepfelt  sympathy  of  the  King  and  of  the  people  of 
Bavaria,  which  the  news  of  this  most  cruel  and  dastardly  murder  of  the  late 
President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  has  spread  over  all  Germany.  Being  physically 
unable  to  hand  this  in  person  to  his  Excellency  Andrew  Johnson,  I  beg  of  you 
to  do  so,  and  to  add  that  I  hope  and  trust  that  this  cruel  and  most  grievous 
trial  may  not  delay  the  onward  progress  of  the  American  nation,  so  nobly  and 
victoriously  commenced  by  the  noble  martyr,  President  LINCOLN. 

Receive,  sir,  the  assurance  of  my  very  distinguished  consideration. 
Your  very  obedient  servant, 

C.  F.  HAGEDORN, 

Consul  General  of  Bavaria. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 


BAVARIAN  CONSULATE, 

Philadelphia,  May  19,  1865. 

SIR  :  1  have  been  directed  by  his  Majesty  the  King  of  Bavaria,  whom  I 
have  the  honor  of  representing,  through  his  minister,  to  express  to  your  excel 
lency  the  sympathy  and  regret  which  his  Majesty  and  the  Bavarian  nation  in 
general  feel  at  the  unforeseen  calamity  which  has  befallen  this  country,  in  the 
assassination  of  the  beloved  President  of  -the  United  States  of  America,  at  a 
moment  when  the  success  of  the  arms  of  the  Union  and  the  prospect  of  an 
early  peace  had  filled  every  heart  with  joy. 

At  the  same  time  I  have  the  honor  of  transmitting  to  your  excellency  the 
letter  of  condolence  addressed  to  me  by  the  prime  minister,  by  order  of  his 
Majesty  the  King  of  Bavaria. 


24  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Having  resided  for  more  than  forty  years  in  this  country,  having  witnessed 
its  growth  and  prosperity  during  that  period  of  time,  my  feelings  have  become 
'  identified  with  the  same,  and  I  cannot  allow  this  opportunity  to  pass  by  without 
expressing  my  personal  regret  and  deep  feelings  of  sorrow;  at  the  bereavement 
under  which  this  country  is  at  present  suffering.  At  the  same  time  I  pray  that, 
under  your  Excellency's  wise  administration,  the  work  which  your  late  lamented 
predecessor  has  so  nobly  and  successfully  commenced  will  be  fully  accomplished, 
and  that  unity  and  peace  may  again  bless  the  whole  of  this  once  happy  land. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  Excellency's 
most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

C.  F.  HAGEDORN 

Consul  General  of  Bavaria,. 
His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON. 

Presukiit  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


[Translation.] 

MUNICH,  April  29,  1865. 

ESTEEMED  SIR  :  By  order  of  his  Majesty  the  King,  I  beg  leave  to  send 
you  the  following  communication  : 

The  dreadful,  accursed  deed,  the  news  of  which  came  to  Europe  across  the 
ocean  but  a  few  days  ago,  has  also  filled  with  deep  abhorrence  the  land  of 
Bavaria. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
has  fallen  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin  at  the  moment  when  he  was  on  the  point 
of  terminating  a  bloody  civil  war — a  struggle  in  which  he  had  upheld  the  banner 
of  the  Union  against  secession  with  undaunted  courage  for  the  period  of  four 
years. 

It  is  true  that  the  quiet  transition  of  the  highest  political  power  in  that 
immense  empire  is  a  guarantee  that  by  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  the 
grand  victorious  success  which  crowned  his  persevering  efforts  will  not  be 
jeoparded.  By  firmness  and  moderation  the  new  President  of  the  United 
States  will  be  no  less  successful  in  soothing  the  irritated  passions  and  reconcil 
ing  and  reuniting  the  different  parties.  But  this  fortunate  circumstance  does 
in  no  way  lessen  the  just  and  deep  feeling  among  all  classes  of  people  which  is 
called  forth  by  the  tragic  end  of  this  celebrated  statesman,  and  I  hereby  request 
you,  as  consul  general,  to  tender  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  the 
expression  of  heartfelt  sympathy  and  sorrow  which  we,  and  particularly  out 
most  gracious  lord  the  King,  feel  at  the  death  of  their  President,  wishing,  at 
the  same  time,  that  the  noble  work  of  renewed  unity  and  restored  peace  may 
soon  be  accomplished,  as  much  for  the  welfare  of  the  United  States  of  North 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.         25 

America  as  for  that  of  all  the  countries  which  entertain  peaceful  relations  with 
the  same. 

Please  to    accept   also,  on    the    present  occasion,  the    assurance    of  my 
respect. 

VON  DER  PFORDTEN. 
C.  F.  HAGEDORN,  Esq., 

Consul  General  at  Philadelphia. 


BRUNSWICK. 


NEW  YORK,  June  5,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  undersigned,  consul  general  of  the  government  of  his  serene 
highness  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  has  been  specially  instructed  to  convey  to 
you  the  sentiments  aroused  in  the  minds  of  the  authorities,  and  of  all  classes  of 
the  people  of  the  duchy,  by  the  atrocious  murder  of  your  illustrious  prede 
cessor,  the  lamented  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  by  the  deep  loss  thus  entailed  upon 
the  United  States.  The  inestimable  qualities  uniting  in  the  character  of  the 
deceased — his  pervading  humanity  and  his  lofty  sense  of  right — the  indomita 
ble  energy  with  which  he  sustained  all  the  vicissitudes  of  a  sanguinary  civil  war, 
outlived  all  sacrifices,  and  eventually  triumphed  over  all  obstacles  in  the  restora 
tion  of  the  blessings  of  civil  order  to  his  distracted  country,  as  well  as  the  mild 
and  conciliatory  disposition  so  nobly  manifested  at  the  approaching  close  of  the 
struggle,  have  gained  him  the  warm  regard  and  esteem  of  the  civilized  world, 
and  will  embalm  his  memory  in  the  affectionate  reverence  of  coming  gene 
rations. 

May  the  peace  now  vouchsafed  to  your  republic  be  as  lasting,  and  the 
prosperity  which  now  dawns  upon  its  future  as  unbroken,  as  even  the  great 
heart  of  the  departed  patriot  could  have  desired. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  most  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

G.  J.  BECHTEL. 

ANDREW  JOHNSON. 

President  of  the  United  States. 


ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


DUCHY  OF  BADEN. 


Mr  Schmidt  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

CONSULATE  GENERAL  OF  BADEN, 

New  York,  May  23,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  herewith  transmit  to  you  a  translated  copy  of  a 
letter  received  by  me  from  the  Baron  Von  Roggenbach,  minister  of  foreign 
alfairs  of  his  royal-highness  the  Grand  Duke  of  Baden,  expressing  the  feelings 
of  his  royal  highness  and  the  people  of  Baden  at  the  assassination  of  the  late 
President  of  the  United  States. 

Requesting  you  to  lay  the  same  before  his  Excellency  the  President,  I 
have  the  honor  to  remain, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

LEOPOLD  SCHMIDT, 
Vice-Consul  and  Acting  Consul  (j-eneral 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


[Translation.] 

CARLSRUIIE,  April  28,  1865. 

HIGHLY  HONORED  SIR  :  The  atrocious  deed  which,  at  the  most  critical 
turning-point  in  the  destinies  of  the  United  States,  has  deprived  them  of  the 
steadfast,  and  glorious  guidance  of  the  great  citizen  who,  with  firm  hand,  had 
led  the  gigantic  contest  of  the  past  four  years  to  a  victorious  end,  has  called 
forth  universal  indignation  equally  felt  by  all  classes  throughout  Germany. 

What  people,  indeed,  could  more  deeply  and  painfully  sympathize  with  the 
loss  sustained  by  the  American  commonwealth  than  the  German  people,  who 
have  watched  every  turn  in  the  contest  now  so  gloriously  ended  by  the  triumph 
of  the  Union  arms,  with  an  interest  as  though  the  issue  were  their  own.  Above 
all,  however,  all  free  hearts  and  all  minds  solicitous  for  the  future  of  our  civiliza 
tion,  followed  with  ever-increasing  sympathy  the  constant  and  never-failing 
courage  of  the  man  who  continued  the  same,  unchanged  in  good  as  in  evil 
days,  and  whose  name  will  ever  be  inseparably  linked  in  history  with  the 
merit  of  the  final  successful  issue.  He  it  was  who  valued  the  true  friendship 
of  the  German  people  as  highly  as  the  more  enlightened  among  ourselves  are 
accustomed  to  value  that  of  the  American  people. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        27 

His  royal  highness  the  grand  duke,  has  shared  these  feelings  to  the  full, 
and  the  grand  ducal  government  but  fulfils  a  duty  imposed  by  the  universal 
desire  of  the  hearts  of  all  in  desiring  to  make  known  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States  that  in  this  its  hour  of  trial  all  our  wishes  have  been  alive  for 
the  welfare  and  unshaken  prosperity  of  the  mighty  and  free  commonwealth  to 
which  we  are  united  by  so  many  ties — above  all,  by  that  of  a  common  aim, 
the  advancement  of  civilization,  which  this  war  has  furthered,  and  to  which 
President  LINCOLN  devoted  his  powers  to  the  very  last. 

I  charge  you  to  communicate  to  the  Acting  Secretary  of  State  these 
sentiments  of  the  grand  ducal  government  in  such  manner  as  you  may  deem 
proper. 

With  distinguished  consideration, 

ROGGENBACH. 


[Translation.] 

CARLSRUHK,  April  30,  1865. 

Mr.  EDITOR  :  We  send  you  our  most  hearty  thanks  for  giving  us  Swiss 
people  the  opportunity  of  expressing  our  sympathy  for  the  victory  of  the 
American  Union. 

We,  the  undersigned,  Swiss  polytechnists,  residing  in  Carlsruhe,  have 
watched  the  course  of  American  affairs  with  intense  interest,  believing  that 
the  republic  beyond  the  ocean  was  undergoing  a  trial  by  fire,  not  only  for  the 
principles  of  civilization,  but  for  the  good  of  the  American  States  and  of  the  whole 
world. 

The  news  of  the  late  Union  victories  gave  us  great  pleasure,  as  that  of  the 
death  of  your  first  and  greatest  citizen  caused  us  extreme  sorrow. 

The  address  and  supplement,  in  Nos.  115  and  116  of  the  Bund,  expresses 
our  exact  sentiments,  and  we  hereby  request  you  to  add  our  names  to  it,  with 
our  most  cordial  approbation. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

J.  GLAUSEK,  of  Berne. 
H.  HANHART,  •»/•  Winterthur. 
E.  BRUNNEN,  of  Kwnach. 
CARL  MULLER,  of  Zurich. 
EUGENE  SCHMIDT,  of  Lausanne. 
The  EDITOR  of  the  Bund.  Berne,  Switzerland. 


28  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation — in  substance.  ] 

KAPPEL  RHEIN,  May  1,  1865. 

To  the  President  of  tlie  United  States : 

The  Turners'   Society,  of  Kappel  Rhein,  in  the  grand  duchy  of  Baden, 
express  their  sorrow  and  horror  at  the  murder  of  President  LINCOLN — refer  to 
his  exalted  character  as  conservator  of  the  Union,  and  asserter  of  the   equal 
rights  of  man  by  doing  away  with  slavery 
In  the  Turners'  Society  : 

BERTHOLD  RICHTER,  Leader. 

FRANZ  RICHTER. 

ADAM  LOSSEL. 

AUGUST  LOSSEL. 

SANDELIN  ARMBRASTER. 

MELCHIOR  BAUMANN. 

F.  HENNISGAR. 


BRAZIL. 

[Translation.] 

MINISTRY  OF  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 

Rio  de  Janeiro,  May  19,  1865. 

At  the  conference  I  had  yesterday  with  J.  Watson  Webb,  envoy  extraordi 
nary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  from  the  United  States  of  America,  I  mani 
fested  to  him  the  great  sorrow  caused  by  the  information  of  the  dreadful  crime 
perpetrated  in  Washington,  on  the  14th  of  last  month,  on  the  person  of  his 
Excellency  the  Honorable  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States. 

It  is  my  painful  duty  now  to  tender  to  General  Webb,  in  the  name  of  the 
government  of  his  Imperial  Majesty,  the  expressions  of  the  feelings  with  which 
it  finds  itself  overwhelmed.  The  imperial  government,  with  the  highest  se 
verity,  condemns  an  act  so  criminal  as  the  one  which  has  for  its  victim  the 
Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Union ;  and  it  comprehends  the  infinite  pain  thus  in 
flicted  upon  American  citizens,  with  whom  ours  so  sincerely  sympathize,  in 
consequence  of  the  close  relations  of  the  two  countries. 

With  the  hope  that  General  Webb  will  be  pleased  to  convey  this  sincere 
manifestation  to  the  knowledge  of  his  government,  I  have  the  honor  to  reiterate 
the  assurances  of  my  perfect  esteem  and  distinct  consideration. 

JOSE  ANTONIO  SARAIVA. 
J.  WATSON  WEBB,  Esq.,  Minister  of  the  United  States. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  29 

[Translation.] 

IMPERIAL  LEGATION  OF  BRAZIL, 

Washington,  July  19,  1865. 

The  undersigned,  charge  d'affaires  ad  interim  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor, 
has  the  honor  to  communicate  to  the  honorable  William  II.  Seward,  the  Secre 
tary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  that  the  chambers  of  senators  and  deputies 
of  Brazil,  uniting  in  the  manifestation  of  sympathy  which  has  been  caused  in 
the  empire  by  the  loss  which  the  American  Union  has  suffered  in  the  person 
of  the  illustrious  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN — above  all,  for  the  atrocious 
manner  in  which  his  existence  was  terminated,  have  resolved  to  cause  the 
unanimous  expression  of  their  sorrow  to  be  presented  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  and  have  recurred  for  that  purpose  to  the  government  of  his 
Majesty  the  Emperor. 

The  imperial  government,  in  obedience  to  the  commission  thus  received 
Irom  both  of  the  branches  of  the  legislative  power,  has  ordered  the  undersigned 
to  transmit  to  the  honorable  William  II.  Seward  that  manifestation  of  sympa 
thy,  requesting  him  to  be  pleased  to  bring  it  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Congress. 

While  complying  with  the  orders  of  the  imperial  government,  the  under 
signed  avails  himself  of  the  occasion  to  reiterate  to  the  honorable  William  H. 
Seward  the  assurances  of  his  highest  esteem  and  consideration. 

IGNACIO  DE  AVELLAR  BARBOZA  DA  SILVA. 

lion.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD,  §c.,  ffc.,  fy. 


Tlie  Marquis  d'  Abrantes  to  General  Webb. 

[Translation.] 

BOTAFOGO,  May  21,  1865. 

MY  DEAR  GENERAL:  Allow  me  to  fulfil  the  painful  duty  to  manifest  to  you 
my  deep  personal  sorrow  on  the  deplorable  event  which  has  deprived  your 
country  of  her  so  highly  distinguished  President,  Mr.  LINCOLN. 

But  it  may  be  said  that  the  horrible  act  which  has  brought  to  a  close  his 
existence  has  heightened  him  still  more  in  the  esteem  of  the  thankful  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  and  insures  him  a  still  more  renowned  name  in  history. 

In  wishing  to  your  great,  and  fair  country  every  prosperity,  I  remain,  with 
the  most  perfect  esteem  and  consideration,  my  dear  general,  your  friend, 

ABRANTES. 

J.  WATSON  WEBB,  Esq.,  Minister  of  the  United  States. 


30  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Mr.  Webb  to  Mr.  Seward. 

[Extract.] 

No.  118.1  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Rio  de  Janeiro,  May  23,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  no  heart  to  dwell  upon  the  horrible  and  distressing  news 
brought  by  an  arrival  from  the  West  Indies  and  confirmed  on  the  following 
day  by  telegraphic  despatches  received  at  Lisbon  on  the  29th  of  April,  and 
which  were  brought  to  this  city  by  the  French  steamer  from  Bordeaux  on  the 
24th. 

1  was  at  Petropolis.  The  Emperor  kindly  telegraphed  the  distressing 
intelligence  to  the  Duke  of  Saxe,  who  at  once  sent  his  secretary  and  principal 
chamberlain  to  impart  it  to  me,  and  on  the  following  morning  I  came  to  town. 

I  will  not  attempt  any  description  of  the  universal  horror  and  dismay 
which  this  melancholy  news  caused  among  all  classes  in  this  city. 

Every  member  of  the  diplomatic  corps  has  made  a  visit  of  condolence, 
and  the  ministers  of  Peru  and  the  Argentine  republic  have  addressed  to  me 
letters  expressive  of  their  sorrow  and  sympathy. 

I  have  received  a  very  friendly  letter  from  the  government,  to  which  I 
shall  reply  to-day,  and  forward  by  the  next  steamer.  Also  a  letter  of  a  similar 
character  from  the  Marquis  d'Abrantes,  late  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  whose 
friendship  for  our  country  and  personal  feelings  towards  myself  are  known  to 
the  department. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Simonton,  a  missionary  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the 
United  States,  preached,  at  my  request,  on  Sunday,  the  21st,  an  appropriate 
sermon,  and  nearly  every  United  States  citizen  resident  in  Rio,  except  a  few 
well-known  traitors,  were  present.  At  the  close  of  the  services,  Mr.  Simonton 
announced  that  the  government  officials  would  wear  crape  on  the  left  arm  for 
the  space  of  thirty  days,  and  that  all  our  citizens  were  requested  to  do  the  same. 
Also,  that  the  legation  and  consulate  flags  would  be  at  half-mast  during  the  same 
period;  and  that  American  vessels  in  port  during  the  next  thirty  days  would  be 
expected  to  exhibit  the  same  manifestation  of  mourning. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  WATSON  WEBB. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation.] 

Rio  DE  JANEIRO,  Ma//  18,  1865. 

The  Peruvian  minister  at  Brazil  has  the  honor  to  address  himself  to  his 
excellency  General  Webb,  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States,  ,in 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        31 

order  to  express  to  him  the  great  sorrow  with  which  he  hits  received  the  news 
of  the  tragic  death  of  the  very  excellent  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  that  powerful 
nation's  President. 

Wounded  to  death  by  a  fanatic's  weapon,  when  he  finished  to  surround 
himself  with  the  purest  glory,  at  a  final  victory  of  the  redemption  war  which  he 
conducted  as  far  as  his  arm  reached,  the  pain  of  his  martyrdom,  the  feeling  of 
his  loss,  and  the  mourning  of  the  North  American  people  will  reach  every  Chris 
tian  soul,  every  freeman,  every  civilized  people,  and  especially  the  Peruvians 
and  their  government,  who,  closely  connected  with  the  Union's  people  and  their 
government,  and  sympathizing  with  that  great  upholder  of  human  dignity,  will 
lament  his  death  more  perhaps  than  they  applauded  his  victories. 

The  undersigned  is  persuaded  that  in  expressing  these  feelings  to  his  excel 
lency  General  Webb  he  is  a  faithful  translator  6f  those  of  the  nation  and  gov 
ernment  represented  by  him,  and  he  begs  his  excellency  to  accept  them  at  the 
same  time  with  his  protest  of  his  high  esteem  and  especial  consideration. 

13.  SEVAN  Iv 

J.  WATSON  WEBB,  Esq., 

Minister  of  the  United  State*. 


[Translation."] 

Rio  DE  JANEIRO,  May  18.  1865. 

The  undersigned,  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the 
Argentine  republic,  hastens  to  present  to  his  excellency  General  Webb,  envoy 
extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  of  America,  the 
testimony  of  his  profound  grief  caused  by  the  sad  incident  that  has  put  all  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  in  deep  mourning — the  undersigned  being  on  this 
occasion,  in  the  feelings  that  he  transmits  to  his  excellency,  the  true  exponent 
of  the  sincere  sorrow  that  will  be  felt  by  the  Argentine  people  and  government 
when  they  hear  of  the  unfortunate  event  which  happened  on  the  14th  of  April 
in  the  country  of  their  greatest  sympathies. 

The  Divine  Providence  which  has  protected  the  destiny  of  the  United 
States  in  this  the  most  trying  epoch  of  its  history  will  know  how  to  make  of 
his  martyrdom  a  new  encouragement  for  the  faith  and  heroism  of  the  American 
citizens  in  the  holy  war  in  which  they  defend,  along  with  the  institutions  of 
their  country,  the  highest  principles  of  human  dignity. 

The  funeral  of  that  great  citizen  will  be  morally  accompanied  by  all  the  free 
countries  of  the  universe.  And  be  it  allowed  to  the  undersigned  to  assure  his 
excellency  General  Webb  that  no  country  will  more  sincerely  and  spontaneously 
regret  this  event  than  the  citizens  of  the  Argentine  republic.  And  again  pre- 


32  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

senting  his  excellency  the  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  the  expression 
of  his  profound  sorrow,  the  undersigned  begs,  at  the  same  time,  your  excellency 
to  accept  the  expressions  of  his  highest  esteem. 

J.  MARMOL. 
J.  WATSON  WEBB,  Esq., 

Minister  of  the  United  States. 


BOLIVIA. 


Mr.  Hall  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

No.  41.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Cochabamba,  Bolivia,  June  24,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  circular,  No.  29,  apprising  me  of 
the  horrible  assassination  of  the  late  President  LINCOLN.  The  news  of  that 
deplorable  event  was  received  here  a  fortnight  ago,  through  the  Panama  papers, 
and  produced  a  sensation  of  universal  and  deep  regret.  From  the  inhabitants 
of  this  city  I  have  received  many  expressions  of  sympathy  and  condolence. 
The  instructions  accompanying  the  circular,  "that  all  officers  and  others  subject 
to  the  orders  of  the  Secretary  of  State  wear  crape  upon  the  left  arm  for  the 
period  of  six  months,"  will  be  carefully  regarded  by  me. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

ALLEN  A.  HALL. 
Hon.  W.  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


CHILI. 


[Translation.] 

DEPARTMENT  OF  FOREIGN  RELATIONS, 

Republic  of  Chili,  Santiago,  May  30,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  government  of  the  republic  has  been  penetrated  by  grief  as  sincere 
as  profound  in  receiving  the  melancholy  intelligence  of  the  crime  which  has  just 
snatched  from  the  United  States  their  Chief  Magistrate  and  one  of  their  most 
illustrious  sons. 

This  sad  occurrence  is  a  just  motive  of  grief,  not  only  for  the  country  which 
that,  eminent  citizen  governed  liberally  and  wisely,  but  also  for  all  those  nations 
which,  like  Chili,  accompanied  him  with  their  prayers  and  sympathies  in  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.         33 

cause  of  liberty  and  civilization,  which  he  has  not  expired  without  leaving 
triumphant,  and  which  he  sustained  for  more  than  four  years  with  incomparable 
wisdom  and  perseverance. 

President  LINCOLN  is  no  more ;  but  the  beneficent  results  of  the  victory 
obtained  under  his  glorious  government  will  be  sufficiently  imperishable  to 
immortalize  his  name  Beautiful  privilege  of  free  nations,  whose  works  are  not 
chained  to  the  life  of  one  man,  be  he  ever  so  great ! 

As  a  free  and  republican  people,  as  a  sincere  friend  of  the  United  States 
Chili  has  a  double  right  to  consider  as  her  own,  and  to  fraternally  share,  the 
grief  which  bows  down  the  generous  nation  of  which  your  excellency  is  the 
worthy  representative. 

My  government  believes  itself  the  faithful  interpreter  of  the  sentiments  of 
the  country  in  expressing  its  own,  and  in  offering,  through  the  medium  of  your 
excellency,  to  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  its  most  profound 
sympathy  and  sorrow  for  the  grave  calamity  with  which  God,  in  his  inscrutable 
designs,  has  permitted  the  resignation  and  energy  of  that  great  republic  to  be 
put  to  proof. 

As  fur  as  regards  myself  personally,  I  sympathize  with  my  heart  with  the 
grief  which  oppresses  the  mind  of  your  excellency,  and  avail  myself  of  this  sad 
opportunity  to  reiterate  to  you  the  testimony  of  my  most  distinguished  consid 
eration  and  regard. 

Your  excellency's  most  obedient  servant, 

ALVARO  COVARKUBIAS. 

The  ENVOY  EXTRAORDINARY  AND  MINISTER  PLENIPOTENTIARY 

of  the  United  States  of  North  America. 


His  Excellency  Jose  Joaquin  Perez,  President  of  the  republic  of  Chili,  in 
his  annual  message  to  the  congress  of  18G5,  thus  alludes  to  the  assassination  of 
Mr.  LINCOLN  : 

[Translation.] 

"Nor  have  we  been  indifferent  to  the  mourning  in  which  the  United  States 
of  America  have  been  plunged  by  the  death  of  their  illustrious  ruler,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN.  This  melancholy  event  has  awakened  throughout  the  country  and  in 
the  government  manifestations  of  grief  and  sympathy  as  just  as  sincere." 


34  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

LEGATION  OF  CHILI  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 

Washington,  April  15,  18G5. 

Mr.  SECRETARY  :  I  have  been  honored  with  the  reception  of  your  note  of 
to-day,  informing  me  of  the  treacherous  assassination  perpetrated  last  night  upon 
the  person  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the 
no  less  horrid  attempt  on  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  and  Mr. 
F.  W.  Seward,  Assistant  Secretary,  who  were  dangerously  wounded.  You  also 
inform  me  that  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson,  the  Vice-President,  assumes  the  exercise 
of  the  functions  of  President  from  this  date,  in  conformity  with  the  provisions 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  country,  and  authorizes  you  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
Secretary  of  State  ad  interim 

These  most  extraordinary  and  unexpected  events  have  caused  me  the  most 
intense  sorrow  and  surprise,  and  I  assure  you  that  the  grief  felt  by  the  govern 
ment  and  people  of  Chili  at  the  news  of  this  public  calamity,  that  justly  covers 
your  great  nation  with  mourning,  will  be  as  profound  and  sincere  as  mine.  In 
the  name,  therefore,  of  the  government  and  people  that  I  represent,  I  oifer, 
through  your  intervention,  to  your  government  and  nation,  du«  sympathy  and 
condolence  on  account  of  the  unfortunate  event  that  has  just  overwhelmed  them 
with  the  tragic  death  of  their  illustrious  and  patriotic  President,  and  for  the 
serious  injury  to  the  worthy  Secretary  of  State ;  and  at  the  same  time  our 
sincere  wishes  for  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  sister  republic,  under  the 
administration  of  its  new  Magistrate,  whose  promotion  to  the  dignity  of  President 
I  will  be  pleased  to  communicate  to  my  government. 

Be  pleased  to  accept  the  sentiments  of  my  very  distinguished  consideration 
and  esteem. 

F.  S.  ASTA  BUEUAGA. 

lion.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Sfc.,  §c.,  $ft: 


[Translation.  ] 

DEPARTMENTAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  ANDES, 

June  3,  18G5. 

SIR  :  The  illustrious  municipality  of  this  department,  over  which  I  have  the 
honor  to  preside,  has  resolved  to  address  to  your  excellency  the  following  note : 
The  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  great  republican  and  President  of  the  United 
States  of  North  America,  by  the  hand  of  an  infamous  and  daring  assassin,  has 
produced  in  the  hearts  of  this  corporation  bitter  grief.  They  also  participate 
in  the  profound  sorrow  which,  in  consequence  of  this  sad  event,  has  been 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        35 

manifested  by  all  those  who  live  beneath  the  protection  of  republican  institu 
tions,  and  who  now  lament  the  loss  of  LINCOLN,  the  venerated  apostle  of 
American  democracy. 

I  have  the  honor  to  transcribe  the  foregoing  to  your  excellency,  in  compli 
ance  with  the  resolutions  of  the  illustrious  municipality. 
God  guard  your  excellency. 

J.  RUFINO  DEL  CANTO. 
Hon.  ENVOY  EXTRAORDINARY  AND  MINISTER  PLENIPOTENTIARY 

of  the  United  States  of  North  America. 


[Translation.  ] 

MUNICIPALITY  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  CARELMAPU, 

Calbuco,  June  22,  1865. 

SIR:  This  corporation,  feeling  the  most  lively  and  profound  pain  for  the 
grief  which  you  have  been  caused  by  the  catastrophe  which  has  befallen  one  of 
those  prominent  men,  the  immortal  President  LINCOLN,  who  has  rendered 
services  so  important  to  the  country  of  the  free,  the  republic  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  has  the  honor  to  address  itself  to  your  excellency,  accom 
panying  you  in  your  just  sorrow  for  so  immeasurable  a  misfortune. 

But  this  corporation  feels  that  it  would  be  a  consolation  to  your  excellency 
in  this  irreparable  loss,  so  justly  wept  over  by  every  republican  country,  that  he 
should  have  won  the  glory  of  preserving  intact  and  unsullied  the  rights  of  his 
country,  the  natural  consequence  of  which  will  be,  as  your  excellency  cannot 
doubt,  the  enjoyment  by  that  magnanimous  people  of  a  perpetual  peace. 

Be  pleased,  your  excellency,  with  the  protest  of  our  most  earnest  sincerity 
and  sympathy,  to  accept  the  condolence  of  this  corporation. 

We  remain,  very  respectfully,  your  excellency's  most  obedient  servants, 

R.  N    NUNEZ  VILLALON. 
FERNANDO  ANDRADE. 
GREGNTO  GONSALEZ. 
FRAN'CO  S.  NAVARRO. 
JUAN  MA.  PEREZ. 
CARPTANO  ALVARADO. 
SANTIAGO  MARTINEZ. 
J.  MA.  BUSTAMANTE. 
NICOLAS  BARRIENTOS, 

Sec re tan/. 
THOMAS  II.  NELSON,  Esq., 

Minister  oj  the  United 


36  ASSASSINATION    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.  ] 

COPIAPO,  June  5,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  people  ot  Copiapo,  in  a  reunion  held  yesterday  in  this  city  for 
the  purpose  of  paying  a  just  tribute  of  grief  to  the  memory  of  the  illustrious 
President  of  the  United  States,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  wantonly  assassinated  in 
Washington  on  the  14th  of  April  last,  have  commissioned  us  to  address  our 
selves  to  you,  as  the  representative  in  Chili  of  that  great  nation,  for  the 
purpose  of  manifesting  to  you  how  profound  has  been  their  grief  for  this 
melancholy  event,  and  how  sincerely  they  accompany  the  North  American 
people  in  their  mourning  tor  the  loss  of  the  great  man  whose  political  genius 
saved  the  Union  from  the  formidable  designs  of  its  enemies,  and  emancipated 
millions  of  men  who  had  groaned  in  slavery. 

If  there  be  anything  which  can  mitigate  the  bitter  sorrow  for  a  loss  so 
immense,  it  is  the  consideration  that  the  cause  defended  by  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
has  been  definitely  consolidated;  and  that  the  hand  that  dealt  the  fatal  blow  1o 
the  elect  of  the  people,  while  it  severed,  it  is  true,  a  precious  existence, 
inscribed  from  that  moment  the  name  of  the  victim  in  the  book  of  immortality, 
wounding  to  the  death  the  inhuman  principle  of  slavery,  in  whose  name  was 
perpetrated  the  execrable  crime  which  has  caused  abundant  tears  to  be  shed 
by  the  republicans  of  the  whole  world. 

In  complying  with  the  commission,  at  once  grateful  and  painful,  of  com 
municating  to  you  the  resolutions  of  this  community,  we  have  the  honor  to 
express  to  you  our  own  especial  sorrow  at  this  bereavement,  and  to  subscribe 
ourselves,  with  every  consideration,  your  most  obedient  servants, 

RAFAEL  VALDEZ. 

EMILIO  G.  BEECHE. 

CARLOS  GONSALEZ  UGALDE. 

MANUEL  CONCHA,  R. 

EMILIO  ESCOBAR. 

PEDRO  L.  GALLO. 

JAVIER  VERGARA. 

JOSE'  R.  ROJAS,  2D. 

JOSE  RAMON  CORBALAN. 

RAMON  FRITIS. 

J.  EDWARDS. 
THOMAS  H.  NELSON,  Esq  , 

Minister  of  the  United  Stale*. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  37 

Mr.  Nelson  to  Mr.  Reward. 

[Extract,] 

No.  196.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Santiago  de  Chili,  June  1,  1865. 

SIR:  I  know  not  in  what  terms  to  give  utterance  to  the  feelings  of  grief 
and  dismay  which  overpowered  me  upon  learning  of  the  brutal  assassination  of 
our  great  and  good  President  and  of  the  dastardly  attempt  upon  your  own  life. 
It  is  still  difficult  for  me  to  realize  that  crimes  so  awful  have  been  committed. 

The  effect  upon  the  residents  of  Santiago  and  Valparaiso  was  sad  beyond 
description.  Strong  men  wandered  about  the  streets  weeping  like  children, 
and  foreigners,  unable  even  to  speak  our  language,  manifested  a  grief  almost  as 
deep  as  our  own. 

Being  temporarily  in  Valparaiso,  I  invited  our  countrymen  to  meet  me  at 
the  American  consulate  at  four  o'clock  upon  the  29th  ultimo,  (the  steamer 
having  arrived  that  morning,)  to  take  such  action  as  might  be  proper  in  the 
premises.  At  that  hour,  the  rooms,  the  hall,  the  staircase,  and  even  the  street 
fronting  the  building,  were  crowded,  and  upon  my  addressing  the  assemblage, 
the  exhibition  of  profound  grief  was  such  as  I  have  never  seen  equalled. 
Several,  overcome  by  their  emotion,  sat  down  upon  the  very  ground  and  wept; 
and  men  whose  stoicism  had  never  been  affected,  gave  violent  course  to  their 
grief.  Prayer  having  been  offered  by  the  Reverend  Dr.  Trumbull,  a  series  of 
appropriate  resolutions  were  proposed  and  adopted.  *  *  * 

Upon  the  same  day  the  intendente  called  upon  me  and  stated  that  he  had 
been  instructed  by  the  President  to  tender  his  earnest  sympathy  in  this  awful 
calamity,  and  to  inquire  in  what  way  the  government  of  Chili  could  most  accept 
ably  manifest  how  sincerely  it  mourned  with  the  people  and  government  of  the 
United  States.  Thanking  him  cordially  for  the  kind  attention,  I  informed  him 
that,  while  I  should  be  deeply  grateful  for  every  mark  of  respect  shown  to  the 
memory  of  the  late  President,  it  was  not  for  me  to  indicate  the  form  of  such 
demonstration. 

Instructions  were  then  issued  that  Ihe  American  and  Chilian  Hags  should 
be  drooped  at  half-mast  from  all  the  native  vessels  in  the  harbor,  during  eight 
days;  and  as  I  left  for  Santiago  on  the  following  day,  minute  guns  were  being 
fired  from  the  sloop-of-war  Esmeralda  The  flags  upon  the  public  buildings, 
those  of  the  foreign  consuls,  and  of  many  private  residences,  were  also  hoisted  at 
half-mast  Similar  evidences  of  sympathy  were  also  shown  by  the  government 
and  diplomatic  corps  in  Santiago;  and  I  have  been  informed  that  the  govern 
ment  proposes,  as  a  further  tribute  of  respect,  to  order  a  parade  of  all  the 
military  organizations  in  Santiago,  to  file  past  the  legation  with  arms  reversed 
and  flags  shrouded  in  mourning. 

I  have  also  received  letters  of  condolence  from  the  secretary  of  foreign 


38  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

relations ;  from  the  Spanish  minister ;  the  Society  of  Primary  Instruction ;  the 
Workingmen's  Union,  and  others,  to  all  of  which  I  have  endeavored  to  reply 
appropriately.  All  the  members  of  the  diplomatic  corps  have  called  to  express 
their  sympathy,  as  well  as  a  large  number  of  citizens  and  strangers. 

The  President  in  his  message,  delivered  this  afternoon,  alluded  feelingly 
to  the  great  loss  sustained  by  the  United  States,  and  congress,  in  an  informal 
meeting  held  prior  to  the  delivery  of  the  message,  ordered  the  flag  of  the  capital 
to  be  placed  at  half-mast. 

Mournful  and  depressing  as  is  this  sad  bereavement,  it  behooves  us  not  to 
forget,  in  our  sorrow,  that  the  Divine  Ruler  has  preserved  to  us  a  life  whose 
importance  at  this  crisis  of  our  country's  regeneration  cannot  be  too  highly 
estimated  Permit  me,  therefore,  to  offer  you  my  most  earnest  and  sincere 
congratulations  upon  your  own  almost  miraculous  escape  from  the  hands  of  the 
assassin,  and  to  express  the  hope  that  you  may  be  spared  for  many  years  to 
receive  the  grateful  thanks  of  the  country  for  which  you  have  so  nobly  labored, 
and  to  which  your  very  life  came  so  near  being  made  a  sacrifice. 

The  steadfast  and  self-denying  devotion  manifested  throughout  the  whole 
of  our  great  struggle  with  treason  by  the  eminent  patriot  who  has  succeeded 
to  the  presidency,  gives  cheering  assurance  to  the  hearts  of  our  countrymen 
that  the  great  purpose  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  will  be  ably,  firmly,  and  conscientiously 

carried  out. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  H.  NELSON. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Mr.  Nelson  to  Mr.  Seward. 

[Extract.] 

No.  197.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Santiago  de  Chili,  June  1,  1865. 

SIR:  At  one  o'clock  to-day  the  congress  of  Chili  was  convened  for  the 
purpose  of  opening  its  regular  sessions,  and  to  listen  to  the  annual  message  of 
the  President. 

Upon  my  entering  the  senate  chamber,  where  both  houses  were  assembled, 
manifestations  of  enthusiasm  were  made,  while  the  members  rose  to  their  feet 
and  remained  standing  until  I  had  taken  my  seat. 

The  message  was  read  by  his  Excellency  in  person.  Alluding  to  the 
United  States,  he  said : 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE    AND   SYMPATHY.  39 

"In  the  relations  of  cordial  friendship  which  we  cultivate  with  the  United 
States  of  America,  it  has  been  impossible  for  us  to  view  without  lively  and 
sincere  satisfaction  the  intelligence  which  insures  the  complete  re-establish 
ment  of  peace. 

"  The  happy  termination  of  the  sanguinary  struggle  which  has  afflicted 
them  will  permit  them  to  return  again  to  the  prolific  labors  of  arts  and  manu 
factures,  cleansed  from  a  social  plague  which  Chili  banished  from  the  earliest 
days  of  her  emancipation,  and  which  conflicted  with  the  character  and  free 
institutions  of  that  great  republic. 

"Nor  have  we  been  indifferent  to  the  mourning  in  which  they  have  been 
plunged  by  the  death  of  their  illustrious  ruler,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  This 
melancholy  event  has  awakened  throughout  the  country  and  in  the  government 

manifestations  of  grief  and  sympathy  as  just  as  sincere" 

********* 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  II.  NELSON, 
lion  WILLIAM  H.  SKWAED, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Mr.  Nelson  to  Mr.  Seivard. 

[Extract.] 

No.  201.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Santiago  de  Chili,  Jane  15,  1865. 

SIR:  In  my  despatches  Nos.  196  and  197,  of  the  first  instant,  I  had  the 
honor  to  transmit  to  you  numerous  evidences  of  the  very  deep  sympathy  mani 
fested  in  Valparaiso  and  Santiago  in  our  great  national  bereavement  From 
that  date  until  the  present  these  manifestations  of  kind  feeling  have  continued 
almost  uninterruptedly. 

On  the  fourth  instant,  at  noon,  by  order  of  the  navy  department  and  that  of 
war,  a  national  salute  was  fired,  in  honor  of  the  late  President  of  the  United 
States,  from  the  fort  at  Valparaiso,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  twenty-one  guns 
were  fired  from  the  Chilian  sloop-of-war  Esmcralda,  at  intervals  of  two  minutes, 
and  a  like  salute  from  the  fortress  of  Hidalgo,  in  Santiago. 

An  hour  later  a  procession  was  formed,  consisting  of  the  fire  department, 
with  Hags  and  apparatus  draped  in  mourning,  the  Society  of  the  American 
Union,  bearing  the  flags  of  the  different  American  republics,  also  shrouded  in 
crape,  and  citizens,  most  of  them  dressed  in  mourning,  with  crape  upon  the  left 
arm.  As  the  procession  passed  the  legation,  which  was  appropriately  draped, 
I  observed  tears  falling  from  the  eyes  of  many,  and  the  absolute  silence  and 


4 

40  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

<lecorum  of  the  thousands  of  spectators  who  filled  the  streets  for  squares  was 
in  itself  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  illustrious  dead 

In  Copiapo  on  the  same  day,  the  fourth  instant,  a  very  earnest  demonstra 
tion  of  respect  took  place.  Pursuant  to  a  call  signed  by  the  principal  citizens, 
the  residents  met  at  noon  and  proceeded,  escorted  by  the  military  forming  tin: 
garrison,  to  the  alameda  or  public  walk,  where,  upon  the  uncovering  of  the 
portrait  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  a  national  salute  was  fired  and  appropriate  discourses 
delivered.  The  national  Hag  was  hoisted  upon  the  public  and  private  edifices 
at  half-mast,  and  salutes  were  fired  at  sunrise,  noon,  and  sunset.  Half-hour 
guns  were  also  fired  during  the  day. 

Additional  letters  of  condolence  have  also  been  addressed  to  me  by  the 
Society  of  the  Union  Americana,  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  Workingmen's  Society  of 
Valparaiso,  and  by  the  municipality  of  the  department  of  Los  Andres.  * 

In  addition  to  these  public  demonstrations,  I  have  received  very  marked 
and  numerous  evidences  of  sympathy  from  private  citizens,  and  have  endeavored 
in  return  to  evince  my  grateful  sense  of  the  universal  and  profound  respect 
shown  in  Chili  to  the  memory  of  the  late  President. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  II.  NELSON. 

lion  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARU, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Minister  Resident  of  Spain  to  Mr.  Nelson. 

[Translation.] 

LEGATION  OF  SPAIN  TO  CHILI, 

Santiago  de  Chili,  Maij  2i>,  1865. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  Through  the  newspapers  which  I  have  just  received,  I  learn 
with  the  deepest  pain  of  the  brutal  assassination  and  horrible  crime  perpetrated 
in  AVashington  against  the  most  worthy  President  of  your  excellency's  nation, 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  his  minister,  William  H.  Seward. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  sincere  sorrow  which  will  be  felt  by  my  august  Sov 
ereign  and  her  government  when  they  shall  be  informed  of  it,  as  well  as  of  that 
experienced  by  myself,  I  immediately  hoisted  my  flag  in  position  of  mourning. 

I  hasten  to  inform  your  excellency  of  this,  with  the  earnest  assurance  of 
distinguished  consideration  and  regard  with  which  I  am  your  excellency's  most 
obedient  servant, 

SALVADOR  DE  TAVIRA. 

THOMAS  H.  NELSON,  Esq.,  Sfc. 


EXPRESSIONS    OF    CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  41 

Society  of  Primary  Instruction 

[Translation.] 

SANTIAGO,  May  30,  1865. 

The  board  of  directors  of  the  Society  of  Primary  Instruction,  over  which  I 
have  the  honor  to  preside,  resolved,  upon  the  motion  of  one  of  its  members,  to 
address  a  note  of  condolence  to  the  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipo 
tentiary  of  the  United  States  for  the  death  of  the  President  of  that  republic, 
Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

I  comply  with  so  sad  a  duty  as  the  organ  of  the  said  board,  manifesting  to 
the  minister  how  intense  has  been  the  grief  experienced  by  its  members  in 
learning  of  the  horrid  and  brutal  crime  of  which  the  illustrious  Mr.  LINCOLN  has 
been  the  victim. 

Will  the  minister  be  pleased  to  receive  this  sincere  expression  of  sympathy 
and  the  personal  consideration  of  regard  with  which  I  subscribe  myself  your 
most  obedient  servant, 

RAFAEL  MINVIELLE. 
ROBUSTIANO  VERA,  Secretary. 

Mr.  THOMAS  H.  NELSON,  Sfc. 


Union  Club  of  Santiago. 

[Translation.] 

SANTIAGO,  May  30,  1865. 

The  Santiago  Union  Club  has  received  with  profound  sorrow  the  news  of 
the  assassination  perpetrated  upon  the  person  of  the  illustrious  President  of  the 
United  States,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  has  authorized  me  to  transmit  you  (lie 
expression  of  its  grief. 

LINCOLN  was  the  incarnation  of  modern  democracy,  and  perishing  a  victim 
to  the  partisans  of  slavery,  has  been  elevated  to  the  category  of  the  martyrs  of 
humanity. 

In  communicating  to  you  the  sentiments  of  the  members  of  tin's  club,  I 
deem  it  my  duty  1o  express  my  own,  and  to  subscribe  myself  your  most  obedient 
servant, 

MANUEL  ALCALDE 

Hon.  THOMAS  H.  NKLSON,  Santiago. 


42  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Workingmen  »j  Santiago. 

[Translation.] 

SANTIAGO,  May  30,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  profound  sorrow  caused  among  the  working  classes  of  Santiago 
by  the  sad  news  of  the  crime  committed  upon  the  person  of  LINCOLN  the  honest, 
by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  has  impelled  the  council  of  the  artisans'  society, 
called  the  "union,"  to  spontaneously  unite  last  night  in  a  session  for  the  purpose 
of  manifesting  to  your  excellency  the  deep  grief  which  it  feels  for  so  tragic  an 
event. 

Since  this  society  was  the  first  to  congratulate  you  upon  the  approaching 
termination  of  ihe  war  which  has  afflicted  the  great  republic,  it  cannot  view 
unmoved  one  of  the  most  execrable  crimes  which  have  been  committed  in 
modern  times  by  the  apostles  of  evil.  Upon  me  has  devolved  the  duty,  in  the 
name  of  the  council  of  the  society  and  in  that  of  the  working  classes,  to  manifest 
to  you  the  grief  experienced  by  them  for  the  loss  of  one  of  the  most  devoted 
defenders  of  the  rights  of  humanity,  one  whom  with  justice  your  fellow-citizens 
have  called  the  j ather  of  Ms  country. 

So  tragic  an  occurrence  will  awaken  the  indignation  of  honorable  men,  and 
even  the  sorrow  of  the  advocates  of  slavery,  for  a  deed  as  brutal  as  it  was  infam 
ous.  From  this  day  forward  future  generations  will  be  unable  to  peruse  with 
out  an  abundant  tribute  of  tears  the  page  of  mourning  which  closes  the  period 
of  blood  through  vvhicb  the  greatest  and  most  powerful  nation  governed  by 
democratic  principles  has  just  passed. 

The  memory  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  will  live  in  the  heart  of  humanity  so 
long  as  the  current  of  the  Potomac  flows  or  the  Andes  endure.  This  reflection 
may,  perhaps,  in  some  degree  mitigate  your  own  grief,  and  that  of  your  fellow- 
countrymen. 

With  sentiments  of  the  most  profound  respect,  I  have  the  honor  to  offer 
myself  as  your  humble  servant,  who  prays  to  the  Supreme  Dispenser  of  All 
Good  to  avert  from  your  country  the  evils  consequent  upon  crimes  such  as 
astound  the  world. 

JOSE  SANTOS  VALENZUELA, 

First  Vice- President. 

Hon.  THOMAS  H.  NELSON, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

(>l  /lie  J  United  States. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  43 

From  tlw  Union  Americana,  of  Santiago. 

[Translation.  ] 

SANTIAGO,  June  1,  1865. 

SIR:  The  atrocious  crime  which  has  plunged  your  noble  country  in  Ihe 
most  profound  and  just  affliction  cannot  fail  to  draw  forth  expressions  of  grief 
from  all  who  learn  the  mournful  news,  and  such  we  come  to  utter  to  you  in  the 
name  of  the  Union  Americana  of  Santiago. 

We,  who  have  rejoiced  in  the  triumphs  obtained  by  the  soldiers  of  the  law 
and  the  apostles  of  humanity  in  the  titanic  war  against  slavery,  uniting  our  hopes 
and  prayers  to  those  of  the  people  and  government  of  the  United  States — we, 
who  were  preparing  to  join  in  their  songs  of  victory  and  to  applaud,  as  hereto 
fore,  their  heroism  in  battle,  their  clemency  in  the  hour  of  triumph — to-day  ac 
company  in  their  grief  that  people  and  government,  who  have  lost  in  Mr.  LINCOLN 
one  of  their  best  and  most  illustrious  representatives. 

The  deplorable  system  which  during  four  years  has  been  aiming  at  the  life 
of  your  country,  and  which  had  for  its  base  and  object  the  most  horrible  and 
unjustifiable  iniquity,  slavery,  has  concluded  by  summing  up  and  declaring  itself 
in  the  most  iniquitous  and  inexcusable  of  crimes,  the  assassination  of  President 
LINCOLN,  thus  confirming,  as  a  sentence  without  appeal,  the  anathema  which  all 
free  men  and  free  nations  have  launched  against  it. 

Those  of  your  fellow-citizens  who,  misled,  have  allowed  themselves  to  be 
dragged  by  party  passions  or  by  interests  of  caste  into  a  fratricidal  war,  may 
read  to-day,  in  the  ashes  of  their  cities,  how  powerless  and  direful,  and,  in  the 
death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  how  sterile  and  perverse,  were  the  designs  and  instru 
ments  which  have  served  the  most  odious  of  causes;  and  may  God  grant  that, 
bonified  by  results  so  lamentable,  they  may  turn  to  the  aggrandizement  of  the 
country  all  the  means  and  all  the  abilities  employed  during  four  years  to  destroy 
it.  The  blood  of  the  President  martyr  thus  counsels  them,  and  thus  also  the 
hand  of  the  assassin,  from  an  ignominious  solidarity  with  whom  they  ought  to 
justify  themselves,  protesting  by  deeds,  not  of  a  blind  party,  but  such  as  are 
worthy  a  great  and  enlightened  people. 

Amid  the  painful  emotions  excited  by  tin's  atrocious  deed,  il  is  at  the  same 
time  a  consolation  and  a  lesson  to  perceive  that  the  victim  and  the  slayer  were 
each  faithful  to  the  principles  and  the  flag  which  each  defended — in  the  name 
of  which  one  dies,  noble  and  magnanimous,  as  he  had  lived,  serving  his  country 
and  humanity ;  and  the  other,  a  brutal  assassin,  strikes,  serving  the  monstrous 
requirements  of  an  oligarchy  or  the  instigations  of  a  shameful  speculation. 

The  death  of  the  honored  and  patriotic  President  is,  for  your  country,  and 
even  for  the  entire  world,  a  just  cause  for  immense  grief;  but  it  is  not  and  can 
not  be  a  motive  for  doubting  the  triumph  and  final  consolidation  of  the  work 


44  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

begun  a  hundred  years  ago  by  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Franklin,  converting 
three  millions  of  weak  colonists  into  as  many  proud  citizens,  and  which,  to-day 
is  crowned  by  Lincoln,  Grant,  and  Seward,  converting  four  millions  of  poor 
slaves  into  as  many  freemen,  who  will  consolidate  with  their  efforts  the  most 
just  and  prolific  of  governments. 

Amid  the  bitter  grief  which  the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln  has  caused  us,  and 
which  has  crowned  with  the  aureola  of  martyrdom  the  defender  of  the  Union, 
and  has  placed  the  stigma  of  infamy  upon  the  brow  of  the  dying  rebellion,  we 
do  not  cease  to  feel  the  most  abiding  confidence  that  the  situation  of  your 
country  must  continue  developing  itself  in  the  most  prosperous  and  secure 
manner;  that  the  bloody  hand  of  an  assassin  will  not  be  permitted  to  retard  the 
chariot  of  civilization,  nor  to  impede  the  triumphantly  progressive  march  of 
democracy. 

The  atrocious  deed  of  the  parricide  Booth  has  proven  that  the  cause  of  law, 
of  Union,  and  of  true  republican  government  is  not  bound  to  the  inspiration  and 
energy  of  a  single  individual,  even  though  that  individual  be  great  of  soul  as 
LINCOLN,  but  to  the  decision,  the  prudence,  the  self-denial  of  a  nation,  which, 
iiftcr  teaching  to  the  world  that  the  practice  of  liberty  is  the  most  fruitful  con 
dition  of  prosperity,  has  taught  it  that  in  that  practice  are  to  be  found  the 
elements  of  war  and  victory,  and  will  yet  teach  it  that  therein  alone  arc  rooted 
and  flourishing  the  germs  of  concord  and  true  fraternity. 

And  thus  will  be  belied  one  by  one  the  doleful  auguries  which  badly  in 
formed  or  evil-intended  statesmen  have  not  ceased  to  utter  ever  since  the 
shadows  of  civil  war  came  to  eclipse  the  splendor  of  the  stars  of  your  country, 
which,  by  its  course  in  defeat  and  victory,  in  peace  or  war,  has  once  again  proved 
that  the  only  and  indispensable  conditions  for  the  stability  of  a  government  are 
liberty  in  all  its  forms  and  justice  in  all  its  applications. 

In  expressing  to  you,  sir,  our  grief  for  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  and 
also  our  confidence  in  the  proximate  and  lasting  re-establishment  of  the  Union, 
we  believe  ourselves  to  be  not  only  the  organ  of  our  society,  but  that  of  our 
entire  country,  which  has  always  found  in  the  events  of  your  prosperity  motives 
for  cordial  rejoicing,  and  in  those  of  your  adversity  even  more  powerful  ones  to 
sympathize,  as  to-day,  in  a  grief  the  most  profound  and  just. 

Be  pleased,  sir,  to  receive  the  considerations  of  high  esteem  with  which 
we  have  the  honor  to  subscribe  ourselves  your  obedient  servants, 

MANUEL  BLANCO  ENCALAUA. 

M.  A.  MATTA. 

PEDRO  MONCAYO. 

JUAN  AUGUSTIN  PALAZUELOS. 

DEMETRIO  RODRIGUES  PENA. 

lion.  THOS.  H.  NELSON,  Sfc.,  Sfc.,  $c. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        45 

Anglo-Saxon  Workingmeris  Association  of  Valparaiso. 

VALPARAISO,  June  5,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  Anglo-Saxon  Workingmen's  Mutual  Benefit  Association  of  Val 
paraiso,  being  animated  by  the  same  deep  sense  of  grief  which  has  been  felt  by  all 
classes  of  society  at  the  untimely  and  violent  death  of  the  illustrious  personage 
who  filled  the  high  and  important  position  of  President  of  the  United  States, 
beg  you  to  accept  the  expression  of  their  sincere  regret  at  the  manner  in  which 
his  valuable  life  and  services  have  been  brought  to  an  end. 

The  body  which  we  represent,  and  the  class  of  society  to  which  we  belong, 
will  be  an  excuse  for  the  want  of  proper  language  or  flowing  rhetoric  in  which 
some  addresses  may  have  been  sent  to  you ;  but  at  the  same  time,  dear  sir,  we 
can  assure  you  that  what  is  wanting  in  language  to  express  our  sentiments  will 
be  found  deeply  engraved  in  the  hearts  of  those  whose  feelings  and  sense  of 
right  would  by  none  be  more  highly  appreciated  than  by  him  whose  lamented 
death  has  called  forth  our  just  and  truest  sympathies. 

Having,  as  is  well  known,  risen  <o  eminence  from  the  humblest  walks  of 
lili',  his  example  gives  an  impulse,  especially  to  men  in  our  station,  teaching  us 
(hat  through  uprightness,  perseverance,  and  a  strict  adherence  to  the  principles 
of  society,  there  is  no  limit  to  the  degrees  of  excellence  and  dignity  which  may 
be  attained  by  him  who,  like  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  proves  himself  throughout  life 
an  honest  and  hard-working  man. 

We  remain,  sir,  most  respectfully  and  truly  yours, 

GEORGE  LEBERT, 
H.  B.  GREENSTREET, 
WILLIAM  H.  BROWN, 

Committee. 
RICHARD  GROVES,  JR., 

Secretary. 
Hon.  THOMAS  H.  NELSON, 

United  State*  Minister,  Santiago  de  Chili. 


lie-wl  ut  ions  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  American  residents  at  Valparaiso,  Ma;/  29, 

1865. 

Deeply  impressed  and  appalled  by  the  intelligence  this  day  received,  Iliat 
AHRAIIAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  has  been 
assassinated  in  a  manner  unsurpassed  for  treachery  and  cowardice,  we  adopt  the 
following  resolutions  : 

Resolved,  That  our  beloved  country  has  in  this  event  suffered  the  loss  of 


46  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

one  of  her  purest  and  noblest  sons,  one  of  her  best  and  most  self-sacrificing 
citizens,  one  of  her  most  upright  and  sagacious  statesmen. 

Resolved,  That  we  blend  our  sympathies  with  those  of  our  fellow-citizens 
at  home  and  abroad  in  the  sorrow  irrepressibly  awakened  by  this  occurrence,  the 
atrocity  of  which,  in  the  view  of  all  honorable  men,  can  be  measured  only  by  the 
distress  it  produces  in  the  bosoms  of  patriots. 

Resolved,  That  we  cherish  in  highest  honor  the  private  virtues  and  the 
public  career  of  the  late  President,  who  in  his  lifetime  patriotically  sought,  with 
animosity  towards  none,  with  charity  towards  all,  to  save  the  nation's  life  and 
heal  its  wounds;  while  his  death,  investing  his  counsels  with  new  value, cannot 
fail  to  endear  him  more  than  ever  to  his  friends,  as  well  as  to  disabuse  the 
prejudices  and  assuage  the  animosity  of  his  opponents. 

Resolced,  That  while  we  bow  with  the  humility  appropriate  to  our  limited 
vision  before  the  wisdom  of  God,  who  has  permitted  this  wild  outbreak  of  the 
wrath  of  man  to  succeed,  we  do  still  acknowledge  His  merciful  intervention  that 
had  spared  so  long  a  life  on  which  such  interests  hung  through  the  earlier 
periods  of  greater  confusion  and  greater  peril;  and  we  do  yet  cherish  profoundly 
the  hope,  and  offer  reverently  the  prayer,  that  the  nation's  life  may  still  be  dear 
in  His  all-embracing  eye;  that  its  institutions  may  be  maintained  unimpaired, 
and  its  banner  ever  wave,  an  emblem  of  justice  and  freedom  on  earth. 

Resolced,  That  while  the  depths  of  grief  arc  unutterably  stirred  within  us. 
we  still  yield  to  no  despondency  in  view  of  the  machinations  of  men  of  criminal 
intent,  confident  that  other  patriots,  true,  wise,  and  brave,  will  arise  from  among 
the  popular  ranks,  to  serve  the  cause  of  our  country,  to  maintain  under  God  her 
liberties,  and  to  guide  her  destiny  to  the  wisest  and  noblest  ends. 

These  resolutions  were  at  once  adopted  with  entire  unanimity  and  emotion. 

The  following  resolution  was  also  proposed  by  the  committee,  in  relation, 
to  the  attack  on  the  life  of  Secretary  Seward : 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  rejoices  to  learn  that  the  dastardly  attack  on 
the  honorable  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  at 
the  time  an  invalid  in  his  bed,  failed  utterly ;  while  we  hope  that,  yet  living  to 
witness  that  honorable  and  permanent  peace  for  which  so  assiduously  he  has 
labored,  restored  throughout  the  land,  he  may  long  be  spared  to  serve  his  country, 
and  to  have  her  do  him  the  honor  his  patriotic  devotion  to  her  interests  and 
suffering  on  her  behalf  have  deserved. 

Mr.  Caldwell  recommended  that  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  in  con 
formity  with  the  custom  at  home,  should  wear  some  token  of  mourning  on  the 
arm  or  chest  for  the  term  of  fifteen  days.  This  was  seconded  by  Paul  Delano, 
esq.,  and  adopted. 

HENRY  M.  CALDWELL,  Secretary 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  47 

Resolution  of  the  municipality  of  Quillota. 

[Translation.] 

No.  1G15.]  INTENDENCY  OF  VALPARAISO, 

Valparaiso,  June  28,  1865. 

The  following  resolution  has  been  approved  by  the  municipality  of  the 
department  of  Quillota  in  its  session  of  the  20th  instant : 

The  illustrious  municipality  over  which  I  preside,  in  its  session  of  the  20th 
instant,  has  approved  the  following  draught  of  a  resolution: 

The  melancholy  news  which  has  plunged  an  entire  continent  in  the  deepest 
mourning  could  not  be  received  in  this  city  without  filling  its  inhabitants  with 
grief  and  consternation.  This  news  was  no  less  than  the  extinction  of  an  exist 
ence  precious  to  humanity,  that  of  an  apostle  of  the  truths  of  democracy — an 
untiriifg  laborer  for  the  greatness  and  prosperity  of  America,  and  a  loyal  and 
sincere  friend  of  our  country.  Such  was  the  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
sacrificed  on  the  fatal  night  of  the  14th  of  April  by  the  infamous  hand  of  an 
assassin. 

In  the  privileged  brain  of  the  immortal  LINCOLN  were  meditated  the  gravest 
interests  of  the  human  race,  under  the  impulses  of  the  tendencies  of  a  noble 
soul,  and  of  a  genius  predestined  to  do  good.  From  the  lofty  position  achieved 
by  his  virtues,  he  watched  with  the  utmost  solicitude  over  the  destinies  of 
America,  exhibiting  with  notable  brilliancy  a  policy  of  justice  in  his  relations 
with  weak  nations,  and  manifesting,  especially  towards  our  own  republic,  sincere 
sympathy  and  regard. 

He  co-operated  earnestly  in  the  crusade  against  the  ominous  oligarchy, 
protector  of  the  most  horrible  of  all  social  inequalities.  He  showed  a  constant 
zeal  for  the  preservation  of  the  integrity  of  the  great  republic  which  intrusted 
its  direction  to  him,  thus  insuring  the  stability  of  the  most  perfect  form  of 
political  existence,  and  demonstrated  that  policy  of  justice  by  his  course  towards 
the  Brazilian  nation,  weak  in  material  power,  while  powerful  in  the  right  of  her 
claims;  and,  finally,  by  his  course  towards  Chili,  which  can  only  be  interpreted 
as  an  evidence  of  the  spirit  of  the  most  perfect  cordiality. 

While  mourning  over  the  blow  which  has  wounded  every  American  heart 
in  its  innermost  depths,  our  satisfaction  has  been  great  to  see  the  great  republic 
pass  unharmed  through  so  fiery  a  trial.  This  is  the  privilege  of  governments 
resting  not  upon  the  shifting  basis  of  force,  but  upon  the  solid  foundations  of 
principles — principles  that  study  the  means  of  elevating  the  august  sovereignty 
of  man  to  the  position  for  which  nature  designed  him,  and  not  of  strengthening 
dynasties  by  the  legacy  of  millions  of  men  to  be  converted  into  slaves  and 
puppets. 

Mankind  may  weep,  but  it  ^azes  upon  his  great  work  finished  ;  while  the 


48  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

human  race  exists  will  it  remain.  Although  this  result,  the  necessary  conse 
quence  of  the  propagation  of  democratic  ideas,  is  for  us  a  just  motive  tor 
rejoicing,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  do  away  with  the  painful  impression  which  the 
news  of  this  great  calamity  has  caused  us.  The  family  of  redeemers  is  few  I 
Washington  left,  for  his  part,  political  personality.  LINCOLN  added  social  person 
ality.  The  former  made  colonists  into  citizens ;  the  latter  made  citizens  from 
slaves  Washington  gave  a  country  to  those  he  redeemed;  LINCOLN,  to  those 
he  liberated,  gave  one  also,  saying  to  them,  "Be  ye  men."  Both  made  great 
conquests  for  mankind,  giving  back  to  man  that  which  prejudice  and  egotism 
had  usurped.  From  the  time  of  Washington  to  that  of  LINCOLN,  America  has 
completed  her  first  era  in  the  mission  of  redemption. 

As  Chilenos,  as  Americans,  as  men,  we  have  a  just  right  to  join  with  the 
republic  of  the  north  in  celebrating  the  prosperous  events  of  its  existence,  as 
well  as  in  accompanying  it  in  our  sympathy  in  the  hours  of  misfortune;  and  in 
order  to  attest  in  some  external  manner  the  grief  of  the  residents  of  this  city 
for  the  death  of  the  illustrious  LINCOLN,  we  address  ourselves  to  you  as  their 
immediate  representative,  soliciting  your  suffrages  in  favor  of  the  following 
draught  of  a  resolution  : 

The  people  of  Quillota,  pi'ofoundly  moved  by  the  unexpected  event  of  the 
death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  sixteenth  President  of  the  United  States,  approach 
their  representative  in  Chili  in  order  to  offer  to  that  nation  the  most  earnest 
expression  of  condolence  for  so  painful  an  event. 

A  copy  of  this  resolution  will  be  transmitted,  together  with  the  requisite 
note  of  enclosure,  to  the  Hon.  Thomas  Henry  Nelson,  minister  plenipotentiary 
of  the  United  States  of  North  America 

QUILLOTA,  June  12,  1865. 

In  transcribing  to  your  excellency  the  foregoing  resolution  of  the  munici 
pality  of  Quillota,  I  take   pleasure  in   manifesting  to  your  excellency  identical 
sentiments  on  the  part  of  this  intendency. 
God  guard  your  excellency. 

J.  RAMON  LIRA. 
THOMAS  H.  NELSON,  Esq., 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

of  the   United  States  of  North  America. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        49 

COSTA  EICA. 


[Translation.  J 

PALACIO  NATIONAL,  SAN  JOSE,  May  30,  1865. 

The  President  of  the  republic  lias,  with  profound  grief,  in  the  despatch  you 
were  pleased  to  send  me  from  Punta  Arenas,  found  the  confirmation  of  the  sad 
intelligence  of  the  murder  committed  on  the  person  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  which  occurred  on  the  14th  of  last  month, 
at  Ford's  theatre,  in  the  city  of  Washington. 

You  have  also  been  pleased  to  inform  me  of  the  criminal  attempt  to  assas 
sinate  in  their  own  house  the  Messrs.  Seward,  Secretary  and  Assistant  Secre 
tary  of  State,  an  attempt  which,  though  fortunately  frustrated,  caused  to  these 
gentlemen  several  wounds  and  blows  endangering  their  lives. 

My  government  would  wish,  in  honor  of  humanity,  that  this  savage  act 
should  appear  isolated,  and  solely  chargeable  to  the  wretched  assassin  who 
attacked  the  life  of  the  unfortunate  President.  And  it  must  be  so.  Whatever 
ferocity  may  be  ascribed  to  the  anti-national  party,  it  is  inconceivable  how, 
even  in  a  state  of  desperation,  it  should  go  to  the  extreme  of  defiling  its  cause 
with  the  most  horrible  of  all  crimes,  without  any  other  political  result  but  thai, 
of  calling  down  upon  it  the  indignation  of  the  whole  world. 

Costa  Rica  deplores  as  her  own  the  loss  sustained  by  the  United  States  in 
the  death  of  the  eminent  man  who  for  four  years  governed,  with  such  justice, 
firmness,  and  loyalty,  the  great  republic  of  the  north,  in  the  midst  of  the 
troubles  and  anxieties  of  an  intestine  war.  She  laments  the  violence  of  pas 
sions  called  into  existence  by  political  fanaticism,  and  condemns,  now  more  than 
ever,  the  cause  of  those  who  attempted  to  destroy  the  American  Union. 

In  mark  of  mourning  the  President  ordered  the  national  flag  on  all  public 
buildings  to  be  raised  half-mast  during  the  14th  instant. 

Rejoicing  in  the  restoration  of  the  momentous  health  of  the  honorable  Mr. 
Seward,  and  in  the  inauguration  of  Mr  Andrew  Johnson  in  his  character  as 
President, 

I  have  the  honor  to  reiterate,  &c., 

J.  VOLIO. 

lion   Senor  C.  N.  RIOTTK,  ^r.,  fyc.,  §c. 


[Translation.] 

PALACIO  NATIONAL,  SAN  JOSE,  May  30,  1865. 

1  have  the  honor,  in  reply  lo  your  esteemed  note  of  the  26th  instant,  to 
communicate  to  you  that  the  government  and  the  people  of  Costa  Rica  join,  with 

7 


50  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

the  greatest  spontaneity  and  alacrity,  in  the  public  demonstration  of  mourning 
and  grief  which  the  republic  of  the  north,  our  sister  and  ally,  is  making  in 
memory  of  the  good  man  that  left  the  earth. 

Proper  orders  have  been  issued  that  on  the  1st  of  June  next  the  national 
flag  will  be  hoisted  half-mast. 

Repeating,  &c., 

J.  VOLIO. 

Hon.  Senor  CARLOS  N.  RIOTTE,  fy.,  $c.,  $c. 


[Translation.] 

NATIONAL  PALACE,  SAN  JOSE,  May  25,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  assassination  perpetrated  in  the  person  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  criminal  attempt  made  against  the 
Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward,  which  you  communicated  in  your  despatch  No. 
186,  has  caused  the  profoundest  regret  to  the  members  of  this  government,  and 
generally  to  the  Costa  Rican  people,  who  understand  and  appreciate  the  merit 
of  the  illustrious  victims  of  such  a  horrible  event. 

This  government  has  read  with  esteem  the  communications,  copies  of  which 
you  enclosed,  exchanged  between  the  secretaryship  of  state  and  that  legation, 
in  relation  to  said  events,  and  it  is  highly  pleased  that  it  fell  to  you  the  honor 
to  be  one  of  the  commission  charged  with  the  manifestation  to  the  family  of  the 
ill-fated  Mr.  LINCOLN  of  the  share  of  the  diplomatic  body  in  the  general  mourning, 
and  with  the  expression  to  Mr.  Seward  and  his  family  of  its  sympathies  and 
prayers  for  their  recovery. 

As  soon  as  the  dismal  intelligence  reached  this  capital,  his  excellency  the 
President  directed  the  national  flag  to  be  hoisted  at  half-mast  on  all  the  public 
buildings. 

I  am  also  informed  of  the  inauguration  of  the  new  President,  Mr.  Andrew 
Johnson,  and  of  the  speeches  on  that  solemn  occasion. 

While  the  enormities  to  which  political  fanaticism  may  lead  are  lamented, 
it  is  a  source  of  consolation  that  the  attitude  preserved  at  so  very  critical  moments 
by  the  nation  so  cruelly  wounded,  remaining  immovably  true  to  its  institutions, 
and  exhibiting  sentiments  of  horror  and  bereavement,  is  equally  worthy  of  a 
great,  and  generous  people  as  of  the  illustrious  personages  to  whom  they  were 
devoted. 

Hailing  the  miraculous  preservation  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Seward,  and  offering 
prayers  for  the  restoration  of  himself,  his  worthy  son,  and  all  other  persons  of 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.         51 

his  estimable  family,  I  close  this,  recommending  you  to  communicate  its  contents 
in  the  usual  form,  which  might  be  more  acceptable. 
I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

JULIAN  VOLIO. 

His  Excellency  DON  Luis  MOLINA, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

from  Costa  Rica,  Washington,  D.  C. 


[Translation.  ] 

LEGATIONS  OF  COSTA  RICA,  NICARAGUA,  AND  HONDURAS, 

Washington,  April  15,  1865. 

SIR  :  Sincerely  sharing  in  the  feelings  of  the  people  of  (he  United  States, 
the  persons  connected  with  the  government,  and  yourself,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
melancholy  events  which  you  communicate  to  me  in  your  note  of  this  date,  I 
do  not  venture  anything  in  at  once  assuring  you  that  the  governments  and  the 
peoples  I  have  the  honor  to  represent  near  the  United  States  will  receive  with 
due  appreciation  the  sad  intelligence  of  the  national  calamity  referred  to,  fully 
sympathizing  with  the  national  sorrow. 

At  the  same  time  you  have  the  kindness  to  inform  me  that,  according  to 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  Vice-President  has  formally  assumed 
the  functions  of  President,  and  that  you  have  been  by  him  authorized  to  per 
form  the  duties  of  Secretary  of  State. 

The  uninterrupted  existence  of  the  constitutional  government  of  the  United 
States  will  doubtless  be  looked  upon  in  the  republics  of  Costa  Rica,  Nicaragua, 
and  Honduras  as  the  surest  guarantee  of  the  friendly  relations  they  so  much 
desire  to  cultivate  with  this  country,  and  will  now  be  a  relief  accompanied  with 
the  hope  that  the  administration  of  President  Johnson  may  advance  those  re 
lations  as  well  as  that  of  his  lamented  predecessor. 

Let  me  offer  my  personal  condolence  wii  h  the  family  of  the  late  President 
in  their  bereavement,  and  my  earnest  wishes  for  the  recovery  of  Mr.  Seward, 
his  son,  and  family. 

I  have  the  honor  to  offer  to  you  the  assurances  of  my  high  consideration. 

LUIS  MOLINA. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State  of  t/ie  United  States,  Washington,  D.  C. 


52  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Mr.  Riotte  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

[Extract."] 

No.  123.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

San  Jose,  May  22,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  had  the  honor  of  receiving  on  the  13th  instant  at  Pimta  Arenas, 
whither  I  had  gone  for  the  purposes  indicated  in  my  despatch  No.  122,  your 
despatches  Nos.  100  and  101  and  your  order  of  17th  April  last. 

The  terrible  tragedy  recited  in  your  despatch  No.  100  has  created  a 
degree  of  painful  sensation  in  this  country  altogether  unexpected  and  hereto 
fore  evinced  on  no  occasion.  The  President,  immediately  upon  the  arrival  of 
the  mail,  raised  the  flag  on  his  mansion  half-mast,  and  the  same  was  done  by  his 
order  on  all  public  buildings.  The  foreign  diplomatic  and  consular  representa 
tives  followed,  and  most  of  them  wrote  me  letters  or  paid  me  visits  of  condo 
lence.  And  the  grief  was  not  merely  an  official  one,  as  to  my  sincere  satisfaction 
I  had  abundant  proof  to  convince  myself.  A  real  gloom  was  spread  over  the 
whole  community. 

It  would  not  be  proper  in  this  place  to  speak  of  my  personal  feelings,  but 
I  hope  I  will  be  pardoned  for  saying  that  the  great  debt  of  gratitude  I  owed 
Mr.  LINCOLN  made  me  feel  his  loss  like  that  of  a  brother.  In  the  miraculous 
salvation  of  the  venerable  chief  of  our  department  I  rejoice  most  heartily,  with 
every  true  friend  of  the  great  cause  of  our  country,  which  I  am  persuaded,  in 

the  hands  of  Mr.  Johnson,  will  be  sustained  ably  and  energetically. 

********* 

I  have  the  honor,  sir,  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

C.  N.  RIOTTE. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State 


Mr.  Riotte  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

[Extract.] 

No.  125.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

San  Jose,  June  4.  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  despatches  Nos.  102 
and  103,  and  enclose  a  copy  of  a  note  addressed  to  this  government,  and  a  copy 
and  translation  of  the  reply  thereto  ;  also  a  copy  of  the  circular  note  directed 
by  me  to  the  diplomatic  arid  consular  representatives  of  foreign  nations,  calling 
upon  them  to  join  in  the  celebration  of  the  day  set  aside  by  the  President  as 
a  day  of  mourning  in  memory  of  our  lamented  late  President. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        53 

On  that  mournful  day  I  was  made  the  recipient  of  a  number  of  letters  of 
condolence  and  of  visits  from  many  distinguished  citizens  and  the  charges  of 
Peru  and  Spain.  Without  one  single  exception  all  flags  in  this  capital  were  at 
half-mast,  some  draped  in  crape.  The  legation  and  its  flagstaff  I  had  draped  in 
black  and  white,  while  long  black  streamers  hung  down  from  the  flag. 

Most  Americans  wore  black,  and  two  of  them  volunteered  to  put  up  the 

drapery  on  the  legation. 

******** 

I  have  the  honor,  sir,  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

C.  N.  RIOTTE. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTEK, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


CHINA. 


Prince  Rung  to  Mr.    Williams. 
[Translation.] 

JULY  8,  1865,  (Tungchi,  4th  year  intercalary,  5th  moon,  Ylth  day.) 

Prince  Kung,  chief  secretary  of  state  for  foreign  affairs,  herewith  sends,  in 
reply : 

I  had  the  honor  yesterday  to  receive  your  excellency's  communication 
informing  me  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  had  been  removed  by 
death,  an  announcement  that  inexpressibly  shocked  and  startled  me.  But,  as 
you  add  tlmt  on  the  same  day  the  Vicc-President  succeeded  to  the  position 
without  any  disturbance,  and  the  assassin  had  been  arrested,  so  that  the  affairs 
of  government  were  going  on  quietly  as  usual,  I  hope  that  these  considerations 
will  alleviate  your  grief  at  the  event,  and  you  will  be  able  to  attend  to  public 
business. 

1  shall  be  pleased  to  embody  the  particulars  connected  with  this  event  in 
a  memorial  to  his  Majesty,  and  thereby  evince  the  cordial  relations  which  now 
exist  between  our  countries,  which  is  the  purpose  of  sending  the  present  reply. 

His  Excellency  S.  W.  WILLIAMS, 

Charge  d1  Affaires  of  the  United  States,  in  China. 


54  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Mr.  Williams  to  Mr.  Seivard. 

[Extract.] 

No.  4.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Peking,  July  11,  1865. 
********* 

Since  my  last  the  mail  has  brought  full  accounts  of  the  lamentable  assassina 
tion  of  our  beloved  President,  and  I  have  taken  the  telegraphic  despatch  of  the 
Secretary  of  War,  of  April  16,  to  Mr.  C.  F.  Adams,  at  London,  which  appeared 
in  the  English  papers,  as  containing  the  principal  facts,  and  have  notified  the 
Chinese  government  of  this  sad  event.  Prince  Kung  responded  in  a  friendly 
spirit.  Previous  to  this  I  had  informed  the  Chinese  officials  of  all  the  details 
then  known  respecting  the  occurrence. 

The  telegraph  brought  the  first  notice  to  Peking  via  Russia  in  forty  days, 
but  nearly  a  fortnight  elapsed  before  further  news  arrived  to  induce  us  to  believe 
that  such  a  horrid  deed  could  have  been  committed  in  the  United  States. 

The  contentment  and  joy  caused  by  the  previous  news  of  the  fall  of 
Richmond  and  the  surrender  of  Lee's  army,  foretokening  the  cessation  of  arms 
and  final  suppression  of  the  rebellion  and  restoration  of  the  Union,  were  turned 
into  grief  and  indignation  at  learning  that  the  President  had  been  thus  removed. 
All  the  Americans  in  Peking  alike  mourned  his  death,  and  all  we  could  do  was 
to  pray  that  God,  who  had  brought  the  nation  to  see  the  triumph  of  its  arms 
against  treason,  would  strengthen  the  national  cause  by  leading  to  the  adoption 
of  those  plans  which  would  best  uphold  justice  and  best  promote  union. 

The  limits  of  a  despatch  will  hardly  allow  me  more  than  to  add  my  tribute 
of  admiration  of  the  character  of  Mr.  LINCOLN.  His  firm  and  consistent  main 
tenance  of  the  national  cause,  his  clear  understanding  of  the  great  questions  at 
issue,  and  his  unwearied  efforts  while  enforcing  the  laws  to  deprive  the  conflict 
of  all  bitterness,  were  all  so  happily  blended  with  a  reliance  on  Divine  guidance 
as  to  elevate  him  to  a  high  rank  among  successful  statesmen.  His  name  is 
hereafter  identified  with  the  cause  of  emancipation,  while  his  patriotism, 
integrity,  and  other  virtues,  and  his  untimely  death,  render  him  not  unworthy 
of  mention  with  William  of  Orange  and  Washington. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  WELLS  WILLIAMS. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        55 

DENMAKK. 


Mr.  Raadijffto  Mr.  Hunter. 

[Translation.] 

DANISH  LEGATION, 

Washington,  April  17,  1865 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  note  of  the  15th 
instant,  by  which  you  inform  me  of  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  of  the 
attempted  assassination  of  the  Secretary  of  State  and  of  his  son,  the  Assistant 
Secretary  of  State. 

I  need  not  assure  you  of  the  deep  and  sincere  grief  with  which  I  have 
received  that  information,  but  I  may  be  allowed  to  add,  that  the  feelings  of  my 
Sovereign  and  of  the  people  of  Denmark  will,  when  the  news  of  those  sad  and 
terrible  events  shall  reach  them,  be  those  of  the  warmest  sympathy,  not  only 
with  the  immediate  victims,  but  with  the  whole  deeply  afflicted  people  of  the 
United  States. 

Having  been  informed  by  this  same  note  that,  pursuant  to  the  provision  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Andrew  Johnson,  the  Vice-President, 
has  formally  assumed  the  functions  of  President,  and  that  the  President  has 
authorized  you  to  perform  the  duties  of  Secretary  of  State,  I  beg  you  to  accept 
the  assurance  of  the  high  and  distinguished  consideration  with  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient,  humble  servant, 

W.  RAASLOFF. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State  of  tlie  United  States,  Washington. 


[Translation.] 

DANISH  LEGATION, 

New  York,  May  20,  1865. 

PRESIDENT  :  I  have  the  honor,  in  conformity  with  instructions  from  my 
government  which  have  just  reached  me,  to  tender  you,  in  the  name  and  on 
In-half  of  his  Majesty  the  King,  my  august  Sovereign,  the  assurance  of  profound 
grief  with  which  his  Majesty  has  learned  the  death  of  the  late  lamented  President 
LINCOLN  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  and  the  murderous  attempt  made  to  take 
the  life  of  the  honorable  Secretary  of  State. 

His  Majesty  the  King,  as  well  as  the  whole  people  of  Denmark,  sincerely 
and  earnestly  sympathize  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  their  affliction 


56  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

and  their  mourning  over  the  loss  of  a  ruler  wlio.se  great  qualities  and  many 
virtues  were  fully  appreciated  by  my  countrymen. 

Be  pleased  to  accept  the  expression  of  the  warm  and  earnest  wishes  for 
your  prosperity,  and  for  the  welfare  of  the  United  States,  which  it  is  my  pleasant 
duty  to  offer  to  you  in  the  name  of  my  sovereign,  who  will  have  learned  with 
sincere  gratification  that  the  great  trial  through  which  this  country  has  had  to 
pass  in  consequence  of  the  sad  events  to  which  I  have  alluded,  has  served  to 
prove  once  more  the  strength  of  its  institutions  and  the  patriotism  of  its  people; 
and  that  the  prospects  of  this  great  nation  were  never  more  promising  or  inspir 
ing  greater  or  more  general  confidence  than  at  this  present  moment,  when  peace 
and  concord  are  rapidly  being  restored  under  the  auspices  of  a  wise  and  mag 
nanimous  Chief  Magistrate. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  President,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  obedient, 
humble  servant, 

W.  RAASLOFF. 


Mr.  Wood  to  Mr.  Seward. 

[Extract.] 

No.  194.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Copenhagen,  May  1,  1865. 

SIR  :  There  was  but  one  feeling  of  horror  here  on  learning  the  assassination 
of  President  LINCOLN  and  the  attempt  on  your  life.  As  soon  as  it  was  authorita 
tively  known,  the  diplomatic  corps  and  the  ministers  of  state  called  to  express 
their  sympathy,  and  the  King,  in  a  note  from  Mr.  Blumhe,  the  foreign  minister, 
(who  is  still  confined  to  his  house  from  illness,)  feelingly  expressed  his ;  and  this 
on  the  day  of  the  funeral  services  for  the  deceased  Czarowitz,  his  intended  son- 
in-law,  and  at  which  all  the  foreign  ministers  assisted.  I  congratulate  you  on 
your  narrow  escape.  I  hope  I  can  on  your  son's,  but  the  news  is  contradictory, 
and  I  fear  the  worst. 

This  terrible  tragedy  at  Washington  is  a  natural  sequence  of  this  rebellion, 
and  in  keeping  with  the  murder  of  Union  prisoners  by  starvation.  It  is  a  con 
sequence  of  slavery.  Well  if  the  nation  now  rouse  to  the  conviction  (as  I  long 
since  have,  as  you  well  know)  that  there  is  a  class  at  the  south,  (of  whom  Booth 
was  one,)  the  plotters  of  this  rebellion,  and  their  brigands,  who  must,  as  a 
political  necessity,  be  expatriated,  or  in  some  way  annihilated  from  our  soil,  if 
the  freedmen  and  the  northern  emigrant  are  to  dwell  in  peace  and  safety  at  the 
south.  The  future  of  the  South  demands  this.  *  *  * 

I  remain,  very  truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

BRADFORD  R,  WOOD. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        57 

Governor  Birch  to  Mr.  Perkins. 

GOVERNMENT  HOUSE, 

St.  Croix,  June  14,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  communication 
of  the  3d  instant,  in  which  you  have  informed  me  of  the  assassination  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

President  LINCOLN'S  sudden  death  has  everywhere  in  the  civilized  world 
called  forth  a  profound  sympathy,  and  the  nefarious  act — a  deed  in  foul  atrocity 
scarcely  ever  equalled — to  which  he  fell  a  victim,  has  awakened  a  vivid  horror 
and  indignation. 

I  am  aware  that  these  sentiments  have  been  fully  participated  in  in 
Denmark;  and  here  in  his  Majesty's  West  India  colonies,  connected  as  they 
are  with  the  United  States  by  many  and  near  interests,  the  tidings  of  the 
abhorrent  crime  must  necessarily  seize  all  minds. 

I  beg,  sir,  to  express  to  you  the  sincere  sorrow  I  have  felt  at  the  great 
calamity  that  has  befallen  the  American  nation. 

About  the  same  time  we  had  received  the  sad  intelligence  of  the  murder 
of  President  LINCOLN,  we  also  received  the  account  of  those  achievements  that 
finally  terminated  that  disunion  which  for  more  than  four  years  has  split  the 
United  States;  and  it  has  given  me  great  joy,  through  every  new  information 
which  has  reached  us  from  America,  to  find  expressed  an  unshaken  faith  in  the 
future,  and  a  full  confidence  in  the  new  President,  Mr.  Johnson.  I  can  there 
fore,  to  the  expression  of  my  deep  concern  at  President  LINCOLN'S  tragic  fate, 
fully  add  tlie  expression  of  my  best  and  heartfelt  wishes  for  the  United  States 
and  President  Johnson's  prosperity  and  welfare,  which  I  beg  you  in  behalf  of 
your  government  and  your  country  to  accept. 

It  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  know  that  the  Hon.  William  II.  Seward,  the 
Secretary  of  State,  and  his  son,  Mr.  F.  W.  Seward.  the  Assistant  Secretary, 
will  soon  have  completely  recovered  from  the  wounds  inflicted  upon  them  by  a 
murderous  hand,  extended  from  Ihe  same  villanous  plot  that  destroyed  the 
President's  life. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  with  the;  highest  consideration, 

W.  L.  BIRCH. 
E.  II.  PERKINS,  Esq., 

Consul  of  t lie  I'/ii/ed  Stales  of  America. 


58  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


ECUADOK. 


Mr.  Herrera  to  Mr.  Hassaureh. 

[Translation.] 

QUITO,  May  22,  1865. 

The  undersigned,  minister  of  exterior  relations  of  the  republic  of  Ecuador, 
has  received  and  communicated  to  his  Excellency  the  President  your  excellency's 
note  of  the  loth  instant,  in  which  your  excellency  informs  the  undersigned  of 
the  death  of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States, 
who  was  assassinated  in  the  city  of  Washington  on  the  14th  of  April,  and  that 
in  consequence  of  this  deplorable  event  his  Excellency  Andrew  Johnson,  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  has  succeeded  to  the  presidency. 

Such  a  lamentable  and  painful  event  has  filled  the  Ecuadorian  people  and 
government  with  the  deepest  grief,  because  of  the  cordial  and  sincere  sympathies 
which  they  have  entertained  and  do  entertain  for  the  powerful  republic  of  the 
Union ;  and  to  manifest  their  condolence,  the  government  of  the  undersigned  has 
ordered  that  all  the  officers  and  employes  of  the  republic  shall  wear  mourning 
for  three  days,  during  which  time  the  flag  of  the  republic  shall  be  displayed  at 
half-mast. 

The  undersigned  avails  himself  of  this  opportunity,  &c.,  &c. 

PABLO  HERRERA. 

His  Excellency  the  MINISTER  RESIDENT 

Of  the  United  States  of  America. 


Mr.  Herrera  to  Mr.  HassaureJc. 

[Translation.] 

QUITO,  Mai/  22,  1865. 

The  government  of  the  undersigned  has  received  with  deep  regret  the 
communication  of  your  excellency,  dated  Guayaquil,  May  15,  informing  the 
undersigned  that  on  the  fatal  night  of  the  14th  of  April,  and  almost  at  the  same 
hour  when  the  President  of  the  United  States  was  assassinated,  an  attempt  was 
made  by  an  unknown  individual  to  assassinate  his  excellency  William  H.  Sew- 
ard,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  but  that  fortunately,  by  the  pro 
tection  of  Divine  Providence,  his  life  was  saved,  and  that,  though  wounded  by 
the  assassin,  he  was  already  considered  out  of  danger ;  also  that  for  the  time 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.         59 

being  the  honorable  William  Hunter  has  taken  charge  of  the  department  of 
foreign  relations. 

The  undersigned  entertains  the  most  fervent  wishes  for  the  recovery  of 
his  excellency  William  H.  Seward,  and  for  the  preservation  of  order  and  peace 
in  the  powerful  republic  of  the  United  States. 

Availing  himself  of  this  opportunity,  &c.,  &c. 

PABLO  HERRERA. 
His  Excellency  the  MINISTER  RESIDENT 

Of  the  United  State*  of  America. 


President  Moreno  to  Mr.  Hassaurek. 

[Translation.] 

QUITO,  May  22,  1865. 

The  fatal  news  which  arrived  by  yesterday's  mail  has  produced  a  profound 
and  painful  impression  on  me.  Never  should  I  have  thought  that  the  noble 
country  of  Washington  would  be  humiliated  by  such  a  black  and  horrible 
crime ;  nor  should  1  ever  have  thought  that  Mr.  LINCOLN  would  come  to  such  a 
horrible  end,  after  having  served  his  country  with  such  wisdom  and  glory  under 
so  critical  circumstances. 

Although  the  minister  has  already  written  to  you  officially  to  manifest  to 
you  the  grief  which  we  all  feel  for  the  lamentable  loss  the  great  republic  has 
sustained,  I  wanted  to  write  to  you  individually,  as  a  friend  and  as  an  American, 
to  unite  my  regret  with  yours  and  that  of  all  righteous  and  honorable  men. 

I  am  your  affectionate  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

G.  GARCIA  MORENO. 

His  Excellency  F.  HASSAUREK, 

United  States  Minuter  Resident,  §c.,  Syc.,  8fc. 


Mr.  Haxmiirek  to  Mr.  Seward. 

[Extract] 

No.  155.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Guayaquil,  May  21,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  shocking  news  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and 
the  murderous  assault  on  you  has  produced  the  greatest  consternation  here.  *  * 

Enclosed  you  will  find  the  proceedings  of  a  meeting  of  American 
citizens  held  at  this  place  on  the  17th  instant,  to  give  expression  to  their 
grief  and  indignation.  At  the  request  of  the  secretary,  I  enclose  one  copy 


60  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

of  the  proceedings  directed  to  you,  and  another  to  the  widow  of  our  lamented 
late  President. 

But  these  feelings  of  grief  and  sorrow  are  not  confined  to  the  American 
residents.  The  native  population  sympathizes  with  us  most  tenderly  in  our 
great  affliction.  Numerous  were  the  visits  and  expressions  of  condolence  I 
received  from  the  authorities  and  prominent  citizens ;  and  I  may  say  that,  tin- 
many  years,  no  other  announcement  has  produced  such  sadness  here  as  the 
death  of  President  LINCOLN.  For  him  a  whole  continent  is  in  mourning,  and 
his  loss  will  be  lamented  all  over  the  world. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain  your  most  obedient  servant, 

F.  HASSAUREK. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWAKD, 

Secretary  oj  State. 


Mr.  Hassaurelt  to  Mi:  Seward. 

[Extract.] 

No.  160.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Guayaquil,  May  29,  1865. 

SIR  :  Besides  ordering  that  all  the  officers  and  employes  of  the  republic  of 
Ecuador  shall  wear  mourning  for  three  days,  during  which  time  the  Ecuadorian 
Hag  shall  be  displayed  at  half-mast  from  all  the  public  buildings,  President 
Garcia  Moreno,  immediately  after  the  arrival  of  the  horrible  news  of  President 
LINCOLN'S  death  at  Quito,  wrote  me  a  letter  of  condolence. 

I  also  received  letters  of  condolence  from  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs, 
and  other  prominent  citizens  of  Quito.  These  and  other  manifestations  will 
enable  you  to  judge  what  a  sensation  of  amazement  and  regret  Mr.  LINCOLN'S 
lamentable  death  has  produced  in  Spanish  America.  Even  those  who  were  but 
lukewarm  friends  of  the  Union,  or  open  sympathizers  with  the  rebellion,  are 
now  loud  in  their  condemnation  of  the  South. 

With  expressions  of  profound  respect  and  consideration,  I  have  the  honor 
to  remain  your  most  obedient  servant, 

F.  HASSAUREK. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        61 

EGYPT. 


Mr.  Hale  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

No.  25.]  AGENCY  AND  CONSULATE  GENERAL 

OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 

Alexandria,  Egypt,  Mai/  5,  1865. 

SIH  :  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  his  highness  the  Pacha  of  Egypt  has 
seized  the  earliest  opportunity  to  express  to  me  the  pain  with  which  he  has 
heard  the  sad  tidings  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
his  detestation  of  the  abominable  crime,  and  his  sympathy  for  our  country  in  the 
grievous  loss  we  have  sustained. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  most  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  HALE, 
lion.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Mr.  Hale  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

No.  26.]  AGENCY  AND  CONSULATE  GENERAL 

OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 
Alexandria,  May  13,  1865 

SIK  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  instructions 
under  date  of  the  17th  of  April,  with  official  intelligence  of  the  foul  assassina 
tion  of  the  President  and  of  the  dastardly  attempt,  happily  unsuccessful,  to  take 
the  lives  of  the  Secretary  of  State  and  the  Assistant  Secretary. 

I  have  already,  in  my  despatch  No.  25,  reported  the  cordial  expression  of 
sympathy  which  his  highness  the  Pacha  of  Egypt  hastened  to  make  me,  in  an 
official  interview,  immediately  after  the  sad  news  was  known  here. 

I  have  since  received  and  am  daily  receiving  other  expressions  of  the  pub 
lic  feelings  of  all  nationalities  represented  here,  in  respect  for  the  memory  of 
the  late  President  and  of  confidence  in  the  administration  of  the  government 
by  his  successor. 

A  special  religious  ceremony  has  been  ordered  by  the  Greek  community 
at  the  Greek  church,  and  one  will  be  held  at  this  consulate  general,  conducted 
by  the  American  missionaries,  on  the  day  appointed  for  the  purpose  in  the 
President's  proclamation. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  HALE. 

lion.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


62  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

FEANCE. 


Mr.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys  to  Mr.  Bigelow. 

[Translation.] 

PARIS,  April  26,  1865 

SIR  :  The  telegrams  published  in  the  evening  papers  inform  me  of  the 
horrible  crime  of  which  Messieurs  LINCOLN  and  Seward  have  been  the  victims. 
I  would  not  delay  a  moment  longer  to  express  to  you  our  profound  sympathy. 

Yours,  very  sincerely, 

DROUYN   DE   LHUYS. 
JOHN  BIGELOW,  Esq., 

United  States  Minister,  Paris. 


COMMUNICATION    FROM   THE    GOVERNMENT. 
[Translated  from  the  Mwniteur  of  May  2,  1865.] 

The  PRESIDENT.  M.  the  minister  president  of  the  council  of  state  has  the 
Moor,  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  a  communication  from  the  government. 
[The  house  becomes  attentive.] 

His  excellency  M.  VUITRY,  minister  president  of  the  council  of  state. 
Gentlemen  of  the  senate  :  In  pursuance  of  the  orders  of  the  Emperor,  I  have 
the  honor  to  communicate  to  the  senate  the  despatch*  addressed  on  the  28th 
of  April  last  by  M.  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  to  M.  the  charge  d'affaires  of 
France  at  Washington  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN. 

I  do  not  think,  gentlemen  of  the  senate,  that  this  communication  needs 
any  commentary;  it  explains  itself.  I  trust  the  senate  will  share  the  feelings  of 
which  the  despatch  which  I  have  had  the  honor  of  reading  contains  the  ready 
expression.  In  uniting  together  to  brand  with  reprobation  a  horrible  crime, 
the  Emperor,  the  great  bodies  of  the  state,  and  France  in  its  totality  will  give 
to  the  republic  of  the  United  States  a  fresh  testimony  of  their  sincere  sympa 
thy.  [Loud  approbation.] 

The  PRESIDENT.  Gentlemen :  In  acknowledging  the  communication  just 
made  by  M.  the  minister,  I  beg  the  senate  will  permit  me  to  express,  in  its 
name,  a  sentiment  which,  in  its  unanimity  and  energy,  is  equally  felt  by  all 
The  senate  felt  a  deep  emotion  at  the  news  of  the  crime  committed  against  the 
illustrious  head  of  an  allied  nation.  Mr.  LINCOLN,  placed  since  1861  at  the 


"See  despatch  from  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys  to  M.  de  Geofroy. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        63 

head  of  the  American  nation,  had  passed  through  the  most  afflicting  trials  that 
could  befall  a  government  founded  on  liberty.  It  was  at  the  moment  when 
victory  presented  itself,  not  as  a  signal  of  conquests,  but  as  the  means  of  recon 
ciliation,  that  a  crime,  still  obscure  in  its  causes,  destroyed  the  existence  of  that 
citizen,  placed  so  high  by  the  choice  of  his  countrymen.  Mr.  LINCOLN  fell  at 
the  moment  when  he  thought  he  was  at  the  point  of  arriving  at  the  term  ot  the 
misfortunes  by  which  his  country  was  afflicted,  and  when  he  indulged  in  the 
hope  of  seeing  it  soon  reconstituted  and  nourishing.  The  senate,  which  has 
always  deplored  the  civil  war,  detests  still  more  that  implacable  hatred  which 
is  its  fruit,  and  which  disgraces  politics  by  assassination.  There  can  therefore 
be  but  one  voice  in  this  body,  to  join  in  the  ideas  expressed  by  order  of  the 
Emperor,  in  the  name  of  a  generous  policy  and  of  humanity.  [Approbation.] 
I  propose  to  the  senate  to  decree  that  a  copy  of  the  minutes  of  the  present 
sitting  be  officially  transmitted  to  the  minister  of  state.  [Loud  and  prolonged 
approbation.] 


CORPS  LEGISLATIF — SITTING  OF  MONDAY,  MAY  1. 

[Translated  from  the  Moniteur  of  May  2,  1865.] 

President  SCHNEIDER.  M.  the  minister  of  state  has  the  floor  to  transmit  a 
communication  from  the  government.  [The  assembly  becomes  very  attentive 
and  silent.] 

His  excellency  M.  ROUHER,  minister  of  state.  Gentlemen  :  An  odious  crime 
has  plunged  in  mourning  a  people  composed  of  our  allies  and  friends.  The 
news  of  that  odious  act  has  produced  throughout  the  civilized  world  a  sentiment 
of  indignation  and  horror.  [Assent.] 

Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  displayed  in  the  afflicting  struggle  which  con 
vulses  his  country  that  calm  firmness  and  that  invincible  energy  which  belong 
to  strong  minds,  and  are  a  necessary  condition  for  the  accomplishment  of  great 
duties.  [Repeated  assent.] 

After  the  victory,  he  had  shown  himself  generous,  moderate;,  and  conciliatory. 
[Hear,  hear.]  He  was  anxious  to  at  once  terminate  the  civil  war  and  restore 
to  America,  by  means  of  peace,  her  splendor  and  prosperity.  [Hear,  hear.] 

The  first  chastisement  that  Providence  inflicts  on  crime  is  to  render  it 
powerless  to  retard  the  march  of  good.  [Repeated  assent.]  The  deep  emotion 
and  elevated  sympathies  which  are  being  displayed  in  Europe  will  be  received 
by  the  American  people  as  a  consolation  and  an  encouragement.  The  work  of 
appeasement  commenced  by  a  great  citizen  will  be  completed  by  the  national 


tf4  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

will.  [Hear,  hear.]  The  Emperor's  government  has  sent  to  Washington  the 
expression  of  a  legitimate  homage  to  the  memory  of  an  illustrious  statesman 
torn  from  the  government  of  the  States  by  an  execrable  assassination. 

By  his  Majesty's  order  I  have  the  honor  to  communicate  to  the  legislative 
body  the  despatch  addressed  by  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  to  our  represent 
ative  at  Washington.  It  is  thus  worded  :  [For  the  despatch  see  note  from  Mr. 
Drouyn  de  Lhuys  to  Mr.  de  Geofroy.  The  reading  was  frequently  interrupted 
by  expressions  of  approbation  and  by  applause.] 

This  despatch,  gentlemen,  does  not  call  for  any  comment.  The  Emperor, 
the  public  bodies,  and  France,  from  one  end  to  the  other,  are  unanimous  in  their 
sentiments  of  reprobation  for  a  detestable  crime,  in  their  homage  to  a  great 
political  character,  victim  of  the  most  criminal  passions,  and  in  their  ardent 
wishes  for  the  re-establishment  of  harmony  and  concord  among  the  great  and 
patriotic  American  nation.  [Unanimous  assent.] 

President  SCHNEIDER.  Gentlemen :  I  wish  to  be  the  interpreter  of  your 
thought  in  publicly  expressing  the  grief  and  indignation  which  we  have  all  felt 
on  learning  the  news  of  the  bloody  death  of  President  LINCOLN.  That  execrable 
crime  has  revolted  all  that  is  noble  in  the  heart  of  France.  Nowhere  has  more 
profound  or  more  universal  emotion  been  felt  than  in  our  country.  We  there 
fore  heartily  join  in  the  sentiments  and  sympathies  which  have  been  manifested 
by  the  government.  [Yes,  yes.] 

Having  been  called  to  the  direction  of  public  affairs  at  an  ever-memorable 
crisis,  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  always  proved  himself  fully  equal  to  his 
difficult  mission.  After  having  shown  his  immovable  firmness  in  the  struggle, 
he  seemed  by  the  wisdom  of  his  language  and  of  his  views  destined  to  bring 
about  a  fruitful  and  durable  reconciliation  between  the  sons  of  America.  [Hear, 
hear.] 

His  last  acts  worthily  crown  the  lite  of  an  honest  man  and  a  good  citizen. 
Let  us  hope  that  his  spirit  and  his  sentiments  may  survive  him,  and  inspire  the 
American  people  with  pacific  and  generous  resolutions.  [Approbation.] 

France  has  deplored  the  bloody  struggles  which  have  afflicted  humanity 
and  civilization.  She  ardently  desires  the  re-establishment  of  peace  in  the  midst 
•  if  that  great  nation,  her  ally  and  her  friend,  [Hear,  hear.] 

May  our  prayers  be  heard,  and  may  Providence  put  an  end  to  these  painful 
trials.  [Unanimous  approbation.] 

The  legislative  body  acknowledges  the  receipt  of  the  communication  just 
made  to  it  by  the  government,  and  demands  that  an  extract  of  the  minutes  of 
the  sitting  shall  be  officially  addressed  to  the  minister  of  state.  [General  marks 
of  assent ] 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        (55 

[Translation.] 

After  the  meeting  of  the  deputies  of  the  opposition,  which  took  place  April 
30,  the  following  letter  was  addressed  to  Mr.  Schneider,  vice-president  of  the 
legislative  chambers : 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  In  presence  of  the  misfortune  which  has  just  fallen  upon 
the  American  republic,  and  seeing  the  demonstrations  of  foreign  parliaments 
which  have  taken  place,  we  cannot  conceal  our  astonishment  that  we  have  not 
been  called  together  in  a  public  sitting,  and  we  beg  of  you,  sir,  to  satisfy  the 
legitimate  sentiment  which  we  express  to  you. 

Be  pleased  to  accept,  Mr.  President,  the  expression  of  our  high  considera 
tion. 

JULES  FAVRE.  JULES  SIMON. 

CARNOT.  PELLETAN. 

ERNEST  PICARD.          GARNIER  PAGES. 

HERRON.  JOSEPH  MAGUIN. 

GUEROULT.  LANJUINAIS. 

BETHMONT  GLAIS  BIZOIN. 

DORIAN. 


Address  of  the  deputies  of  the  left  to  Mr.  Bigelow,  minister  of  tlie  United  States 

at  Paris. 

[Translation.  ] 

United  from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts  with  the  American  citizens,  we  desire 
to  express  to  them  our  admiration  of  the  great  people  who  have  destroyed  the 
last  vestiges  of  slavery,  and  for  LINCOLN,  the  glorious  martyr  to  duty. 

JULES  FAVRE.  JULES  SIMON. 

CARNOT.  PELLETAN. 

GARNIER  PAGES.  GLAIS  BIZOIN. 

LANJUINAIS.  JOSEPH  MAGUIN. 

BETHMONT.  DORIAN. 

ERNEST  PICARD  IIERRON. 

GUEROULT.  A.  MALESPINE. 

ALEX.  BONNEAU.  C.  SAUVESTRE. 

J.  LABBE.  A.  MERAY. 

II.  MA  LOT.  ARNAUD. 

JOUSSENEL.  J.  J.  BLANC. 

ED.  POMPERY.  E.  GUERIN. 


66 


ASSASSINATION    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


FOURAY. 

LOUIS  NOIR, 

COUTANT. 

DR.  MONTANIER. 

AZEVEDO. 

J.  VINET. 

CAUCHOT. 

PFLUGER,  PERE. 

E.  CLARAC. 

F.  BARBADIE. 
H.  PERRA. 

J.  BACHEREAU. 

G.  BOTH,  (of  Strasbourg.} 
SOISSONS. 

C.  MAZANDIER. 
A.  A.  MADINIER. 
DINET. 
A.  ROUSSEAU. 
A.  BACHEREAU. 
E.  MARTINET. 
J.  LEROUX. 
J.  E.  GRAND. 
J.  LEELEREG. 
H.  PFEIFFER, 
HEROLD. 


FERRARI. 

J.  M.  CAYLA. 

PAUGIN. 

VICTOR  MEUNIER. 

FRANCISQUE  SARCEY. 

MAN. 

FOLLENFAUT. 

E.  HUET. 

DAVEZAC. 

V.  B.  VIGNIER. 

BARAGUET. 

L.  TISON. 

A  SIMOUNIN. 

H.  BARCLAY. 

LEGRAND,  (Hub.) 

CH.  BONNEAU. 

CH.  PIGUENOT. 

L.  LAZARE. 

OLIVE. 

A  GILLOT. 

A.  COGUERET. 

G.  PERRIN. 

H.  GAUTER. 

DREO. 

EMMANUEL  ARAGO. 


M.  de  Lhuys  to  M.  de  Geofroy. 

[Translation. — Communicated  by  the  French  legation.] 

DEPARTMENT  OF  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 

Paris,  April  28,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  news  of  the  crime  of  which  President  LINCOLN  has  recently  be 
come  the  victim  has  caused  to  the  imperial  government  a  profound  sentiment 
of  indignation. 

His  Majesty  immediately  charged  one  of  his  aides-de-camp  to  repair  to  the 
residence  of  the  minister  of  the  United  States,  to  ask  him  to  transmit  at  once 
the  expression  of  his  indignation  to  Mr.  Johnson,  who  is  now  invested  with  the 
presidency.  I  also  desired,  myself,  by  the  despatch  which  I  addressed  to  you 
of  yesterday's  date,  to  apprise  you,  without  delay,  of  the  sorrowful  emotion  we 
have  felt,  and  I  have  to-day,  in  conformity  with  the  will  of  the  Emperor,  to 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  67 

render  merited   homage   to  the  great  citizen  whose   loss  the  United    States 
deplore. 

Elevated  to  the  chief  magistration  of  the  republic  by  the  suffrage  of  his 
countrymen,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  had  brought  to  the  exercise  of  the  powers 
placed  in  his  hands  the  most  substantial  qualifications.  Force  of  character  was 
allied  in  him  with  loftiness  of  principle.  Therefore,  his  vigorous  spirit  never 
quailed  before  the  terrible  trials  reserved  for  his  government.  At  the  moment 
when  an  atrocious  crime  snatched  him  from  the  mission  which  he  filled  with 
the  sense  of  religious  duty,  he  enjoyed  the  consciousness  that  the  triumph  of 
his  policy  was  definitively  assured. 

His  recent  proclamations  are  traces  of  the  thoughts  of  prudence  which 
inspired  him  in  undertaking  resolutely  the  task  of  reorganizing  the  Union 
and  of  consolidating  peace.  The  supreme  satisfaction  of  accomplishing  this 
work  has  not  been  accorded  to  him.  But,  in  gathering  up  these  last  testimonials 
of  his  high  wisdom,  as  well  as  the  examples  of  good  sense,  of  courage,  and  of 
patriotism  which  he  has  given,  history  will  not  hesitate  to  place  him  in  the 
rank  of  citizens  who  have  done  most  honor  to  their  country. 

By  order  of  the  Emperor,  I  transmit  this  despatch  to  the  minister  of  state, 
who  is  charged  to  communicate  it  to  the  senate  and  legislative  body.     France 
will  unanimously  take  share  in  this  thought  of  the  Emperor. 
Receive,  &c. 

DROUYN  DE  LHUYS. 

Mr.  L.  DE  GEOFROY, 

Charge  d '  Ajj'aire*  of  France,  Washington. 

P.  S. — You  will  please  remit  a  copy  of  this  despatch  to  the  Secretary  of 
State  of  the  United  States. 


Mr.  Geofroy  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

[Translation.] 

LEGATION  OF  FRANCE  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

WaxhingfoH,  AjtriJ  16,  1865 

SIR:  I  have  received  the  note  by  which  you  announce  to  me  the  sad  events 
which  now  afflict  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

You  please  to  inform  me  at  the  same  time  that  the  Vice-President,  Andrew 
Johnson,  has,  under  the  Constitution,  officially  entered  into  possession  of  the 
presidency,  and  has  authorized  you,  sir,  to  fill,  until  further  order,  the  functions 
of  Secretary  of  State. 

I  only  anticipate  the  instructions  of  my  government  in  assuring  you  of  the 
deep  and  painful  regret  with  which  it  will  learn  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN, 


68  ASSASSINATION    OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

and  other  outrages  which  accompanied  that  great  crime.  That  it  will  take  very 
lively  interest  in  your  calamities  you  cannot  doubt.  Please,  therefore,  receive 
all  the  condolences  which  I  this  day  offer  to  you  in  its  name,  to  which  I  add  at 
the  same  time  the  very  sincere  expression  of  my  personal  feelings. 

I  renew  to  you  on  this  occasion  the  assurance  of  my  most  distinguished 
consideration. 

L.  DE  GEOFROY. 
Hon  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation.] 

BOYAN-ON-THE-SEA,  May  5,  1865. 
To  the   United  States  Minister  in  Paris : 

Frenchmen  living  upon  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  have  but  to  glance  over 
the  ocean,  and  thus  feel  as  if  they  were  in  immediate  communication  with  your 
( ountry. 

Ihe  undersigned  inhabitants  of  Boyan,  for  this  reason,  have  felt  more 
seriously  the  awful  event  which  occurred  at  Washington  on  the  14th  of  April 
last.  They  now  meet  to  express  their  profound  grief  and  deep  indignation  to 
the  minister,  the  government,  and  the  country. 

We  cannot  help  admiring  the  honest  and  much  respected  ABRAHAM  LIN 
COLN,  who  resisted  the  attacks  of  southern  fanatics,  and  thus  created  four  millions 
of  new  men.  We  admired  his  calmness  in  the  struggle,  his  lenity  in  victory, 
taught  him  in  his  civil  education,  by  his  religious  observance  of  the  law.  And 
now  the  miserable,  depraved  slaveholders,  capable  of  all  crimes,  have  cowardly 
deprived  him  of  his  life,  and  attempted  that  of  two  noble  souls,  Mr.  Seward  and 
his  son,  worthy  colleagues  and  fellow-countrymen  of  the  newly  elected  citizen 
President. 

With  firm  hopes  that  this  horrid  event  will  serve  to  strengthen  the  Union, 
we  ask  you  to  receive  our  condolence  and  our  cordial  sympathy. 

V.  JOUALN,  AND  FORTY  OTHERS 


[Translation.] 

LODGE  OF  LA  TRANCHE  UNION,  AT  CHOISY-LE-ROI, 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  SEINE,  the  17 th  of  May,  1865. 

SIR  :  All  honest  hearts  were  filled  with  indignation  at  the  news  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN'S  death,  and  earnestly  execrated  the  fratricidal  hand  that  felled  the 
great  citizen  of  the  United  States.  Tell  your  fellow-countrymen  that  during 
this  mortal  duel  between  freedom  and  slavery  we  never  ceased  to  offer  up  our 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  69 

prayers  for  the  good  cause.  Tell  our  brothers  of  the  great  republic  we  mourn 
with  them  the  loss  of  a  brother  whose  memory  will  be  ever  dear  to  patriots  and 
Freemasons.  He  honored  masonry,  and  we  ought  to  feel  more  sensibly  than 
others  the  loss  caused  by  the  assassin's  dagger,  hid  under  the  cloak  of  liberty. 
His  death  reminds  us  masons,  living  in  the  shadow  of  Rouget  de  1'Isle's  tomb, 
that  in  times  of  great  convulsions  it  is  from  the  field  and  workshop  that  great 
men  spring  with  a  bound  to  save  their  countries ;  and  the  history  of  our  two 
nations  furnishes  many  such  examples.  Honor  also  to  Mr.  LINCOLN  for  the  sim 
plicity  he  brought  from  his  home  to  the  palace  where  he  exercised  the  great 
trust  confided  to  him,  and  proved  the  most  perfect  model  of  a  chief  magistrate. 
This  lodge  in  its  last  session  decided  by  acclamation  to  make  known  to  the 
brethren  in  the  United  States  that  it  wears  with  them  mourning  for  the  hero 
and  martyr  whose  patriotism  has  made  him  the  fellow-citizen  of  all  friends  of 
justice  and  liberty. 

From  this  date  the  name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is  inscribed  on  the  list  of  our 
members,  and  at  each  session  for  three  months  a  brother  will  rise  at  the  call  of 
his  name, and  answer :  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  died  like  a  mason,  to  elevate  humanity, 
outraged  by  slavery.  At  the  expiration  of  three  months  we  will  celebrate  a 
masonic  funeral  to  his  memory,  inviting  the  brethren  of  all  the  other  lodges. 

BOURGEON,  JR., 
President  of  the  Franche  Union. 

AND  TWENTY-FOUR  OTHER  MEMBERS  OF  THE  LODGE. 

The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER. 


[Translation.] 

CHAVANIAC,  May  2,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  hope  you  will  excuse  me  for  addressing  you  this  little  note ;  but  you 
will  certainly  think  it  natural  that  a  member  of  the  Lafayette  family  should 
wish  to  join  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  in  their  mourning.  At  the  time 
the  odious  crime  was  committed  I  was  absent  from  Paris,  and  was  sick;  so  it 
was  impossible  to  unite  with  some  of  my  countrymen  in  their  public  expressions 
of  sorrow  for  the  death  of  the  eminent  American  statesman. 

I  now  express  all  my  regrets,  and  ask  you  to  accept  my  personal  esteem. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

OSOAR  DK   LAFAYETTE. 
The  UNITED  STATKS  MINISTER,  in  Paris. 


70  .ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN 

[Translation.] 

PERFECT  UNION  LODGK, 

Ckarente,  June  1,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  Perfect  Union  Masonic  Lodge,  Orient  of  Confolens,  grievously 
felt  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  We  were  regarding  in  admiration, 
with  great  interest,  the  gradual  development  of  a  policy  which  had  for  its  object 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  for  human  liberty  is  one  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  masonic  doctrine,  when  we  were  struck  with  stupor  by  the  horrid  news  of 
the  crime  that  deprived  the  world  of  one  of  its  most  honest  men  and  most 
illustrious  citizens. 

But  we  are  consoled  when  we  think  of  the  strength  and  vitality  of  your 
institutions,  that  will  not  leave  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  great  work  unfinished,  and  we 
have  unanimously  decided  that  the  testimony  of  our  sorrow,  admiration,  and 
respect  should  be  written  in  the  golden  lodge  book,  and  transmitted  to  the 
American  nation  through  its  representative  in  Paris. 

Accept,  sir,  the  assurance  of  our  most  distinguished  sentiments. 
The  Venerable  A.  DUCLOU. 

E.  DUCHIKON,  Watchmaker. 
ULKEVETIER. 
RABAUD-LARIBIERE. 
AUDOIN,  Secretary. 
Sealed  by — 

E.  GIBOUIN,  Keeper  of  the  Seals. 
The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER,  in  Paris. 


Mr.    Talbot  to  Mr.  Bigeloiv. 

[Translation.  ] 

CAEN,  CALVADOS,  October  20,  1865. 

SIR  :  At  the  first  news  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  we  had 
circulated  the  address  which  we  send  you  so  late  to-day. 

This  address  was  covered  with  the  signatures  of  the  most  prominent  persons 
of  our  city,  and  names  collected  from  all  classes  of  society. 

Wishing  to  add  to  the  number,  one  of  our  friends  took  the  address  and 
caused  it  to  pass  from  hand  to  hand,  and  finally  it  was  mislaid  for  several  months. 

It  was  impossible  to  think  of  asking  for  so  many  signatures  over  again,  but 
happily  we  succeeded  in  finding  the  paper,  and  now  hasten  to  send  it  to  you. 

We  think  indeed  that  it  is  never  too  late  to  testify  once  more  the  sympathy 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        71 

of  the  French  people  for  the  American  people,  and  to  add  our  felicitations  to 
your  President  Johnson  upon  the  re-establishment  of  the  Union  in  a  manner  at 
once  so  conciliating  and  so  energetic,  so  firm  and  so  lawful. 

Thus  America  gives  to  the  Old  World  a  grand  and  noble  lesson.  Among 
us,  a  powerful  general,  commanding  nearly  a  million  soldiers,  would  have  profited 
by  that  crime  to  proclaim  that  it  was  necessary  to  save  the  republic  by  a  dicta 
torship,  and  he  would  at  last  have  destroyed  it  for  the  profit  of  personal 
ambition. 

With  you  the  Constitution  has  been  respected  with  a  sublime  simplicity. 
Grant,  Sherman,  and  all  your  generals  remain  simple  citizens,  but  great  citizens. 

We  thank  them,  we  thank  your  President  and  your  noble  American  people, 
for  giving  to  us  at  this  day  the  spectacle  of  the  manly  virtues  of  the  bright 
days  of  the  Roman  republic — to  us  people  of  the  Latin  race,  who  have  now 
before  our  eyes  only  Octaviuses,  without  vigor,  tottering  in  their  buskins  while 
trying  to  play  the  part  of  worn-out  Caesars,  amid  the  suppressed  jeers  of  Europe. 

Hail,  then,  to  Johnson,  to  Grant,  to  Sherman !  Hail  to  all  your  citizens, 
and  Heaven  grant  that  they  may  send  back  to  France  with  the  winds  of  the 
ocean — with  its  tempests  if  need  be — those  powerful  blasts  of  liberty  which  it 
sent  to  them  a  century  ago,  at  its  first  awaking. 

We  salute  you  fraternally. 

EDWARD  TALBOT,  Proprietor. 

SETE,  Retired  Merchant. 
Mr.  BIGELOW,  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

of  the  Republic  of  the  United  States,  at  Paris. 


The  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Caen  to  the  honorable  Mr.  Johnson,  President  of 

the  United  States. 

[Translation.] 

SIR  :  There  are  crimes  which  shock  and  distress  not  one  nation  only,  but 
the  conscience  of  mankind.  At  the  first  rumors  of  the  assassination  of  Mr 
LINCOLN  all  Europe  shudders  with  indignation  and  grief.  Impelled  by  this 
emotion,  spontaneous,  universal,  irresistible,  the  public  authorities  themselves 
bow  with  respect  before  that  new-made  grave. 

Why  these  unanimous  regrets?  It  was  not  only  because,  springing  from 
the  ranks  of  the  people,  Mr.  LINCOLN,  by  force  of  will,  of  toil,  of  energy,  had 
reached  the  highest  dignity  of  his  land  ;  it  was  not  only  because,  in  the  face  of 
immense  difficulties,  he  had  arranged  all,  smoothed  all,  surmounted  all ;  but  it 
was,  above  all,  because  he  had  accomplished  that  enormous  task  without  veiling 
the  statue  of  liberty  ;  it  was  because  he  had  become  a  great  man  by  respecting 
the  laws,  and  remaining  an  honest  man. 


72  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

This  is  why  your  sorrow  is  the  sorrow  of  all  good  men. 

But  at,  the  same  time  they  have  confidence  in  your  institutions,  and  they 
know  thut  the  crime  which  has  been  committed  will  but  confirm  anew  their 
vitality  and  power. 

They  intended  to  slay  the  future  of  a  people ;  they  have  only  smitten 
slavery.  A  great  man  is  dead ;  a  great  people  remains. 

It  is  to  them  that  we  send  across  the  ocean  our  deep  regrets,  our  fraternal 
sympathies.  Say  to  them  that  we  love  them ;  tell  them  that  we  have  suffered 
with  their  sufferings;  that  we  have  followed  with  anguish  the  changing  aspects 
of  their  implacable  strife,  and  applauded  their  victory  with  the  enthusiasm  of 
hope,  and  ask  them  also  to  love  us,  and  to  love  our  France. 

Tell  them  to  weep  for  their  great  citizen  departed,  but  not  to  pity  him. 
LINCOLN  had  prevented  the  dismemberment  of  his  country ;  he  had  abolished 
slavery ;  he  had  lived  enough ;  he  could  die.  Dulce  et  decorum  est  pro  pair  id  mori. 

Tell  them,  in  fine,  that  humanity  has  never  given  birth  but  in  sorrow  ;  that 
to  just  and  holy  causes  there  is  need  of  noble  martyrs,  and  that  for  the  ages  the 
only  true  crowns  are  the  crowns  of  thorns,  shining  over  Calvaries. 

CAEN,  CALVADOS,  May  10,  1865. 


An  address  sent  to  Mr.  Bigelow  by  M.  Ed.  Laboulaye,  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants 

of  the  town  of  Guingamp 

[Translation.  ] 

MONSIEUR  LE  MINISTRE  :  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  just  fallen  a  martyr  to 
liberty.  He  dies  in  the  full  blaze  of  triumph,  struck  down  by  an  assassin  at  the 
moment  when  the  great  republic  of  the  United  States  had  passed  through  the 
most  grievous  trials,  thanks  to  the  civic  virtues  and  the  energy  of  their  illustrious 
President.  The  undersigned,  citizens  resident  at  Guingamp,  hasten,  sir,  to 
testify  to  you  the  feeling  of  affliction  and  indignation  in  which  this  cruel  event 
has  plunged  them.  They  are  not  uneasy  about  the  future  of  your  great  nation, 
because  they  know  that  with  a  free  people  the  fate  of  their  institutions  does  not 
depend  upon  the  life  of  one  man,  however  illustrious  he  may  be,  but  they  do 
not  the  less  consider  it  a  duty  to  deplore  with  you  the  death  of  the  excellent 
man  whose  name  will  be  inscribed  in  history  by  the  side  of  that  of  Washington. 

H  LEMASSON,  LEMASSON,  PERE. 

P.  LEMASSON,  FILS  S.  JERET. 

ED.  GUYOMARD  G.  ARGUINT. 

J.  M.  THOMAS  HILARY. 

G.  LECORNEE.  0.  DONIELL. 

LE  GUOYOT.  P.  LE  COY. 

A.  BERNARD  H.  LEBENAFF. 

AND  OTHERS. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.         73 

[Translation.] 

SIR  :  At  the  terrible  news  now  resounding  throughout  the  whole  world, 
the  hearts  of  all  French  Masons  are  filled  with  sorrow.  They  have  shed  tears 
of  sympathy  for  the  glorious  death  of  one  who,  after  having  used  the  hammer, 
square,  and  compass,  those  living  implements  of  our  immortal  society,  raised 
himself  by  his  genius,  his  virtues,  and  spotless  life  to  be  the  great  chief  of  the 
American  people. 

The  most  holy  causes,  by  a  necessary  consecration,  have  always  had  their 
martyrs ;  and  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  will  be  reckoned  as  one  of  them,  the  noblest 
victim  of  duty. 

The  New  Friendship  Lodge  of  Grrasse  lends  its  voice  to  the  echo  of  universal 
regret  of  French  Freemasonry. 

It  does  not  forget  that  if  all  men  are  brothers,  France  and  America  are 
still  closer  united  by  this  sublime  bond,  and  trusts  that  a  supreme  consolation 
will  reach  the  soul  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

No  !  the  grand  villain's  crime  cannot  destroy  the  great  work  of  the  immortal 
citizen.  A  final  peace  and  the  abolition  of  slavery  are  the  just  fruits  of  his  glo 
rious  conduct,  and  these  rewards  of  his  martyrdom  will  show  the  world  what 
the  devotion  of  a  noble  heart  can  do  against  the  prejudices  of  ignorance. 

Receive,  sir,  the  assurance  of  our  most  respectful  consideration. 

[Signed  by  all  the  officers  of  the  lodge ;  names  cannot  be  deciphered.] 

A  similar  letter  is  addressed  by  this  lodge  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New 
York,  and  a  sealed  letter  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 


To  all  the  Freemasons  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York,  by  their  brothers  tlw 

United  Benefactors  of  Gentilbj. 

[Translation.] 

MOST  ILLUSTRIOUS  BROTHERS  :  The  holy  cause  of  liberty  has  one  martyr 
more.  The  secular  work  of  emancipation  of  the  human  race  began  the  day 
when  tyranny  took  the  place  of  fraternity  between  the  strong  and  the  weak; 
was  continued  in  the  Parthenon  and  on  Calvary  ;  then  by  reform  and  revolution 
has  finally  gained  a  new  victory  in  the  United  States,  where  again  the  blood  of 
the  just  has  been  shed.  It  is  one  of  the  laws  of  human  development  that  no 
change  can  be  effected  in  the  social  or  political  order  without  terrible  convul 
sions,  and  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  most  precious  lives.  A  victim  of  his  devotion 
to  the  eternal  principles  of  justice  and  truth,  the  very  illustrious  brother,  AURA- 
HAM  LINCOLN,  has 'given  his  life  for  the  love  of  his  country  and  his  fellow- 
creatures,  thus  setting  the  most  noble  example  a  masonic  brother  can  give  to 
his  brethren — transilt  benefaciendo ! 

10 


74  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

The  horrid  crime  that  felled  him  in  the  hour  of  victory  has  carried  pain 
and  consternation  into  every  heart.  Let  us  mourn !  Freemasonry  has  suffered 
an  irreparable  loss.  Let  us  mourn !  For  persecuted  virtue  only  triumphs 
after  long  and  frightful  struggles,  and  after  'most  cruel  sacrifices. 

But  let  us  hope  that  the  blood  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  not  been  shed  in 
vain.  The  redeemer  of  the  black  race  will  hereafter  be  numbered  among  the 
benefactors  of  the  human  race. 

Brothers,  you  will  complete  the  work  of  the  great  and  generous  citizen, 
whose  name  will  shine  in  history  by  the  side  of  that  of  Washington ;  the  founder 
and  restorer  of  the  American  Union  will  go  down  to  posterity  together 
Courage,  brothers,  courage  !  Slavery  of  the  body  is  conquered  ;  but  slavery  of 
the  soul,  the  worst  kind  of  servitude,  yet  remains.  Let  us  face  it  boldly  ;  we 
in  the  old  continent,  you  in  the  new.  Let  us  struggle  to  destroy  the  ignorance 
and  prejudices  that  yet  enslave  the  human  mind. 

Our  zeal  in  effecting  the  complete  emancipation  of  the  human  race  is  the 
greatest  and  most  worthy  homage  we  can  render  to  the  memory  of  the  eminent 
man  whose  premature  and  tragic  end  is  now  deplored  by  all  Freemasonry. 

Brethren  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York,  receive  the  sincere  expression 
of  our  ardent  sympathy.  Let  our  hearts  form  a  chain  of  union.  Fraternity 
knows  no  distance;  let  us  stretch  our  hands  across  the  Atlantic.  Our  thought 
is  in  you,  as  yours  is  in  us. 

Your  devoted  brothers  of  the  United  Benefactors, 

Honorary  Venerable,  LECAILLIER. 
Venerable,  CAMPAGNE. 
First  W.,  DEGONY,  Orator. 
Second  W.,  V.  FREQUDRE,  Simon. 
Secretary,  E.  PERRECHAY. 
Almoner,  BOURNIR. 
Treasurer,  GUENDIN. 

AND  MANY  OTHERS. 


[Translation.] 

The  abominable  crime  of  Wilkes  Booth  has  thrown  into  your  hands  all  the 
duties  and  all  the  powers  of  the  great  republic  of  the  United  States. 

The  Freemasons  who  assemble!  at  the  Orient  of  Gaillac  (Tarn)  in  the 
Lodge  of  St.  John,  under  the  distinctive  title  of  Orion,  wish  to  express  to  you 
their  sentiments  of  admiration,  gratitude,  and  regret  for  LINCOLN,  and  their  pro- 
iound  sympathy  for  the  government  of  which  you  are  the  head. 

The  blood  of  your  martyred  magistrate  becomes  a  fecundating  dew  to  give 
to  liberty  a  new  baptism  throughout  the  entire  universe. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        75 

Sound  democracy  laments  LINCOLN  in  blessing  his  memory.  God  has 
received  him  into  giory,  and  his  wisdom  inspires  yon.  We,  the  members. of 
this  lodge,  salute  you  in  the  name  of  the  true  children  of  light. 

GARY. 

P.  NIGAL. 

DEMURE. 

CASSAGNES. 

PANTHE. 

AND  MANY  OTIIEKS. 

Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


[Translation.  ] 

To  the  senators  and  representatives  of  tlie  American  Congress  : 

GENTLEMEN:  We,  Creoles  of  Guadeloupe,  of  African  descent,  wish  to 
express  the  profound  sorrow  we  feel  at  the  loss  your  great  republic  has  suffered 
in  the  person  of  its  illustrious  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

This  event,  which  has  shocked  the  civilized  world  and  all  the  true  friends 
of  the  northern  cause — the  cause  of  the  freedom  of  an  oppressed  race — cannot 
find  us  indifferent.  Therefore  we  hasten  to  lay  before  you  the  solemn  testi 
mony  of  our  sincere  grief  and  cordial  sympathy  on  this  occasion  of  the  ever  to 
be  regretted  loss  of  the  eminent  statesman  to  whom  you  had  intrusted  the 
destinies  of  the  Union,  and  to  take  part  in  the  mourning  of  the  land  of  Wash 
ington  and  Jefferson,  those  glorious  heroes  whose  virtue  will  ever  be  the  eulogy 
of  posterity  for  one  who  will  henceforward  be  placed  by  their  side  in  the  history 
of  humanity,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Accept,  gentlemen,  with  our  regrets,  the  wishes  we  express  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  American  republic,  and  for  the  triumph  of  the  great  princi 
ples  of  liberty  and  equality. 

A.  GABRIEL 

P.  GIRAUD. 

CELESTIN  NICOLAS. 

F.  BLANC. 

SYL.  BORY. 

O.  ST.  JULIEN 

DL.  DAGUIN. 

C.  DUMAS. 

AND    MANY    OTHERS. 


76  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

LYONS,  FRANCE,  May  30,  1865. 

CITIZEN  PRESIDENT  :  The  republicans  of  Lyons  were  profoundly  moved 
on  hearing  the  news  of  the  crime  committed  upon  your  illustrious  predecessor, 
and  a  fraternal  feeling  inspires  them  with  the  sacred  duty  of  sending  their  sad 
regrets  to  the  free  country  of  which  you  have  the  honor  of  being  the  Chief 
Magistrate.  We  have  witnessed  all  the  phases  of  the  gigantic  struggle  sustained 
with  so  much  energy  by  the  much  lamented  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  We  partici 
pated  in  all  the  emotions  of  republicans  faithful  to  the  Union,  and  we  meet 
them  with  our  sympathies. 

Our  city,  by  its  manufactures,  is  more  closely  united  to  the  republic  of  the 
United  States  than  any  other  in  France,  and  in  our  feelings  for  your  losses  we 
have  still  closer  ties.  The  war  lias  injured  us  by  paralyzing  our  industry;  but, 
like  you,  we  preferred  conquest  to  compromise,  because  it  insured  the  true 
principles  of  universal  freedom. 

We  wish  these  expressions  of  our  sympathy  to  be  communicated  to  your 
Congress,  and  desire  them  to  be  made  known  to  all  the  citizens  of  America 
who  have  been  so  brave  in  their  duty,  so  invincible  in  their  liberty.  Let  them 
know  that  in  France  they  have  brothers  who  appreciate  their  patriotic  efforts, 
and,  like  them,  love  liberty,  and  understand  the  power  of  institutions  that  resist 
assassinations  and  oppose  conspiracies. 

Honor  to  Mr.  LINCOLN!  eternal  regrets  to  his  venerated  memory;  and 
may  his  glorious  name  become  the  pledge  of  alliance  between  the  American 
republic  and  the  democracy  of  Europe. 

Members  of  the  committee : 

THIVOLLET,  President. 

AND  MANY  OTHERS. 

The  PRESIDENT. 

P.  S. — The  republicans  of  Lyons  hope  soon  to  send  an  honorary  banner* 

dedicated  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  LINCOLN. 

THIVOLLET. 


*  The  silk  weavers  of  Lyons  subsequently  presented  the  United  States  government  with  the  banner  above 
referred  to,  woven  without  seam,  and  on  which  the  following  inscription  is  beautifully  embroidered  in  gold: 

SOUSCKIPTION  POPULAIRE. 

A  LA  REPUBLIQUK  DBS  ETATS  UNIS  OFFERT  EN  MEMOIRE 

D' ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

LYONS,  1865. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        77 

[Translation.] 

LYONS,  April  28,  1865. 

Permit  us,  the  undersigned,  to  offer  to 'the  American  people,  through  you, 
Mr.  President,  the  expression  of  our  poignant  grief  caused  by  the  cowardly 
and  odious  crime  that  has  plunged  all  friends  of  the  Union  into  mourning. 
Strangers  to  politics,  we,  members  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  of  Lyons,  who 
have  many  friends  in  your  country,  feel  as  Christians  the  necessity  of  telling 
you  how  much  we  rejoice  in  the  triumph  of  your  holy  cause,  the  abolition  of 
slavery ;  but  this  triumph  was  crowned  by  martyrdom ;  for  it  we  shed  tears, 
but  feel  it  is  a  great  stain  on  the  garments  of  iniquity,  though  it  is  one  more 
pledge  of  victory.  Already,  during  the  course  of  your  long  struggle,  the 
Cliristians  of  France  have  taken  the  occasion  to  send  to  their  brothers  in 
America  words  of  cordial  sympathy.  Our  prayers  were  united  with  yours. 
We  sighed  at  the  thought  of  so  much  bloodshed,  and  prayed  for  the  end  of  the 
fratricidal  war.  To-day  our  prayers  are  heard.  Millions  of  human  beings  have 
felt  their  fetters  fall.  We  thank  God  for  it.  We  will  continue  to  ask  aid  from 
on  high  to  heal  so  many  wounds,  to  comfort  so  many  widows  and  orphans,  and 
to  raise  from  LINCOLN'S  tomb  such  spirits  as  may  bless  the  world.  The  gospel 
makes  it  our  duty  to  pray  for  princes — for  those  in  high  power — for  rulers  of 
a  people,  and  we  fulfil  this  duty  towards  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
May  the  Lord,  the  author  of  all  grace,  endow  him  with  many  benedictions. 
Accept,  Mr.  President,  the  homage  of  our  most  profound  respect. 
Members  of  the  committee  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  of  Lyons : 

S.  UESCOMBAZ, 

Pastor  and  President. 
E.  MILSAM. 
DARDIER. 
FELIX  FOY. 
Rev.  C.  A.  CORDES. 
J.  WALTHER. 
Rev.  J.  KIRCHOFFER. 
The  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


[Translation.] 

To  the,  glon/  of  (lie  Great  Architect  of  the  Universe.  The  Lodge  of  Toleration 
and  Progress,  24M  day  of  the  month,  in  the  year  of  light  5865.  Wisdom, 
strength,  union. 

Siu  :  The  honest  people  of  all  countries  are  struck  with  horror  at  thti 
crime  to  which  the  illustrious  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  fallen  a  victim,  and  in  the 
masonic  lodges  especially,  devoted  to  benevolence  and  the  relict,  human  suffer- 


78  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


the  death  of  the  glorious  martyr  has  filled  all  hearts  with  profound  sorrow 
This  respectable  Lodge  of  Toleration  and  Progress,  in  the  Orient  of  Lure, 
(Upper  Saone,)  at  its  session  the  10th  of  May  instant,  requested  me  to  forward 
to  you  this  testimony  of  their  sympathy  for  the  memory  of  Brother  LINCOLN. 
Receive  the  homage  of  my  high  consideration. 

The  Venerable  COUTHERAT, 

Notary  at  Lure. 
The  MINISTER  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


[Translation.] 
L'ESCOLE  DE  LA  MORALE  LODGE  OF  LlBOURNE, 

IQfk  day  of  the  3d  month,  in  the  year  of  light  5865. 

Our  emotions  were  deep  on  hearing  the  news  of  the  crime  committed  upon 
the  person  of  your  President,  Mr.  LINCOLN,  our  illustrious  brother.*  The  lodge 
unanimously  resolved,  at  a  called  session,  to  wear  mourning  for  three  months, 
*in  token  of  the  deep  affliction  caused  by  the  loss  of  him  who  was  among  the 
greatest  benefactors  of  the  human  race. 

Have  the  goodness  to  accept  this  decision,  and  regard  it  as  a  proof  of  our 
deep  attachment  to  and  our  feeling  for  the  noble  cause  you  so  worthily  defend. 
We  have  the  honor  to  be  your  very  humble  and  very  devoted  servants, 

AUDRIER 
J.  GALLET,  JR. 
J.  MORIA,  M. 
CASTANET. 
PUJO. 
KREMP. 
His  Excellency  the  MINISTER 

of  the  United  State*  of  America,  at  Par  in 


[Translation.] 

MACON,  May  16,  1865. 
The  R.  L.  of  Combined  Arts  at  Macon  to  the  President  of  the  United  States : 

The  masonic  lodge,  known  by  the  distinctive  name  of  Les  Art  Reunis 
Orient  de  Macon,  wishing  to  associate  itself  with  the  universal  mourning  caused 
by  the  horrible  crime  committed  by  a  wretch  on  the  respected  person  of  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN,  begs  you  to  please  to  become  to  your  countrymen  the  interpreter 
of  its  deep  sorrow  and  its  sympathies. 

It  is  for  us,  Freemasons,  who  know  no  distinction  of  race  or  color — who 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.         79 

receive  without  distinction  in  our  temples  the  prosperous  of  this  world  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  disinherited,  and  who  believe  sincerely  in  human  brother 
hood  —it  is  for  us,  to  express  aloud  to  your  brave  nation  all  the  sorrow  that 
masonry  has  felt  in  learning  that  the  worthy  man  twice  called  by  the  suffrages 
of  his  countrymen  to  preside  over  the  destinies  of  your  great  republic,  had  been 
cowardly  assassinated  at  the  moment  when  his  task  seemed  done. 

After  such  a  misfortune  we  can  only  say  to  you,  courage,  brave  defenders 
of  the  oppressed  against  oppression,  of  the  wretched  slave  against  the  unpitying 
master — courage,  your  cause  is  gained  ! 

The  death  of  the  glorious  martyr  of  equality  and  fraternity  that  we  mourn 
to-day  will  not  hinder  the  accomplishment  of  his  work  of  redemption  ;  as  the 
genius  of  Voltaire  has  survived  his  profaned  remains,  the  spirit  of  LINCOLN  will 
survive  his  mutilated  body. 

As  for  yourself,  Mr.  President,  may  you  be  his  worthy  continuation — finish 
breaking  the  chains  of  the  poor  slave — this  new  brother  you  have  to  protect,  to 
instruct,  and  to  Ipve. 

Please  to  receive,  Mr.  President,  the  assurance  of  our  .sympathies. 
The  Venerable  (in  function)  F.  MARTINELLE, 

The  Second  (18}  Supervisor. 
The  First  Supervisor  VINCAUX,  M. 
The  Venerable  ad  vitam  Leger  18,  CORFFAKD,  FILS. 

The  Orator,  FRAUEN  GUERIN. 
The  Keeper  of  Seals  and  Stamp,  BERTHELON. 

N.  L.  GRUND. 
By  order  of  the  lodge  : 

DAVID. 
The  Secretary,  BEKTRANT. 

VICTOR  JAMES,  G.  1  Exp.  VICTOR,  M. 

LAMBERT.  JANVIER. 

MAUDELEIN  MOULET.  GAMBER, 

LAURENT.  E.  LOISOT,  Ser grant  Majot. 

BREMOXT.  G.  BORGIA. 


[Translation.] 

To  the  glory  of  the  Great  Architect  of  the  Universe.  Under  (lie  auspices  oj  the 
Grand  Order  of  France,  Order  of  Met z,  (this  Wth  Mai/,  1805,  of  the  vulgar 
era,)  and  St,  John's  Lodge,  all  under  tlie  title  of  The  Friend*  of  Truth. 

To  the  Ambassador  of  the  United  ti/ates : 

RESPECTED  SIR  :  At  a  time  when  exclamations  of  condemnation  arise  in 
all  parts  of  the  world  against  the  horrid  crime  of  which  President  LINCOLN  has 
been  the  victim,  Freemasonry  would  be  derelict  to  its  duty  if  it  did  not  raise  its 


80  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

voice  in  expression  of  profound  grief  for  his  death,  sympathy  with  the  adversa 
ries  of  slavery,  and  its  esteem  and  admiration  for  the  great  and  good  man,  so 
great  a  los's  to  the  American  Union. 

The  members  of  the  lodge  of  The  Friends  of  Truth,  in  Metz,  decided,  in 
their  session  of  the  eighth  of  this  month,  that  the  banner  of  their  lodge  should 
be  draped  in  black  for  a  month,  as  mourning  for  and  in  honor  of  the  memory 
of  President  LINCOLN,  who,  by  his  death,  the  result  of  his  devotion  to  a  holy 
cause,  has  gained  a  glorious  place  in  history,  and  that  an  address,  signed  by  the 
five  dignitaries,  should  be  sent  to  you  in  expression  of  the  participation  of  the 
Metz  lodge  in  the  universal  mourning  for  the  loss  of  the  good  man,  who,  by  his 
uprightness,  his  loyalty,  his  public  and  private  virtues,  his  devotion,  and  his 
benevolence,  carries  to  his  grave  the  great  regrets  and  profound  esteem  of  all 
good  people. 

Hoping  the  address  may  be  favorably  received,  we  beg  you  will  accept  the 
most  respectful  homage  of  the  members  of  the  Metz  lodge. 

THIERY,  W.  M. 

P.  MESSE,  S.  Warden. 

JANON,  ./.   Warden. 

CARRERE,  Orator. 

INCIENSUY,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 
MONTAUBAN  AND  TOULOUSE,  May  3,  1865. 

SIR  :  We  appear  in  our  two-fold  capacity,  as  members  of  the  French 
Protestant  church  and  as  correspondents  of  the  London  Society  for  the  Aboli 
tion  of  Slavery,  to  express  to  you  our  profound  and  painful  sympathy,  felt  on 
hearing  of  the  atrocious  crime  committed  on  the  person  of  your  honorable 
President,  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Iii  him  the  United  States  has  lost  the  most  upright  and  the  best  of 
citizens;  the  blacks,  a  wise  and  firm  supporter  of  their  emancipation;  and 
humanity  a  strong  defender  of  order,  justice,  and  liberty.  The  death  of  none 
of  our  contemporaries  could  have  caused  more  regret,  or  produced  a  more 
universal  mourning;  and  this  homage  has  been  well  deserved,  for  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  next  to  Washington,  will  leave  to  history  a  name  the  most  worthy  of 
respect.  He  knew  how  to  reconcile  moderation  with  the  maintenance  of 
right,  and  the  sentiments  of  a  faithful  Christian  with  the  highest  virtues  of  the 
citizen. 

We  bow  to  the  mysterious  ways  of  Providence,  and  we  hope  that  this 
event,  sad  as  it  is,  may  tend,  in  the  hands  of  Him  who  can  bring  good  from  evil, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        81 

to  hasten  the  re-establishment  of  the  great  American  Union,  and  to  remove  the 
last  remaining  obstacles  to  the  complete  emancipation  of  the  slaves. 

The  conscientious  portion  of  humanity  had  already  declared  for  the  North, 
because  it  upheld  a  just  and  holy  cause,  and  it  will  become  bolder  advocates 
after  this  horrid  crime  that  has  soiled  southern  partisans  ;  and  we  are  happy  in 
thinking  that  the  greater  part  of  the  rebels  themselves  will  wash  their  hands 
of  this  stain,  and  hasten  to  recognize  the  legitimate  authority  of  their  country 
and  its  proper  laws. 

Have  the  kindness,  sir,  to  be  the  interpreter  of  our  sympathies  to  Mrs. 
Lincoln  and  to  the  American  nation,  and  accept  for  yourself  the  expression  of 
our  respectful  and  devoted  sentiments. 

G.  DE  FELICE,  D.  D., 
Professor  of  Theology  at  Montauban. 
FRANK  COURTOIS, 

Banker  in  Toulouse. 
ARM  AN  COURTOIS. 

Banlter  in  Toulouse. 

Although  I  do  not  belong  to  the  committee  for  slave  emancipation,  I  am 
happy  to  join  in  the  sentiments  expressed  by  my  friends  in  the  preceding  letter, 
and  take  pleasure  in  embracing  this  occasion  to  manifest  my  profound  affection 
tor  the  American  people. 

LAFORGUE, 

President  of  t lie  Toulouse  Consistory. 
The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER,  Paris. 


[Translation.] 

Lodge  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  to  the  United  States  Minister  at  Paris. 

NANCY,  May  24,  1865. 

SIR:  If  the  savage  crime  perpetrated  upon  your  illustrious  President  has 
excited  the  indignation  of  all  civilized  nations,  much  more  sensibly  has  it  been 
felt  by  the  great  masonic  association  that  gloried  in  calling  Mr  LINCOLN  one  of 
its  children. 

Sprung  from  the  people,  lie  won  the  highest  position  in  his  country  by  his 
industry,  merit,  and  intelligence,  and  honored  it  by  his  deeds.  Unwavering  in 
the  terrible  struggle,  in  his  gentleness  he  forgot  and  pardoned  in  the  hour  of 
victory ;  and,  like  a  truly  great  man,  by  his  persevering  energy  united  a  nation 
dismembered  by  egotism  and  ambition ;  and  by  severing  the  chains  of  slavery, 
had  the  honor  of  restoring  to  the  human  race  one  branch  of  the  family  too  long 
neglected.  His  glory  is  now  united  to  that  of  George  Washington  and  Benja- 
ll 


82  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

mill  Franklin,  his  immortal  countrymen.  The  Freemasons  belonging  to  the 
Lodge  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  at  Nancy,  join  in  the  universal  mourning,  and 
request  you  to  assure  the  brethren  in  America  their  regrets  are  shared,  and  that 
we  feel  in  all  its  bitterness  the  grief  of  the  heroic  citizens  of  the  Union.  They 
bow  with  profound  respect  before  the  sorrow  of  Mrs.  Lincoln. 
Accept  the  expression  of  our  most  respectful  sentiments. 

LA  FLIZE,  the  Venerable. 
B.  TISSERAND,  8.  W. 
G.  THIEBAULT,  J.  W. 
ED.  LAUMANC,  Orator. 
By  order  of  the  secretary  : 

L.  FRANK. 


[Translation.] 

NIMES,  May  3,  1865. 
To  the  United  States  Minister  in  Paris : 

We  have  the  honor  of  transmitting  to  you  in  this  envelope  the  address  of 
our  house,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  the  great  American  citizen,  whom 
we  and  the  whole  world  lament. 

We  join  in  this  universal  manifestation  of  sorrow,  and  ask  you  to  send  our 
homage  to  its  address. 

Receive  the  respectful  greeting  of  your  very  humble  servants, 

LOUIS  &  CASIMIR  DIDETT. 
FATHER  AND  SON,  Hat  Manufacturers  in  Ninies 


[Translation.] 

MADAM  LINCOLN  :  Will  you  have  the  goodness,  madam,  to  receive  the  ex 
pression  of  our  sincere  regret,  and  permit  us  to  lament  with  you  the  immense 
loss  which  you  have  just  experienced  in  the  person  of  the  greatest  and  most 
honest  citizen  in  the  universe. 

Yes,  we  deeply  lament  the  loss  of  the  man  who,  sprung  from  the  laboring 
class,  has,  by  his  intelligence,  energy,  and  virtue,  earned  the  glory  of  creating 
equality  in  his  country  by  the  abolition  of  slavery. 

Let  all  America  accept  the  wishes  which  we  sincerely  feel  for  the  pros 
perity  of  her  noble  country  ;  and  let  the  family  of  that  great  man  believe  in  our 
affectionate  sentiments,  with  which  we  have  the  honor  to  be  your  devoted 
servants. 

[Here  follow  thirty-three  signatures.] 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        83 

NICE,  FRANCE,  Mat/  1,  1865. 
To  his  Excellency  Andrew  Johnson,  President  of  the   United  States: 

The  undersigned,  Americans  residing  at  Nice,  desire  to  express  to  you  the 
profound  sorrow  they  feel  in  hearing  of  the  abominable  crime  which  has  deprived 
the  United  States  of  the  pure  and  noble-hearted  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Their  faith  remains  unshaken,  however,  that  under  God's  protection  the 
republic,  already  victorious  over  a  wicked  rebellion,  will  come  out  of  its  trials 
purer  and  stronger  than  it  ever  has  been,  and  they  earnestly  pray  that  God  may 
bless  and  sustain  you  to  complete  the  great  work  so  faithfully  carried  on  by  your 
lamented  predecessor. 

Mr.  JOHN  WURTS,  New  York. 

Mrs.  JAMES  LESLEY,  Philadelphia. 

Mrs.  JAMES  LESLEY,  Jr,  Philadelphia. 

R.  M.  DEL  CASTILLO,  Louisiana, 

Mrs.  ISAAC  R.  ELWOOD,  New  York. 

FRANK  W.  ELWOOD,  New  York. 

Mrs.  E.  C.  KINNEY. 

ALBERT  DABADIE,  Philadelphia. 

Mrs.  F.  A.  DEPAU,  Philadelphia. 

COUNTESS  BOUXHOWDEN,  Bordentoirn,  N.  J. 

JULIA  P.  PILATTE,  Virginia. 

CHARLES  O.  HALL,  Massachusetts. 

Mrs.  CHARLES  0.  HALL,  Massachusetts. 


Mr.  Bigelow  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  8(>.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Paris,  April  28,  1865. 

SIR:  An  aide-de-camp  of  the  Emperor  called  early  yesterday  morning  at 
the  legation,  officially  to  testify  the  horror  and  sorrow  which  his  Majesty  expe 
rienced  on  learning  the  crime  which  had  just  deprived  the  United  States  of  its 
President.  On  the  receipt  of  the  first  report  his  Majesty  had  refused  to  credit 
it,  but  a  second  despatch,  later  in  the  evening,  left  no  room  to  doubt  its  correct 
ness.  It  was  then  too  late  to  send  to  the  legation,  but  the  aide-de-camp  was 
instructed  to  come  at  an  early  hour  the  next  morning  to  express  the  sentiments 
of  his  Majesty,  and  to  request,  on  behalf  of  the  Emperor,  that  I  would  transmit 
an  expression  of  them  to  the  Vice-Presideut. 

It  is  my  duty  to  add  my  conviction  that  his  Majesty,  in  the  communication 
which  he  has  requested  me,  to  make,  is  but  a  faithful  interpreter  of  the  senti 
ments  of  his  subjects,  who  have  received  the  intelligence  with  a  unanimous 
expression  of  horror  for  the  crime  and  of  sympathy  for  its  victims. 


84  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

You  will  find  some  of  the  evidence  of  this  in  the  journals  which  I  send  you. 

I  have  been  occupied  most  of  the  afternoon  in  receiving  deputations  from 
students  arid  others,  who  have  called  to  testify  their  sorrow  and  sympathy. 
Unfortunately,  their  feelings  were  so  demonstrative  in  some  instances  as  to 
provoke  the  intervention  of  the  police,  who  would  only  allow  them  in  very 
limited  numbers  through  the  streets.  One  of  the  delegations  told  me  thai 
there  were  three  thousand  of  them  who  would  have  wished  to  have  united  in  a 
formal  expression  of  their  feelings,  if  the  police  had  not  stopped  them.  I  am 
sorry  to  hear  that  some  have  been  sent  to  prison  in  consequence  of  an  intem 
perate  expression  of  their  feelings.  I  can  now  count  sixteen  policemen  from 
my  window  patrolling  about  in  the  neighborhood,  who  occasionally  stop  persons 
calling  to  see  me,  and  in  some  instances,  I  am  told,  send  them  away. 

I  had  no  idea  that  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  such  a  hold  upon  the  heart  of  the 
young  gentlemen  of  France,  or  that  his  loss  would  be  so  properly  appreciated. 

I  have  received  many  letters  of  condolence  already  from  distinguished 
citizens,  of  which  I  send  copies  of  two ;  the  first  from  his  excellency  Drouyn 
de  Lhuys,  and  the  second  from  his  Imperial  Highness  Prince  Pierre  Napoleon 
Bonaparte. 

I  must  reserve  for  another  mail  the  expression  of  my  own  feelings  under  a 
dispensation  which  has  almost  paralyzed  me,  and  which  yet  seems  to  me  like 
the  revelation  of  a  troubled  dream.  I  hope  this  may  find  you  recovering  from 
your  wounds,  and  mercifully  sustained  under  the  great  trials  with  which  God 
has  been  pleased  to  visit  you  and  yours. 

I  am,  sir,  with  great  respect,  your  very  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  BIGELOW. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  §c.,  §c.,  c^r. 


Mr.  Biselow  to  Mr.  Seward. 


— 


[Extract.] 

No.  87.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Paris,  May  3.  1865. 

SIR  :  His  excellency  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  was  kind  enough,  on 
Saturday  last,  the  29th  of  April,  to  read,  and  at  the  same  time  to  hand  me,  a 
copy  of  a  communication  which  he  had  made,  by  order  of  the  Emperor,  to  the 
French  minister  at  Washington  in  reference  to  our  recent  national  bereavement. 
His  excellency  also  informed  me  Ihat  it  would  be  communicated  to  both  of  the 
legislative  branches  of  the  government  on  the  Monday  following.  It  would 
have  been  communicated  on  the  day  it  was  shown  to  UK;  if  the  corps  legislatif 
had  been  in  session. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        85 

As  I  had  been  notified,  his  excellency  Mr.  Vuitry,  minister  president,  of  the 
council  of  state,  at  the  opening  of  the  senate  yesterday,  and  by  order  of  the 
Emperor,  read  the  despatch  to  which  I  have  referred,  and  added  that  he  hoped 
the  members  of  the  senate  would  unite  in  the  sentiments  which  the  Emperor 
had  charged  him.  to  testify  to  them. 

The  president  of  the  senate,  M.  Troplong,  replying  in  the  name  of  the 
assembly  to  the  commissioner  of  the  government,  declared  that  the  senate 
shared  entirely  the  views  of  the  Emperor;  that  it  had  been  struck  with  the 
same  sorrow,  and  even  indignation,  when  it  heard  of  the  attempt  made  upon  the 
person  of  a  citizen  borne  to  the  supreme  power  by  the  free  choice  of  his  country ; 
that  this  sorrow  could  only  be  increased  by  the  recollection  of  the  noble  senti 
ments  of  moderation  and  of  conciliation  manifested  in  the  recent  proclamation 
of  President  LINCOLN. 

The  president,  Troplong,  then  proposed,  and  the  senate  unanimously  voted, 
its  adhesion  to  the  sentiments  of  the  despatch  to  the  French  minister  at  Wash 
ington,  in  the  usual  form. 

The  same  communication  was  simultaneously  submitted  to  the  corps  legis- 
latif  by  his  excellency  Monsieur  Rouher,  minister  of  state,  with  a  few  impressive 
remarks.  The  vice-president,  Schneider,  interpreting  the  feelings  of  the  assem 
bly,  expressed  its  horror  at  the  crime  which  had  been  thus  brought  to  their 
notice,  and  announced  that  the  corps  legislatif  shared  completely  the  sentiments 
of  the  government.  *  * 

I  am,  sir,  with  great  respect,  your  very  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  BIGELOW 
Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Sfc.,  $c.,  fy. 


Mr.  Bigelmo  to  Mr.  Seward. 

[Extract.] 

No.  90.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Paris,  Ma>/  10,  18G5. 

SIR  :  At  my  suggestion  a  meeting  was  held  at  this  legation  on  Tuesday, 
the  2d  instant,  which  appointed  a  committee  of  nine  to  prepare  an  address  that 
should  express  the  feelings  inspired  among  them  by  the  horrible  crimes  perpe 
trated  at  the  seat  of  government  on  the  night  of  the  14th  of  April. 

On  Tuesday,  the  9th  instant,  the  committee,  at  the  legation  and  in  the 
presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  our  country  people,  presented  me  the  address, 
which  they  had  prepared  in  compliance  with  their  instructions,  and  which  was 
signed  by  several  hundred  Americans. 


8(3  ASSASSINATION    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

You  will  find  also  that  the  address  and  reply  have  been  deemed  worthy  of  the 
hospitality  of  the  Moniteur  of  this  morning,  a  grace  which  will  probably  insure 
their  general-circulation  throughout  France. 

It  would  have  been  more  satisfactory  to  our  colony  here,  because  more  in 
accordance  with  our  national  usages,  to  have  held  a  public  meeting,  in  the  exer 
cises  of  which  there  could  have  been  a  more  general  participation  ;  but,  in  view 
of  the  profound  excitement  produced  throughout  France  by  the  events  which 
would  constitute  the  pretext  for  holding  such  a  meeting,  I  did  not  think  proper 
to  give  to  such  a  demonstration  any  encouragement.  A  funeral  service,  con 
ducted  by  the  respective  pastors,  was  held  in  both  the  American  chapels  here 
on  different  days,  and  both  had  an  overflowing  attendance. 

The  expressions  of  sympathy  which  reach  me  daily  from  every  quarter  are 
to  me,  as  an  American,  of  the  most  gratifying,  I  might  indeed  say  of  the  most 
flattering  character.  The  press  of  the  metropolis  shows  sufficiently  how  over 
whelming  is  the  public  sentiment.  Among  innumerable  written  testimonials  ot 
sympathy,  I  have  received  some  from  public  bodies  and  from  groups  of  people, 
which  I  propose  to  send  you  as  soon  as  I  have  enough  copying  force  liberated 
to  prepare  them. 

I  am,  sir,  with  great  respect,  your  very  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  BIGELOW. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Mr.  Bigeloiv  to  Mr.  Seicard. 

No.  109.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Paris,  May  31,  1865. 

SIR  :  Among  the  manifold  testimonials  of  sympathy  elicited  by  the  assassi 
nation  of  our  late  President,  some  have  seemed  worthy  of  being  transmitted  to 
Washington  to  be  read,  and,  perhaps,  placed  among  the  archives  of  the  govern 
ment  ;  others  have  other  destinations,  for  reaching  which  the  facilities  of  the 
State  Department  are  more  or  less  requisite.  I  transmit  them  in  a  body,  trust 
ing  that  you  will  give  them,  respectively,  their  proper  direction. 

I  have  divided  them  into  three  categories :  the  first  category  consists  of 
eleven  letters  addressed  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  ;  the  second  category  consists  of 
twenty-nine  communications  from  masonic  lodges,  three  addressed  to  President 
Johnson,  eighteen  to  the  United  States  minister  at  Paris,  and  eight  to  Ameri 
can  lodges ;  the  third  category  consists  of  four  letters  and  addresses  to  heads 
of  the  government,  and  of  twenty-eight  to  the  United  States  minister  at  Paris- 
making  in  all  seventy-two  enclosures. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        87 

Though  these  form  but  ;i  small  proportion,  numerically,  of  the  testimonials 
of  sympathy  which  have  been  already  addressed  to  me  by  the  people  of  France, 
and  a  still  smaller  proportion  of  those  yet  to  be  expected,  they  will  suffice  to 
show  not  only  how  profoundly  the  nation  was  shocked  by  the  dreadful  crime 
which  terminated  President  LINCOLN'S  earthly  career,  but  how  deep  a  hold  he 
had  taken  upon  the  respect  and  affections  of  the  French  people.  It  is  difficult 
to  exaggerate  the  enthusiasm  which  his  name  inspires  among  the  masses  of 
Europe  at  this  moment — an  enthusiasm  before  which  the  ruling  classes,  how 
ever  little  disposed  to  waste  compliments  upon  anything  tainted  with  republi 
canism,  are  obliged  to  incline.  I  think  it  is  generally  conceded  that  the  death 
of  no  man  has  ever  occurred  that  awakened  such  prompt  and  universal  sympa 
thy  at  once  among  his  own  country  people  and  among  foreign  nations.  There 
can  be  no  better  evidence  that  the  world  is  advancing  in  civilization  than  this 
unprecedented  and  spontaneous  homage  to  the  virtues  of  Mr.  LINCOLN.  It 
shows  that  the  moral  standard  of  nations  has  been  greatly  exalted  within  the 
memory  of  living  men.  It  does  not  deserve  to  be  reckoned  among  the  second 
ary  achievements  of  our  people  during  the  last  four  years  to  have  furnished  the 
world  with  such  a  striking  demonstration  of  this  gratifying  truth. 
I  am,  .sir,  with  great  respect,  your  very  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  BIGELOW. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Mr.  Bigeloro  to  Mr.  Seward. 


'  - 


LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Paris,  December  7,  1866. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  been  requested  by  a  committee  of  some  of  the 
most  eminent  republicans  of  France  to  transmit  the  accompanying  medal  and 
letter  to  the  widow  of  our  late  President  LINCOLN.  No  opportunity  presenting 
itself  immediately  of  sending  directly  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  I  have  thought  best  to 
send  it  by  the  despatch  bag  directly  to  the  State  Department,  and  to  rely  upon 
your  finding  or  providing  suitable  means  for  its  delivery  to  Mrs.  Lincoln.  I 
was  the  less  disinclined  to  give  the  State  Department  this  trouble  as  I  realize 
the  importance  of  having  Mrs.  Lincoln  seasonably  and  well  advised  in  regard 
to  the  reply  which  it  becomes  her  to  make  to  the  letter  which  is  addressed  to 
her. 

I  remain,  dear  sir,  very  faithfully  yours, 

JOHN  BIGELOW. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD. 


88  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Eminent  citizens  of  France  transmits  a  gold  medal  to  Mrs.  Lincoln 

[Translation.  ] 

PARIS,  October  13,  1866. 

MADAM  :  On  behalf  of  more  than  forty  thousand  French  citizens,  anxious 
to  manifest  their  sympathies  for  the  American  Union,  in  the  person  of  one  of 
its  most  illustrious  and  purest  representatives,  we  are  instructed  to  offer  you  the 
medal*  which  has  been  coined  in  honor  of  the  great  and  good  man  whose  name 
you  bear. 

If  France  had  the  freedom  enjoyed  by  republican  America,  not  thousands, 
but  millions  among  us  would  have  been  counted  as  admirers  of  LINCOLN^  and 
believers  in  the  opinions  for  which  he  devoted  his  life,  and  which  his  death  has 
consecrated. 

Deign  to  accept,  madam,  the  homage  of  our  profound  respect 
Members  of  the  committee  : 

ETIENNE  ARAGO.  CH.  L.  CHAROIN. 

EUG.  DESPOIS.  ALBERT. 

J.  MICHELET.  V.  CHAUFFOUR. 

E.  LITTRE.  VICTOR  MAUGIN. 

EUGENE  PELLETAN.     L.  GREPPO. 
L.  KNEIP.  LAURENT  PICIIAT. 

C.  THOMAS.  JULES  BARNI. 

J.  DELORD.  V.  JOIGNAUX. 

V.  SCHOELCIIER.  LOUIS  BLANC. 

EDGAR  QUINET.  VICTOR  HUGO. 

Mrs.  MARY  LINCOLN. 


CHICAGO,  January  3,  1867. 

GENTLEMEN:  I  have  received  the  medal  you  have  sent  me.  I  cannot 
express  the  emotion  with  which  this  proof  of  the  sentiments  of  so  many  thou 
sands  of  your  countrymen  fills  me.  So  marked  a  testimony  to  the  memory  of 
my  husband,  given  in  honor  of  his  services  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  by  those 
who  in  another  land  worked  for  the  same  great  end,  touches  me  profoundly,  and 
I  beg  you  to  accept,  for  yourselves  and  those  whom  you  represent,  my  most 
grateful  thanks. 

I  am,  with  the  profoundest  respect,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

MARY  LINCOLN. 


*  The  medal  above  mentioned  is  inscribed  as  follows  : 
LINCOLN,  an  honest  man;  abolished  slavery,  sated  the  republic,  and  was  assassinated  the  14th  of  April,  1 805. 

On  the  reverse : 

Dedicated  by  the,  French  democracy  to  LINCOLN,  twice  elected  President  of  the  United  States. 

LIIIKRTY  !     EQUALITY  !     FRATERNITY  ! 


EXPRESSIONS    OF   CONDOLENCE    AND    SYMPATHY.  89 

[Translation.] 

PARIS,  April  26,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  believe  1  am  fulfilling  a  duty,-  but  a  very  painful  one,  in  begging 
you  to  accept  the  expression  of  the  profound  affliction  I  feel  in  hearing  of  the 
death  of  President  LINCOLN.  The  sympathy  with  which  that  great  man  has 
honored  my  father's  memory  increases  my  profound  regret.  This  regret  shall 
be  shared  by  all  noble  hearts  in  all  countries ;  and  the  glorious  name  of 
LINCOLN,  standing  by  the  side  of  Washington's,  shall  be  the  everlasting  honor 
of  your  great  republic. 

With  great  respect  and  cordial  fraternity,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your 
very  obedient  servant, 

PIERRE  NAPOLEON  BONAPARTE. 
Mr.  BIGELOW, 

United  S lutes  Minister,  Paris. 


[Translation.] 

PARIS,  May  1,  1865. 

CITIZEN  MINISTER:  President  LINCOLN  has  fallen  by  the  assassin's  pistol; 
the  representative  of  a  democracy  of  noble  and  consistent  virtues  has  fallen  in 
the  hour  of  his  triumph — has  fallen  at  a  happy  time,  after  a  hundred  battles,  as 
calm  in  victory  as  he  was  firm  in  defeat,  and,  like  a  new  Washington,  has  saved 
the  great  republic. 

A  glorious  and  enviable  death !  LINCOLN  died  a  victim  of  his  great  idea, 
that  of  safety  to  his  country  and  liberty  for  all.  He  belonged  to  the  race  of 
strong  men;  he  is  now  numbered  among  the  martyrs. 

Let  America  know  that  all  enthusiasm  is  not  extinct  in  the  youth  of  France ; 
the  blow  that  destroyed  LINCOLN  still  agitates  their  hearts 

American  democracy  has  lost  only  one  of  its  greatest  citizens;  in  that  land 
of  liberty,  if  a  hero  falls,  whether  he  be  named  Washington  or  LINCOLN,  the 
country  is  not  lost;  its  destinies  depend  not  on  a  single  man  ;  the  living  virtue 
of  democracy  is  in  itself. 

We  must  not  be  concerned  ;  we  are  sure,  in  spite  of  what  has  happened— 
in  spite  of  traitor  Davis,  whose  malign  influence  has  been  exorcised  by  the 
great  and  good  man — that  the  patriotic;  idea  of  a  country  in  peril  -  the  idea  of 
Grant,  Sheridan,  and  Sherman — supported  by  liberty,  will  finish  the  work  begun 
by  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Be  assured   that  the  bloody  drama  of  which  America  has  just  been  the 
scene,  awakens  the  wannest  sympathies  of  the  youth  of  France. 
12 


90  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

May  the  double  crime  that  has  just  laid  President  LINCOLN  in  the  tomb, 
and  Mr.  Seward  upon  a  painful  bed  of  sickness,  be  soon  avenged  by  the  com 
plete  establishment  of  the  American  Union. 

In  the  name  of  the  young  men  of  France,  the  selected  reporters, 

ETIENNE  HANAU, 

No.  28  Prince  Street. 
V.  MAECHAI. 

Mr.  BIGELOW, 

United  States  Minister,  Paris. 


[Translation.] 

CLEMENT  FRIENDSHIP  LODGE, 

Paris,  May  14,  1865. 

SIR:  Impressed  with  profound  grief  for  the  deatli  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
this  lodge  has  unanimously  decided  to  assume  mourning  for  the  space  of  three 
months. 

Pursuant  to  this  vote,  taken  at  the  session  on  the  4th  of  May,  instant,  it 
was  decreed  as  follows  : 

The  banner  shall  remain  draped  in  mourning  three  months  ; 

The  officers  shall  wear  crape  on  their  insignia  ; 

A  mortuary  salvo  shall  be  fired  at  each  session. 

Please  remit  to  your  countrymen  this  expression  of  our  regret  for  the 
immense  loss  we  have  all  sustained. 

We  Masons  mourn  him,  not  only  as  a  brother,  but  as  a  friend  of  the  whole 
human  race.  His  name  will  live,  not  only  as  the  symbol  of  the  abolition  of 
slavery,  but  it  will  remain  as  the  highest  expression  of  that  spirit  of  justice 
which  is  the  foundation  of  every  social  edifice. 

Four  years  of  rude  experience  and  terrible  vicissitudes  could  not  stagger 
his  faith  in  the  progress  of  human  liberty  and  in  the  justice  of  the  principle 
of  the  equality  of  races. 

As  right  and  victory  coincided,  not  an  unjust  act  tarnished  the  holy  cause 
during  his  patriotic  life.  LINCOLN'S  first  thought  was  the  Mason's  motto : 
fraternity.  His  last  act  was  pardon,  forgetfulness. 

People  of  the  American  Union,  may  his  generous  blood  be  the  last  to  flow 
in  the  saintly  cause  of  liberty !  Be  assured  the  great  soul  of  him  who  was  your 
chief  will  rejoice  if,  using  his  clemency  after  victory,  you  will  cause  the  spirit 
of  integrity,  of  which  he  has  set  the  example,  to  prevail  throughout  the  entire 
land. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.         9) 

Please,  sir,  make  known  our  sentiments  of  condolence  to  the  bereaved 
widow  and  family  of  the  great  citizen  whom  we  all  regret. 
Accept  the  assurance  of  our  high  consideration. 

BE  RINGER, 

Master  of  the  Clement  Friendship  Lodge. 
By  order  of  the  lodge  : 

CHOTAKD,  Chief  Secretary. 
Mr.  BIGELOW, 

• 

United  State*  Minister,  Paris. 


[Translation.  ] 

ORIENTAL  LODGE  OF  PARIS, 

Mai/  8,  1865,  (common  era.) 

SIR  :  The  lodge  entitled  Triumphant  Friends,  truly  interpreting  the  fra 
ternal  feelings  which  should  animate!  all  Freemasons,  requests  you  to  transmit 
to  the  American  people  the  expression  of  profound  sorrow  at  the  horrible  assas 
sination  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

As  a  worthy  expression  of  regret,  the  lodge  has  decided  to  drape  its  banner 
in  mourning  for  three  months.  It  sincerely  desires  the  prosperity  of  your 
country,  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  the  reign  of  liberty. 

Please  accept,  sir,  for  yourself  and  your  fellow-citizens,  the  expression  of 
our  profound  sympathy. 

For  the  Lodge  of  Triumphant  Friends, 

MOTARD,  W.  M., 

No.  15  Avenue  Clignancourt.) 
The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER,  Paris. 


[Translation,  j 

To  /lie  glory  of  the  (Iretif  Architect  of  t lie  Universe.  In  the  name  and  under  the 
auspices  oj  flic  Grand  Order  oj  France.  Chapter  of  Marx  and  the  Arts. 
Union,  strength,  wisdom. 

ORIENT  OF  PARIS, 
May  11,  1865,  (common  era.) 
To  the  Minister  of  the  United  States  of  America,  greeting  : 

SIR  :  The  sad  misfortune  which  has  recently  happened  to  the  great 
American  republic;  has  vividly  impressed  us,  and  we  meet,  for  the  first  time 
since,  the  horrid  crime  of  UK;  14th  of  April,  to  protest  most  sincerely  against 
the  flagitious  tendencies  of  that  monstrous  moral  aberration,  suggested  by  some 


92  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

sinister  doctrine,  which  would  made  an  act  of  heroism  and  devotion  out  of  a 
political  assassination.  But,  for  the  honor  of  humanity,  we  behold  with  pride 
that  energetic  expressions  of  condemnation  have  arisen  from  all  quarters  against 
this  insane  act,  this  revolting  doctrine. 

And  now,  sir,  suffer  us  to  express  the  profound  sympathy  we  feel  for  a 
people  that  have  destroyed  slavery,  the  great  social  evil,  and  for  the  illustrious 
citizen  who,  amidst  the  hardest  trials,  has  ever  been  true  to  the  regenerative 
mission  he  accepted.  . 

Happy  the  country  that  gives  birth  to  such  men,  and  glory  to  the  institu 
tions  in  which  such  powerful  individualities  can  be  developed  without  danger 
to  the  nation.  They  arc  the  true  representatives  of  God  upon  the  earth,  who 
have  such  a  comprehension  of  his  justice;  and  of  them  it  may  be  said,  they  are 
sent  by  Providence,  the  messiahs  of  civilization  and  progress.  The  work  which 
they  accomplish  exalts  them  so  high  that  they  cannot  be  termed  citizens  of  any 
particular  country,  for  they  are  citizens  of  all ;  and  though  one  single  nation 
may  claim  them,  their  name  belongs  to  all  humanity  and  their  death  becomes 
a  universal  mourning.  For  this  reason  every  lover  of  liberty  has  the  right  to 
weep  with  you  over  the  premature  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  But  a  stronger 
bond,  a  more  intimate  union,  than  the  common  tie  united  us  particularly  to  his 
great  heart. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  our  brother.  Let  us  not  be  astonished,  then,  that 
he  persevered  so  courageously  in  that  moral  work,  the  emancipation  of  the 
blacks,  in  the  name  of  the  grand  principle  of  human  dignity,  which  he  under 
stood  so  well.  Like  us,  lie  knew  that  all  men  are  equal,  all  brothers,  whatever 
their  race;  and  that  there  is  nothing  true  but  liberty,  equality,  fraternity,  and 
justice. 

Be,  then,  dear  sir,  our  interpreter  with  the  people  of  the  Union.  Tell 
them  that  we  share  their  grief,  that  we  participate  in  their  hopes,  and  that  we 
pi-ay  for  peace  over  the  entire  land  of  America. 

Bear  our  condolence  to  the  bereaved  family  that  has  purchased  the  freedom 
of  your  beautiful  and  great  country  with  the  blood  of  such  a  mighty  sacrifice. 
May  the  testimony  of  respect  and  sincere  sympathy  which  reaches  her  from  so 
many  alleviate  the  heaviness  of  her  incomparable  sorrow. 

The  Lodge  of  Mars  and  the  Arts,  in  solemn  meditation,  fired  a  funeral 
salute  in  honor  of  the  illustrious  dead,  and  decreed  that  the  lodge  banner  should 
be  draped  in  mourning  of  crape  for  the  space  of  three  months. 

Accept  the  assurance  of  our  distinguished  sentiments. 

LEON  RICHER. 

Adopted  in  solemn  session,  the  llth  of  May,  18(55. 

FELIX  GUILLON,  Secretary. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  93 

[Translation.] 

Union,  solidity,  strength,  fraternity.     Scotch  Lodge,  No.  146,  the.  Right  Line. 

Extract  from  the  minute*  of  the  session  of  April  29,  1865,  of  tfie  lodge  called 

The  Straight  Line. 

The  Freemasons  of  this  lodge,  in  the  Orient  of  Paris,  unanimously  decide 
to  send  an  address  to  the  citizen  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  in 
expression  of  the  profound  indignation  of  all  true  friends  of  liberty  and  human 
merit  at  the  odious  crime  that  has  deprived  a  great  nation  of  one  of  her  most 
noble  sons. 

The  name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is  indelibly  impressed  in  the  memory  of 
all  men ;  and  the  Freemasons  of  the  Right  Line  express  a  wish  that  his  blood, 
in  flowing  for  the  human  race,  may  give  life  to  the  germ  of  liberty — that  liberty 
to  which  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  devoted  his  life,  and  for  which  he  died. 

The  brethren  of  the  Right  Line,  moreover,  give  expression  to  the  confi 
dence  they  have  in  the  prosperity  of  the  great  republic  that  has  fought  so 
bravely  tor  the  abolition  of  slavery. 

This  is  an  authentic  extract.  NENE,  Secretary. 


[Translation."] 

SOVEREIGN  CHAPTER  OF  THE  FRIENDS  OF  THE  COUNTRY, 

Paris,  May  24,  18G5. 

SIR:  The  Sovereign  Chapter  of  the  Friends  of  the  Country,  in  the  Valley 
of  Paris,  expresses  its  cordial  sympathy  with  the  American  people,  and  partici 
pates  in  the  numerous  manifestations  of  sorrow  which  have  come  from  all  parts 
of  the  world  on  account  of  the  event  that  deprived  them  of  their  Chief 
Magistrate. 

Immortal  homage  to  the  large  heart  that  has  inscribed  the  principles  of 
human  liberty  upon  the  Constitution  of  the  country  by  the  abolition  of  slavery. 
Glory  to  our  brother,  LINCOLN,  who  practiced  the  virtues  inculcated  by  our  order, 
and  whom  masonry  is  proud  to  number  among  the  number  of  her  children. 

Please  send  our  tribute  of  respectful  sorrow  to  the  President  of  the  Ameri 
can  Union  and  to  the  family  of  the  illustrious  deceased. 

Accept  the  assurance  of  our  most  distinguished  consideration. 

A.  II.  MORIN, 

For  /he  Sovereign   ( 'hapter. 
By  order : 

GREHAN,  Secretar;/. 

The  MINISTER  OF  THE  U.  S.  OF  AMERICA,  Paris. 


94  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

From  the  Lods;e  called  L'Avenir  to  the  ambassador  of  the  United  States. 

[Translation.] 

PARIS,  May  25,  1865. 

SIR  :  We  fulfil  a  painful  duty  in  expressing  to  you  the  profound  emotion  we 
feel  and  the  bitter  regret  we  have  for  the  death  of  brother  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
Though  born  in  an  humble  and  modest  condition,  he  raised  himself  to  the  high 
est  rank  in  the  republic  by  his  perseverance  in  good,  by  the  superiority  of  his 
character,  and  by  the  excellence  of  his  principles.  By  the  votes  of  the  North 
he  was  twice  elected  President.  To  him  was  reserved  the  glory  of  substan 
tiating  the  dogma  of  human  liberty  upon  the  ruins  of  expiring  slavery,  and  of 
effacing  the  shame  that  veiled  the  face  of  society  for  so  many  centuries.  During 
the  war  that  has  been  rending  America,  we  admired  the  unwavering  firmness 
of  his  design,  the  loftiness  of  his  views,  the  disinterestedness  of  his  spirit,  his 
prudence  in  danger,  his  moderation  in  victory ;  and  when  the  Atlantic's  waves 
cast  the  astounding  news  upon  our  shores,  we  uttered  a  deep  cry  of  desolation 
and  despair. 

Rest  in  thy  tomb,  sublime  and  immortal  dead  !  Posterity  will  proclaim 
that  you  overcame  the  hydra  of  servitude,  and  crowned  the  triumph  of  liberty 
with  the  martyrdom  of  your  life. 

Receive,  sir,  the  assurance  of  our  most  distinguished  sentiments. 

GUILLET,  the   Venerable. 

A.  FAUZAIS,  First  Warden. 
ANTOINE  BLATU,  Secretary. 
PAUL  MARITAIN,  Speaker. ' 
CHARLES  DORIOT,  Keeper  of  tiie  Seals. 


Scotch  Masonic  Lodge  La  Prevoyance,  No.  88,  Orient  of  Paris. 

[Translation.] 

To  the  United  States  Minister  at  Paris. 

SIR  :  The  guilty  hand  that  struck  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  to  glut  the 
vengeance  of  an  unrelenting  fanaticism,  selected  the  noblest  and  most  glorious 
defender  of  the  three  principles  all  humanity  is  endeavoring  to  realize,  namely, 
liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity.  The  Masonic  Lodge  La  Prevoyance,  in 
obedience  to  the  Supreme  Council  of  Paris,  asks  you  to  transmit  to  the  people 
of  the  United  States  the  expression  of  sorrow  and  indignation  felt  by  all  its 
members  on  the  reception  of  the  news  of  the  horrible  crime. 

We  hope  the  blood  of  the  great  citizen  who  willed  and  proclaimed  equality 
of  races  in  his  country  will  be  the  last  spilled  in  such  a  glorious  cause,  and 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.         95 

that  the  crime  will  have  the  effect  of  fecundating  the  germ  of  liberty  and 
fraternity  already  planted  in  the  soil. 

President  LINCOLN  died  for  his  country  and  for  humanity;  and  our  lodge 
would  be  pleased  to  see  all  nations  join  in  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  his 
memory  in  one  of  the  public  squares  of  New  York. 

Accept  the  assurance  of  our  sympathy  with  the  great  nation  you  represent. 

J.  A.  HUET,  the  Venerable. 
H.  CHANDELIER,  First  Warden. 
REBIERRE,  Second  Warden. 
D.  PARENT,  Secretary. 
L.  QUANQUIN,  Orator. 
By  order : 

DESGARDIN.S,  Keeper  of  the  Seals. 


Saint  John's  Lodge,    No.  147.      Tlte  heroes  of  humanity. — Extract  from    tJie 

minutes  of  the  working-book. 

[Translation.] 

ORIENT  OF  PARIS,  May  20,  1865. 

SIR  :  All  Freemasonry  mourns  the  death  of  the  President,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  and  this  lodge  also  regrets  the  loss  of  a  man  who.  was  not  only  an 
honor  to  our  order,  but  the  firmest  support  of  your  young  republic. 

We  lament  the  death  of  the  great  citizen,  the  chosen  spirit  who  trampled 
the  prejudices  of  ancient  routine  under  his  feet  and  undertook  the  defence  of 
the  oppressed,  devoting  his  entire  life  to  the  abolition  of  slavery.  An  indefati 
gable  worker,  impressed  with  the  greatness  of  his  cause,  he  spared  no  sacrifice 
to  accomplish  his  mission.  He  was  struck  down  at  the  moment  of  victory,  and 
his  blood  confirms  the  work  of  freedom.  A  true  martyr  to  liberty,  he  could 
yet  pardon  his  murderer. 

Assure  his  widow,  his  children,  and  all  your  citizens,  of  our  whole  sympa 
thy  ;  time  only  can  assuage  their  grief,  and  his  spirit  will  be  their  protection. 
Accept  the  assurance  of  our  affectionate  sentiments. 

A.  BAILLEUX. 
By  order  of  the  lodge : 

JULES  GONJAT. 
Mr.  BIGELOW, 

United  Slates  Minuter,  Paris. 


y(j  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

The  Ancient  Accepted  Scotch  Rite.      Universi  fern/rum  orbia  summi  architectoru 

gloria  ab  ingeniix.     Ordo  ah  cltao. 

*  [Translation.] 

PARIS.  May  17,  1865 
To  fhe  Minister  of  the  United  States : 

SIR  :  As  interpreter  of  the  sentiments  of  Scotch  masonry  in  France,  I  must 
express  to  you  the  just  indignation  and  profound  sorrow  felt  by  all  our  lodges 
on  hearing  of  the  odious  crime  which  has  deprived  North  America  of  her  illus 
trious  President,  Mr.  LINCOLN,  whom  we  had  the  honor  to  count  among  our 
brothers.  He  had  done  his  duty,  hard  and  difficult  as  it '  was,  and  all  that 
remained  for  him  to  accomplish  was  easy  and  agreeable.  The  world  saw  in 
him  the  repairer  of  all  the  evils  produced  by  the  most  sanguinary  of  civil  wars. 
His  words  of  clemency  and  benevolence,  coming  spontaneously  from  his  heart, 
were  eagerly  accepted  by  the  world;  and  the  Scotch  Masons,  whose  thoughts 
and  acts  are  directed  by  the  spirit  of  charity,  join  in  the  same  hope  of  all  gen 
erous  souls.  The  blow  that  felled  one  man  has  wounded  a  whole  nation  and 
deprived  it  of  its  greatest  glory  ;  and  though  it  has  disturbed  our  happy  predic 
tions,  we  still  hope  his  spirit  will  rule  in  the  councils  of  his  successor. 

Have  the  kindness  to  convey  to  your  new  President  the  expression  of  our 
fraternal  sorrow,  and  to  make  known  to  the  unhappy  widow  our  participation 
in  her  misfortune.  May  she  find  some  consolation  in  the  expressions  of  sym 
pathy  that  reach  her  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe. 

We  thank  you  in  advance  for  the  favors  expected,  and  ask  you  to  accept 
the  expression  of  the  sentiments  with  which  we  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 

VIENNET, 
Grand  Commander  oj  the  Scotch  Rite,  and  Member  oj 'the,  French  Academy. 


[Translation.  ] 

LODGE  OF  HENRY  THE  FOURTH, 

Paris,  May  15,  1865. 

SIR  :  It  is  with  feelings  of  profound  grief  that  this  lodge  heard  of  the  crime 
that  strikes  all  Europe  with  consternation.  At  their  first  meeting,  after  pay 
ing  a  just  tribute  of  regret  for  the  martyr  of  a  holy  cause,  they  unanimously 
resolved  to  address  a  testimonial  of  their  sympathy  to  you,  the  representative 
of  a  great  nation,  the  most  generous  and  free  on  the  globe,  and  which  has  been 
so  cruelly  tried. 

While  we  express  horror  at  the  assassination,  we  confess  admiration  for 
your  institutions,  which  sustain  you  in  this  terrible  catastrophe.  God  will  not 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        97 

suffer  the  blood  of  the  just  to  be  spilled  in  vain.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'S  work 
will  not  perish  with  him ;  the  total  abolition  of  slavery  was  his  inspiration,  and 
it  will  ever  be  a  venerable  crown  of  glory  to  his  memory.  It  is  the  only  thing 
that  affords  consolation  for  the  irreparable  loss  ;  and  you  will  finish  the  good 
work,  worthy  of  a  people  who  are  determined  to  maintain  the  highest  rank  by 
acts  of  civilization  and  humanity.  Progress  is  your  motto,  your  supreme  law, 
and  the  assassin's  dagger  cannot  arrest  it ;  you  understand  it,  and  your  mag 
nanimous  nation  will  take  a  noble  revenge  for  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
by  fulfilling  the  dream  of  his  life. 

\yith  this  token  of  mourning  saddening  our  hearts,  accept  the  sentiments 
of  respectful  esteem  we  have  for  you  and  the  nation  you  represent. 

J.  POULAIN, 
ACOVEY, 
P.  DUBOE, 
J.  LAVERRIERE, 
BERTIN, 

Delegates  to  the  Lodge  of  Henry  the  Fourth. 
Mr.  J  BIGKLOW 


[Translation.] 

PERSEVERANCE  LODGE,  ORIENT  OF  PARIS,  May  15,  1865. 
SIR  :  The  members  of  this  lodge  rejoice  in  the  restoration  of  the  American 
Union,  while  they  lament  the  loss  of  the  great  man  who  gave  so  many  proofs 
of  his  devotion  to  progress. 

His  cowardly  assassination  has  filled  us  with  sorrow,  for  he  was  dear  to  us 
for  more  than  one  reason.  Has  any  living  man  practiced  so  well  the  humane 
principles  inculcated  by  Freemasonry  \  And  who  is  more  deserving  of  the 
regrets  of  his  brethren  \ 

We  ask  you  to  be  our  interpreter  to  the  President  of  the  Union  in  the 
expression  of  our  regrets  and  sympathies,  and  of  the  hope  that  the  great  nation 
of  the  United  States  will  prosper,  in  spite  of  traitors  and  assassins ;  for  princi 
ples  outlive  men. 

In  its  session  of  the  6th  instant  this  lodge  ordered  a  triple  mourning  salute 
in  memory  of  brother  LINCOLN,  and  resolved  to  drape  their  banner  in  mourning 
for  the  space  of  three  months.  The  resolution  was  unanimous 

Receive  the  expression  of  our  most  distinguished  consideration. 

The  Venerable,  A.  H.  MOZ1RY, 

For  Perseverance  Lodge. 
Mr.  BIGKLOW, 

United  States  Minister,  Paris. 
13 


98  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

[Translation.  ] 

SIR  :  The  respectable  lodge,  Admirers  of  the  Universe,  Orient  of  Paris, 
joining  in  the  sentiments  expressed  by  the  whole  fraternity  in  France,  begs 
you  to  receive  their  regrets  at  the  horrible  crime  that  has  taken  from  a  great 
nation  its  first  citizen,  and  added  to  the  martyr  list  of  humanity  the  pure  and 
glorious  name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

The  respectable  lodge  has  decided  that  a  salute  shall  be  given  in  sign  of 
mourning,  for  ten  years,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  mournful  event. 

This  first  tribute  paid  to  the  memory  of  brother  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the 
lodge  expresses  its  confidence  in  the  eminent  qualities  of  his  successor,  Mr. 
Johnson,  and  is  pleased  to  see  in  his  love  of  justice  the  qualities  of  heart  that 
augur  a  peaceable  administration. 

The  lodge  requests  you  to  be  the  interpreter  of  its  sentiments  to  the  great 

American  nation. 

LEBARE 
Mr.  BIGELOW, 

United  States  Minister,  Paris. 


[Translation.] 

THE  SCOTCH  HIVE,  Paris,  May  26,  1865. 

SIR  :  Freemasonry  is  moved  with  just  indignation  .at  the  atrocious  crime 
that  has  deprived  it  of  one  of  its  most  illustrious  representatives,  and  has  already 
expressed  its  reprobation  of  the  act ;  nor  can  the  Scotch  Hive  remain  mute  on 
such  an  occasion :  it  met  expressly  to  protest  against  political  assassination,  and 
to  transmit  to  brethren  beyond  the  sea,  as  well  as  to  the  inconsolable  widow, 
their  condolence  for  the  loss  of  the  eminent  American  citizen  and  the  zealous 
Mason  who  has  proclaimed  the  great  masonic-  principles  of  liberty,  equality,  and 
fraternity. 

It  was  therefore  decided  unanimously  that  the  lodge  banner  should  be 
draped  in  mourning  for  three  months,  and  that  at  each  session  a  salvo  should  be 
given  in  honor  and  to  the  memory  of  the  very  illustrious  brother,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN. 

Accept  the  assurance  of  the  distinguished  and  fraternal  sentiments  of  all 
the  members  of  the  Scotch  Hive. 

Venerable,  T.  ELIOT,  H.  RAFIN, 

G.  LECREUX,  BISSON, 

BOSSUS,  G.  DUEER, 

CHENEVAUX,  H.  BAUVIER, 

CAUX,  ARCHAMBAUD, 

Delegates. 
UNITED  STATES  MINISTER,  Par-it. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY         99 

The.  Lodge  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York. 

[Translation.] 

EXCELLENT  AND  ILLUSTRIOUS  BROTHERS  :  At  the  sound  of  the  sad  news 
that  has  filled  the  world,  the  hearts  of  all  French  Masons  were  filled  with  grief. 
They  shed  tears  of  sympathy  for  the  glorious  death  of  one  who  had  handled 
the  hammer,  square,  and  compass,  the  living  insignia  of  our  immortal  society, 
and  then  arose  to  the  head  of  the  American  people  by  his  genius,  his  virtues, 
and  his  spotless  life.  The  holiest  causes  have  always  had  their  martyrs,  as  a 
necessary  kind  of  consecration ;  and  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is  one  of  these,  the 
noblest  victim  of  his  duty. 

This  lodge  mingles  its  regrets  with  the  other  lodges  of  French  Freemasonry. 
It  does  not  forget  that  if  all  people  are  brothers,  those  of  France  and  America 
are  more  so  than  any  others ;  and  we  hope  this  will  give  supreme  consolation 
to  the  soul  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

No  ;  a  villain's  crime  cannot  destroy  the  immortal  work  of  the  great  citizen. 
A  final  peace  and  the  abolishment  of  slavery — the  just  fruits  of  his  glorious  acts, 
a  worthy  recompense  of  his  martyrdom — will  show  the  world  once  more  what 
the  devotion  of  a  noble  heart  can  do  against  the  fanaticism  of  ignorance. 
We  are,  &c., 

Z  NURSE. 
E.  CHIRI. 
LANTR1N 
AGRULLY,  Keeper  of  the  Seal*. 


Homage  rendered  to  the  remains  of  Mr.  Lincoln  by  Harmon  >/  Lodge. 

[Translation.  ] 

To  their  Brethren  in  America  : 

LINCOLN  is  dead  !  The  body  of  the  victim  of  a  mad  assassin  has  disappeared 
from  the  surface,  of  the  earth,  but  his  spirit  is  immortal.  This  spirit  soars 
above  the  tomb  where  rest  the  mortal  remains  of  one  who  was — 

— i-  "a  man,  a  ruler,  and  a  sage; 
A  truly  worthy  model  of  the  age." 

While  angry  discussions  are  disturbing  a  continent,  a  simple,  unknown 
man,  who  earns  his  daily  bread  by  the  honest  labor  of  his  hands,  is  studying  to 
improve  his  mind  in  the  silent  hours  while  others  are  reposing;  suddenly  he 
springs  into  light,  and  LINCOLN  is  raised  to  the  supreme  rank. 

He  owns  the  virtues  of  a  philosopher ;  the  love  of  humanity  is  his  strength; 
his  sharpest  weapon  is  persuasion. 


JOO  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

A  love  for  his  country  was  a  crown  for  which  he  gave  his  life,  which  lie 
offered  as  a  sacrifice  to  his  people. 

Now  wondering  Europe  knows  his  name.  Low  jesters  deride  him  no 
more;  pride-corrupted  individuals  taunt  him  no  more  with  poverty ;  infamous 
enemies  of  progress  bend  before  the  Titan,  to  whom  nature  gave  the  figure  of 
a  giant,  and  God  the  spirit  of  a  hero,  who  became  the  regenerator  of  his  people. 
His  blood  spilt  in  America  by  the  base  assassin's  hand  will  fertilize  the 
continent  of  Europe.  The  assassin  was  the  representative  of  the  enemies  of 
progress. 

LINCOLN'S  name  is  now  defended  by  all  nations,  and  the  example  of  his 
virtues  is  sealed  by  his  blood  upon  the  frontispiece  of  the  temple  of  nations. 

Venerable,  LE  HALLE. 

ARMENAULT. 
LEBORGNE. 

AND  MANY  OTHERS. 

By  the  unanimous  authority  of  Harmony  Lodge  : 

LEBESQUE,  Keeper  of  the  Seals. 


Letter  addressed  to  the  editor  nj  Temps. 

[Translation.] 

Mr.  EDITOR:  The  indescribable  act  which  has  just  torn  from  us  F** 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York  and  President 
of  the  republic  of  the  United  States  of  America,  has  profoundly  afflicted  all 
Frenchmen. 

Thus  the  members  of  the  Lodge  Saint  Pierre  des  Acacias,  at  their  sitting 
on  Thursday,  the  27th  of  April  last,  testified  the  profound  grief  they  felt  by  a 
peculiar  demonstration  (en  tirant  une  triple  batterie  de  deuil}  in  memory  of  that 
noble  victim.  Every  one  thought  that  the  blood  of  LINCOLN  would  be  the  con 
secration  of  the  principles  of  liberalism,  so  courageously  and  so  nobly  explained 
and  upheld  by  that  great  citizen. 

The  members  of  the  Lodge  Saint  Pierre  des  Acacias  will  wear  mourning 
for  three  months  for  the  death  of  their  brother,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
Have  the  goodness  to  accept,  &c. 

J.  HAART,  Yen.**  (THonneur. 
HIMET,  Yen**  Titulaire. 
LOUIS  RE  DEN,  Orate.itr. 
RICHARD,  Firxt  Survei/lanl. 
PAULOM1ER,  Second  Surveillant. 
E.  BRAS,  Secretaire. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       1Q1 

Address  of  the  Lodge  of  the  Fraternity  of  the  People,  in  the  cast  of  Paris,  to  the, 
American  Freemasons,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 

[Translation.] 

The  Loge  la  Fraternitd  des  Peuples  has  profoundly  felt  the  great  grief 
which  has  agitated  the  world  on  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  horrible  outrage 
to  which  F**  LINCOLN  has  fallen  a  victim.  F**  of  America,  the  Masons  of 
France  lament  the  irreparable  loss  of  the  virtuous  citizen,  of  the  great  politician ; 
bul  they  know  that  with  them  and  by  them  slavery  will  be  annihilated,  and 
that  the  sacred  cause  of  liberty  will  shine  forth  in  a  great  triumph  which  is  at 
hand,  a  glorious  compensation  for  the  deep  grief  of  this  sad  period. 

E.  DENISE,  Yen.  **. 


[Translation.] 

SCOTCH  LODGE,  No  146,  THE  RIGHT  LINE, 

Paris,  May  13,  18C5. 

CITIZEN  PRESIDENT  :  The  crime  by  which  AHRAIIAM  LINCOLN  has  perished 
deprives  humanity  of  a  glorious  example,  the  United  States  of  an  eminent 
magistrate,  and  masonry  of  a  brother. 

The  fratricidal  war  which  has  made  thousands  of  victims  was  deplored  by 
the  entire  world  with  indignation  ;  the  murder  of  one  man  strikes  the  moral 
universe  with  stupor,  but  it  is  a  sign  that  illuminates  the  abyss.  Religious 
sentiments,  social  and  political  principles,  unite  in  producing  a  deep  emotion 
in  every  human  heart;  it  is  at  first  a  feeling  of  grief,  but  becomes  by  time  and 
reflection  a  source  of  great  instruction. 

Glory  to  the  man  whose  death  joins  religions,  nations,  and  individuals  in 
one  common  mourning.  Glory  to  the  nation  whose  trials  are  admired  by  the 
universe,  whose  destiny  is  beyond  the  reach  of  human  passions 

Citizen  President,  you  have  united  the  national  strength  in  one  patriotic 
bond  All  good  men,  all  upright  souls,  are  with  you.  The  United  States  arc 
aiding  you,  and  the  universe  is  looking  on. 

GAUTRIN,  Venerable. 
DR.  HENRY  RUELLE. 
G.  RAMIER. 
By  order  of  the  Secretary  : 

MENOT. 


[Translation.] 

PARIS,  June  12, 

SIR  :  In  remitting  through  your  hands  the  eulogies  and  funeral  orations 
which  the  superior  grand  honorary  conservator  and  the  grand  president  of  the; 


102  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

masonic  order  of  Misraim  have  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  President  LINCOLN, 
the  sovereign  grand  council  general  is  happy,  through  me,  to  express  their 
feelings  of  sympathy  for  a  great  people,  of  admiration  for  a  great  citizen,  of 
attachment  to  an  admirable  principle. 

President  LINCOLN'S  death  was  a  calamity,  the  cessation  of  war  is  a  blessing, 
and  President  Johnson's  administration  may  be  of  great  service  to  humanity. 

Let  national  law  have  its  course,  and  teach  wicked  men  that  they  cannot 
shed  innocent  blood  in  vain.  Let  them  be  condemned  if  justice  demands  it, 
and  let  Europe  learn,  let  the  civilized  world  know,  that  with  strength  and  right 
there  may  be  magnanimity  and  clemency  to  pardon,  where  there  has  only  been 
injury  and  hatred. 

Such  are  the  feelings  of  this  lodge  for  their  worthy  brethren  in  America. 

"With  great  respect  and  high  consideration,  I  am  your  humble  servant, 

GIRAULT,  Grand  President. 

The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER. 


The  allocation  delivered  by  M.  Massol,  president  of  the  Loge  Renaissance. 

[Translation.] 

MM  *  *  F.  F.  *  * :  I  propose  to  you  a  manifestation  of  regret  for  the  late 
Mr.  LINCOLN.  I  have  nothing  to  say  about  his  death ;  it  is  well  known  to  you 
all,  as  well  as  his  life.  Let  it  suffice  for  me  to.  remind  you  that  it  was  after 
having  gone  through  all  the  graduations  of  labor  that  he  attained  to  the  most 
eminent  post  to  which  a  man  can  aspire,  that  of  President  of  a  great  nation 
of  freemen. 

LINCOLN  will  be  hereafter  a  great  type  of  humanity,  of  honor,  of  courage, 
and  loyalty.  He  is  one  of  the  purest  and  most  faithful  expressions  of  democracy. 
History,  indeed,  will  tell  with  what  good  sense,  what  firmness,  what  moderation 
he  has  known  how  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the  Union  under  the  most  difficult 
circumstances,  without  exceptional  laws,  without  having  recourse  to  dictatorial 
power,  preserving  the  preponderance  of  the  civil  power,  aided  in  so  doing,  it 
must  be  said,  by  the  republican  virtue  of  such  generals  as  Grant,  Sherman,  and 
Sheridan. 

LINCOLN  is  the  veritable  emulation  of  Washington,  if  he  has  not  surpassed 
him.  However  that  may  be,  they  are  two  names  inseparable  in  the  memory 
not  only  of  Americans,  but  of  men  in  all  countries. 

If  Washington  founded  the  Union,  LINCOLN  firmly  maintained  it.  v 

If  Washington  assured  the  liberty  of  his  fellow-citizens,  LINCOLN    has 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  ANL)  SYMPATHY.  '      103 

endowed  a  portion  of  the  human  family  with   that  liberty.     He  has  forever 
closed  the  hideous  sore  of  slavery. 

If  Washington  laid  the  foundation  of  the  true  form  of  democracy,  LINCOLN 
has  made  it  possible  throughout  the  world.  lie  made  the  ideal  for  all. 

To  Washington  and  LINCOLN — one  sprung  from  the  ranks  of  the  aristoc 
racy,  the  other  of  the  humblest  extraction — is  owing  the  firm  settlement  of 
that  universal  confederation  of  which  Freemasonry  has  long  been  the  model 
according  to  philosophical  views. 

All  the  virtues  possessed  by  LINCOLN  are  masonic  virtues,  symbolized  in 
our  degrees  of  initiation. 

When  an  apprentice,  he  purged  his  mind  of  all  the  'subversive  passions, 
which  was  an  indispensable  preparation  for  the  good  conduct  of  life. 

As  a  companion,  he  had  learned  to  live  orderly  by  labor,  and  a  scrupulous 
observance  of  right  and  justice,  a  course  which  was  marked  out  by  rule,  square, 
and  compasses. 

Finally,  like  Hiram,  he  succumbed  to  the  blows  of  an  outrageous  pride  for 
having  remained  inflexible  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  He  is  the  moral  man 
par  excellence. 

Is  that  all  I  No,  M  'x  *  F  *  * ;  that  sample  of  honesty,  above  all  tempta 
tion  ;  that  loyalty,  courage,  moderation,  sense  of  justice ;  that  inflexibility  of 
persistence  in  the  right  road — all  these  qualities  were  enhanced  in  him  by  an 
admirable  simplicity  and  goodness,  and  that  was  his  characteristic  trait. 

Indeed,  his  public  life  was  terminated  by  an  appeal  to  fraternity,  concord, 
and  peace,  addressed  to  the  conquered  rebels,  and  in  proclaiming  the  political 
rights  of  the  men  of  color  whom  he  had  freed.  This  is,  in  my  view,  his  highest 
honor.  A  working  man  himself,  he  showed  what  the  government  ought  to  do 
for  men  of  that  class:  abolish  all  servitude,  and  modify  the  institutions  after  the 
requirements  of  justice,  while  liberty  never  failed  to  be  respected. 

And  now,  M  *  *  F  *  *,  however  painful  may  be  this  death,  it  will  alter 
nothing  in  the  destinies  of  the  United  States.  The  people  who  have  the 
happiness  to  govern  themselves  are  not  at  the  mercy  of  events  like  these, 
even  though  the  most  distinguished  and  useful  among  them  fall.  They 
experienced  no  humiliating  fears.  Moreover,  if  the  slave  owners  were  already 
conquered,  tl>e  blow  of  the  14th  of  April  ruined  them  forever  in  public  opinion, 
and  in  the  conscience  of  the  people. 

Confidence,  then,  and  hope.  Only  let  the  memory  of  LINCOLN,  of  that 
citizen  of  the  world,  remain  in  each  of  us  as  an  incentive  to  emulation,  as  a  model 
.and  a  guide.  This  grandeur  in  simplicity  must  not  die.  Let  it  always  there 
fore  be  present  to  our  minds,  and  may  it  become  fruitful. 


104  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Lodge  of  St.  Augustus,  the  Beneficent,  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York. 

[Translation.] 

In  a  solemn  session  on  the  21st  of  April  last,  our  lodge  expressed  its 
sympathies  for  the  United  States.  It  decreed  to  wear  mourning  for  three 
months  in  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  memory,  and  to  send  funds  to  purchase  tools  and 
clothing  for  the  colored  freedmen. 

We  have  always  been  for  your  cause,  dear  brethren,  because  it  is  that  of 
humanity.  The  curse  of  excommunication  is  now  taken  from  the  blacks. 
LINCOLN  has  followed  Washington. 

No  threatening  cloud  now  hangs  over  that  glorious  country,  justly  called 
the  Republic  of  the  United  States.  Its  coat  of  arms  has  now  no  bar  sinister 
to  disfigure  it.  We  mourn  over  the  heroic  victim  of  the  struggle  that  has  ended 
so  gloriously.  Mothers  are  shedding  their  last  tears  ;  entire  families  are  ruined  ; 
widows  are  deranged  with  grief;  orphans  seek  with  haggard  eyes  those  whom 
they  called  their  parents ;  all  are  mourning. 

Terrible  hate  has  separated  provinces,  families,  and  citizens.  Men  who 
used  to  give  their  hands,  turned  to  take  each  other's  hearts,  and  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  their  pale  bodies  repose  under  the  earth  that  has  been  fecundated 
with  their  generous  blood.  Let  us  mourn. 

This  dividing  gulf  has  at  last  been  filled  up  by  the  body  of  a  great  man. 
Alas !  you  had  to  make  the  greatest  sacrifice.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  struck 
by  a  madman ;  a  master-piece  of  nature  has  been  destroyed  by  a  horrid  being, 
the  vilest  piece  of  nature's  work. 

Your  sublime  cause  has  had  the  sublimest  martyr.  Let  us  lament  him. 
But  he  who  came  into  the  world,  like  Jesus  of  Bethlehem,  to  take  away  its 
sins,  has  not  given  his  life  in  vain  for  the  good  of  his  countrymen.  Slavery  is 
dead  as  well  as  LINCOLN,  and  is  now  reposing  in  its  final  tomb.  With  its 
mortal  memory  human  dignity  is  raised  to  immortality.  The  ancient  institu 
tion  may  leave  its  traces  here  and  there  in  savage  lands,  but  slavery  will  soon 
disappear  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  the  spirit  of  the  great  martyr  will  aid 
in  its  destruction. 

And  you,  dear  brothers,  will  imitate  the  example  of  the  model  man  that 
has  been  left  for  the  good  of  the  world.  His  head  and  heart  were  perfect. 
First  the  son  of  a  laboring  man,  he  was  an  apprentice ;  then  he  became  a 
journeyman,  and  last  a  master,  thus  realizing  our  masonic  symbols  He 
learned,  he  loved,  he  worked,  he  suffered,  he  persevered.  Glory  be  to  his 
memory  forever ! 

In  the  work  of  emancipation,  his  intelligence  has  been  shown  in  trails  of 
fire;  his  heart  is  protected  by  the  halo  of  martyrdom.  One  can  do  good  by 


EXPRESSIONS  Or  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        105 

imitating  LINCOLN,  and  more   good  by  circulating   his  biography,  which  is  a 
second  gospel.     It  began  in  America,  and  will  spread  abroad  in  the  world. 
Accept,  dear  brethren,  the  expression  of  our  most  fraternal  sentiments. 

DELABY,  Venerable. 

JACQUIN,  First   Warden. 

BEAUGRAND,  Second  Warden. 

JOBLOT,  Keejter  of  the  Seals. 

A.  CARETTK,  Orator. 

L.  DZ1ED/IC,  Secretani. 


Address  of  the  French  Committee  of  Emancipation  to  the  President  of  the  United 

State*,  Mai/,  18G5. 

[Translation.  ] 

PARIS,  Mat/  1,  186f>. 

A  committee  is  formed  in  Paris  under  the  title  of  the  French  Committee 
of  Emancipation,  for  the  purpose  of  corresponding  with  the  societies  founded  in 
America,  England,  and  other  countries,  to  aid  the  entire  abolition  of  slavery, 
the  education  and  assistance  of  the  freed  families,  and  the  publication  of  all 
facts  connected  with  that  great  cause  of  humanity. 

The  committee  is  provisionally  composed  of  the  Duke  de  Broglie,  former 
president  of  the  committee  of  1843  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  ;  Guizot,  of  the 
French  Academy,  honorary  president ;  Laboulaye,  of  the  institute,  president ; 
Augustin  Cochin,  of  the  institute,  secretary;  Audley,  Prince  de  Broglie,  of  the 
French  Academy;  Leopold  de  Gaillard;  Charles  Gaumont,  former  member  of 
the  committee  of  1848;  Leon  Lavedan,  Henry  Martin,  Guilliuime  Monod, 
Count  de  Montalembert,  of  the  French  Academy;  Henry  Moreau,  E.  de 
Pressense,  II.  Wallon,  of  the  institute ;  Cornells  de  Witt 

The  first  act  of  this  committee  was  the  presentation  of  the  following 
address : 

To  Andrew  Johnson,  President  of  the  United  States: 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  The  undersigned,  faithful  friends  of  the  United  States, 
sons  of  the  French  nation  who  ti>ught  tor  the  independence  of  your  nation, 
permit  themselves  to  address  to  you  the  expression  of  the  sentiments  produced 
in  their  soul  by  the  horrid  crime  which  has  placed  in  your  hands  the  functions 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  and  the  care  of  his  memory 

He  did  not  die  in  battle  among  the  soldiers  of  the  Union ;  he  perished  by 
the  hand  of  an  assassin.  He  is  dead,  but  his  country  still  lives,  and  his  death 
may  be  beneficial  to  it  if  the  United  States,  suppressing  the  horrors  of  the  first 

14 


10(5  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

emotion,  will  lairfent  their  President,  imitate  him,  and  listen  to  him  still,  instead 
of  avenging  him. 

We  French  have  also  experienced  civil  war ;  more  than  once  have  we 
seen  the  most  noble  and  innocent  victims  sink  under  unexpected  blows  in 
the  midst  of  sanguinary  struggles.  The  hand  of  a  murderer  has  always  perpe 
trated  these  acts.  Crimes  are  isolated,  glories  are  national.  The  guilty  man 
seals  his  own  fate  as  well  as  that  of  his  victim.  Leaving  the  assassin  in  the 
shade  of  his  ignominy,  let  us  think  only  of  the  dead,  and  let  us  repeat  the 
sentence  that  must  have  been  the  supreme  wish  of  his  soul,  "  May  my  blood  be 
the  last  that  is  shed." 

Punish  the  guilty,  punish  those  monsters,  hateful  alike  to  all  parties,  who 
murder  men  by  the  side  of  their  wives  and  attack  the  sick  in  their  beds,  but  do 
not  suffer  indignation  to  seek  revenge  afar. 

The  only  vengeance  worthy  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is  the  purification  of 
conscience,  the  return  of  opinion,  the  melancholy  glory  shed  upon  his  name, 
and  especially  the  energetic  union  of  his  successor  with  his  ministers,  his 
generals,  and  the  representatives  of  the  people  to  finish  the  work  that  he  began 
so  nobly. 

History  will  perform  its  part.  We  will  show  his  soul  in  no  pompous 
language,  but  in  the  simple  praise  of  his  life  and  his  words,  or  rather  by  his 
acts  and  by  his  language. 

A  simple  smile  pervaded  Europe  in  the  autumn  of  I860,  when  it  was 
heard  that  an  obscure  lawyer  from  the  little  town  of  Springfield,  in  the  State 
of  Illinois,  was  seated  in  the  place  of  the  great  Washington,  and  that  he  had 
left  his  modest  mansion  to  advocate  three  causes :  the  integrity  of  the  national 
territory,  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution,  the  limitation  and  perhaps  the 
suppression  of  slavery.  The  smile  was  broader  when-  we  learned  that  this 
President,  once  a  carpenter,  a  boatman,  and  a  clerk,  had  to  carry  on  war,  to 
triumph  over  the  evil  designs  of  Europe,  to  quell  domestic  dissensions,  and  to 
contend  with  military,  financial,  and  political  difficulties  all  at  the  same  time. 

In  tact,  he  was  neither  financier,  nor  general,  nor  director,  nor  diplomatist, 
nor  seaman ;  he  was  only  a  man  of  the  people,  honest,  religious,  modest,  and 
determined ;  who  had  read  nothing  but  the  Bible  and  the  Life  of  Washington 
before  he  was  twenty-five  years  of  age ;  who  had  known  no  other  school  than 
that  of  life ;  had  no  instructor  but  labor,  no  protector  but  liberty. 

It  is  hard  to  comprehend  in  Europe,  in  spite  of  our  love  of  equality,  how  a 
man  can  reach  the  highest  rank  without  protection,  and  how  he  can  sustain 
himself  without  pride.  We  cannot  see  the  power  an  honest  man  finds  in  the 
two  great  weapons,  conscience  and  patience.  These  qualities  formed  the 
whole  strength  of  Mr.  LINCOLN.  It  was  his  secret. 

On  the  morning  of  the  llth  of  February,  1861,  a  few  friends  attended  him 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       107 

to  the  railway  station  in  Springfield.  He  started  after  his  election,  alone  and 
without  an  escort,  to  be  inaugurated  as  President. 

"  My  friends,"  said  he,  "  no  one  not  in  my  position  can  appreciate  the  sad 
ness  1  feel  at  this  parting.  To  this  people  I  owe  all  that  I  am.  Here  I  have 
lived  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Here  my  children  were  horn,  and  here 
one  of  them  lies  buried.  A  duty  devolves  upon  me  which  is  greater  perhaps 
than  that  which  has  devolved  upon  any  other  man  since  the  days  of  Washing 
ton.  He  never  would  have  succeeded  except  for  the  aid  of  Divine  Providence, 
upon  which  he  at  all  times  relied.  I  feel  that  I  cannot  succeed  without  the 
same  Divine  aid  which  sustained  him,  and  on  the  same  Almighty  Being  I  place 
my  reliance  for  support;  and  I  hope  you,  my  friends,  will  pray  that  I  may 
receive  that  Divine  assistance  without  which  I  cannot  succeed,  but  with  which 
success  is  certain." 

He  who  pronounced  this  touching  farewell  had  not  yet  been  inaugurated, 
and  the  South  was  already  in  arms. 

Federal  electors  were  chosen  on  the  Gth  of  November,  I860,  and  the 
majority  (180  out  of  303)  were  favorable  to  LINCOLN.  South  Carolina  raised 
the  standard  of  revolt  on  the  20th  of  December.  On  the  llth  of  January,  1861, 
the  governor  of  that  State  ordered  the  commander  of  Fort  Sumter,  near  Charles 
ton,  to  surrender.  Major  Anderson,  commander  of  the  fort,  consulted  the  new 
President  on  the  6th  of  February,  and  answered,  "  If  you  besiege  me,  if  you 
begin  the  civil  war,  the  responsibility  will  rest  upon  you." 

Calm  and  firm,  in  spite  of  these  provocations,  the  President  in  his  first 
message  (4th  of  March,  1861)  addressed  to  the  insurgents  these  words,  which 
clearly  show  the  origin  and  true  causes  of  the  war : 

"  In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow-countrymen,  and  not  in  mine,  is  the 
momentous  issue  of  civil  war.  The  government  will  not  assail  you ;  you  can 
have  no  conflict  without  being  yourselves  the  aggressors.  You  have  no  oath 
registered  in  heaven  to  destroy  the  government ;  while  I  shall  have  the  most 
solemn  one  to  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  it. 

"  One  section  of  our  country  believes  slavery  is  right  and  ought  to  be 
extended,  while  the  other  believes  it  is  wrong  and  ought  not  to  be  extended ; 
and  this  is  the  only  substantial  dispute. 

"  Physically  speaking,  we  cannot  separate  ;  we  cannot  remove  our  respective 
sections  from  each  other,  nor  build  an  impassable  wall  between  them.  If  the 
minority  will  not  acquiesce,  the  majority  must;  there  must  be  submission  on 
the  one  side  or  the  other.  If  a  minority  secede,  another  minority  will  secede 
from  them,  and  thus  cause  ruin.  Plainly  the  central  idea  of  secession  is  the 
essence  of  anarchy." 

These  words  were  uttered  on  the  4th  of  March,  and  on  the  12th  of  April, 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  first  cannon  was  fired  by  the  South.  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN  believed  so  little  in  the,  long  continuation  of  the  war,  that  on  the 


108  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

15th  of  April  he  only  called  out  seventy-five  thousand  men  to  arms;  but  he 
was  so  firmly  resolved  to  maintain  the  Constitution,  and  to  interpret  it  in  favor 
of  human  liberty,  that  in  passing  through  Philadelphia  a  short  time  before  his 
inauguration,  even  in  the  hall  where  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  signed 
in  1776,  he  said: 

"I  have  often  inquired  what  great  principle  or  idea  it  was  that  kept  this 
confederacy  so  long  together.  It  was  not  the  mere  matter  of  the  separation  of 
the  colonies  from  the  motherland,  but  that  sentiment  in  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  which  gave  liberty,  not  alone  to  the  people  of  this  country,  but  I 
hope  to  the  world  for  all  future  time.  It  was  that  which  gave  promise  that  in 
due  time  the  weight  would  be  lifted  from  the  shoulders  of  all  men.  Can  the 
country  be  saved  on  this  basis  1  If  it  can,  1  will  consider  myself  one  of  the 
happiest  men  in  the  world  if  I  can  help  to  save  it ;  but  if  it  cannot  be  saved 
without  giving  up  that  principle,  I  would  rather  be  assassinated  on  this  spot 
than  surrender  it.  I  am  ready  to  live  tor  this  principle,  or,  if  God  so  ordains 
it,  to  die  for  it." 

He  was  assassinated ;  but  the  war  is  over,  the  Union  exists,  slavery  is 
destroyed  ;  and  before  he  fell,  Mr.  LINCOLN  entered  the  rebel  capital,  and  on 
the  morning  of  his  death  he  publicly  eulogized  the  brave  adversary,  Robert 
Lee,  whom  his  brave  generals  had  just  conquered,  thus  honoring  him  who  had 
surrendered  his  arms. 

He  lived  to  raise  the  national  Union  colors  in  Richmond  just  lour  years 
from  the  day  when,  invited  to  raise  the  national  standard  on  Independence  Hall, 
he  said : 

"  Besides  this,  our  friends  had  provided  a  magnificent  flag.  I  had  to  raise 
it;  and  when  it  went  up,  I  was  pleased  that  it  went  to  its  place  by  the  strength 
of  my  own  feeble  arm;  when  the  cord  was  pulled  and  it  flaunted  in  the  bright 
glowing  sunshine  of  the  morning,  I  hoped  it  was  a  propitious  omen.  I  was  the 
humble  instrument  in  its  elevation  ;  the  people  had  made  it,  and  arranged  the 
machinery  for  its  hoisting;  and  if  I  can  have  the  same  generous  co-operation  of 
the  people  of  the  nation,  I  think  the  flag  of  our  country  may  yet  be  kept  flaunt 
ing  gloriously." 

After  having  laid  aside  the  emblems  of  his  power,  in  the  midst  of  war  and 
in  the  face  of  calumny,  to  submit  to  a  new  election,  at  the  moment  of  his  second 
inauguration  on  the  4th  of  March,  1865,  he  pronounced  these  memorable  words, 
which  have  become  a  solemn  testament : 

"  Fondly  do  we  hope,  fervently  do  we  pray,  that  this  mighty  scourge  of 
war  may  soon  pass  away  ;  yet  if  God  wills  that  it  continue  until  all  the  wealth 
piled  by  the  bondman's  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be 
sunk,  and  until  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  with  the  lash  shall  be  paid  with 
another  drawn  by  tin;  sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so  si  ill  it 
must  be  said,  'The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether.' 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        109 

"With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness  in  the  right, 
as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are  in, 
to  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds,  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle, 
and  for  his  widow  and  orphans,  to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just 
and  lasting  peace  among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations." 

Admirable  words,  and  well  worthy  of  him  who  wrote  again,  at  the  end  of 
his  message  of  the  1st  of  December,  1862,  in  which,  after  delaying,  waiting, 
suffering  for  two  years,  he  finally  resolved  to  propose  the  abolition  of  slavery : 

"  Fellow-citizens,  we  cannot  avoid  history ;  the  severe  trial  we  are  now 
undergoing  will  stamp  us  with  honor  or  dishonor  to  the  latest  generation." 

Upon  you,  Mr.  President,  has  the  guardianship  of  that  honor  and  the 
heritage  of  that  great  man  devolved.  Like  him,  you  were  a  working  man; 
like  him,  you  have  gained  bread,  knowledge,  esteem,  and  power,  by  the  sweat 
of  your  brow;  like  him,  you  bravely  defended  the  Union  in  the  Senate  ;  like 
him,  you  hate  slavery  ;  like  him,  you  are  surrounded  by  great  ministers,  great 
generals,  that  hate  would  have  laid  with  him  in  death.  It  is  your  duty  to  enter 
into  the  sentiments  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  to  finish  the  work  of  force  by 
conciliation. 

Peace,  amnesty,  union,  liberty,  new  posterity!  These  were  certainly  the 
designs  of  Mr.  LINCOLN.  Such  arc  the  vows  of  the  civilized  world.  Be  generous 
in  victory,  after  having  been  inflexible  in  contest. 

Europe  did  not  expect  to  see  a  commercial  people  become  warlike,  without 
the  military  spirit  lapsing  into  despotism.  Europe  did  not  expect  to  see  tour 
millions  of  poor  slaves  resist  the  temptation  to  revolt,  and  twice  save  a  country 
that  persecuted  them,  by  furnishing  it  brave  soldiers,  and  exciting  an  external 
interest,  an  emotion  of  opinion,  which  probably  prevented  intended  interven 
tions  Europe  did  not  expect  to  see  the  North,  caught  unprepared,  conquer 
the  South,  so  brave  and  well  provided. 

But  spare  us  more  surprises,  and  console  us  for  the  length  and  the  calami 
ties  of  the  war  by  a  prompt,  solid  and  generous  peace  among  all  the  citizens  of 
that  nation  to  which  has  been  given  the  beautiful  name  of  The  Union.  The 
future  will  say  that  Washington  founded  it,  that  LINCOLN  and  you  rebuilt  it. 
May  his  blood  be  the  last  shed  ! 


[Translation.] 

CITIZEN  AMBASSADOR:  At  the,  news  of  the  horrid  death  of  one  whom  I  wo 
worlds  admired  yesterday,  and  lament  to-day,  the  young  men  of  the  schools 
extend  the  expression  of  their  grief  to  the  United  States  representative.  We 
openly  proclaim  our  sympathy  for  the  brave  defender  of  that  tfreat  cause  of 


110  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

justice  called,  in  America,  emancipation  of  slaves — in  Europe,  liberation  of  the 
oppressed. 

In  President  LINQOLN  we  weep  for  a  fellow-citizen,  for  no  country  is  shut 
up  now ;  and  our  country  is  that  where  there  are  neither  masters  nor  slaves ; 
where  every  man  is  free,  or  is  fighting  to  become  free. 

We  are  the  fellow-citizens  of  John  Brown,  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  of 
Mr.  Seward.  We  young  people,  to  whom  the  future  belongs,  must  have  the 
courage  to  found  a  true  democracy ;  and  we  will  have  to  look  beyond  the  ocean 
to  learn  how  a  people  who  have  made  themselves  free  can  preserve  their  free 
dom. 

He  who  died  was  a  citizen  of  that  republic  where  the  great  men  are  not 
conquerors  who  violate  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  people,  but  the  founders 
and  guardians  of  their  independence,  like  Washington  and  LINCOLN. 

Honesty  and  simplicity,  energy  in  their  struggles,  moderation  in  victory, 
respect  for  liberty,  always  and  everywhere :  these  are  the  admirable  qualities  of 
LINCOLN,  of  all  of  the  elect  of  the  American  people.  How  magnificent  com 
pared  with  the  meanness  of  those  elect  of  God  whom  ignorant  or  servile  histo 
rians  adduce  as  worthy  examples  in  our  old  Europe. 

To  murder  such  men  is  to  kill  the  law  itself.  In  a  republic,  where  laws 
are  made  by  a  free  people,  all  those  who  are  intrusted  with  the  administration 
of  the  laws,  and  those  who  take  a  solemn  oath  to  obey  them,  and  never  violate 
them,  these  men  are  sacred ;  to  kill  them  is  to  commit  the  most  detestable  of 
crimes,  and  such  murderers  are  termed  assassins,  as  their  victims,  like  LINCOLN 
and  Seward,  are  called  martyrs  of  justice  and  liberty. 

The  President  of  the  great  republic  is  dead,  but  the  republic  itself  shall 
live  forever. 

In  the  name  of  those  who  composed  the  meeting 

A.  KEY, 
Student  of  Medicine. 


[Translation.] 

Permit  us  to  present  to  your  excellency, 'as  members  of  the  international 
committee  of  the  Darien  Canal  Company,  the  expression  of  our  warmest  sym 
pathy  and  profound  sentiments  of  sadness  on  account  of  President  LINCOLN'S 
death.  Many  of  us  have  lived  in  the  great  republic ;  they  know  the  country 
and  are  devoted  to  your  cause.  They  lament  the  great  man  who  is  no  more. 

We  must  also  say,  on  this  sad  occasion,  that  we  will  never  forget  the  marks 
of  benevolence  we  have  always  had  from  your  government,  and  particularly 
from  Mr.  Dayton,  your  lamented  predecessor,  up  to  the  last  moments  of  his 
existence 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       HI 

Accept  the  expression  of  our  respectful  sentinients. 

Members  of  the  company  tor  the  obtaining  of  the  American  canal  through 
the  isthmus  of  Darien. 

MOUGEL  BEY, 
President,  Aumale  Street,  No.  10. 
CROCHARD. 
F.  FORTIN. 
CH.  DU  BREIL, 

Marquis  of  Rays. 

CH.  Du  BREIL,  <  COUNT  AMPHERNET, 

Marquis  of  Rays,  for  {  EMILE  DE  SOLMINIHAC. 

N.  CORDIER. 
13.  DE  CASTRO. 
His  Excellency  Mr.  BIGELOW, 

Minister  of  the.  United  States  of  America,  Paris. 


[Translation.] 

PARIS,  May  1,  1865. 

In  its  session  of  the  28th  of  April  last,  the  genc-ral  committee  of  the 
National  Union  for  Commerce  and  Manufactures,  passed,  by  acclamation,  the 
following  resolution,  moved  by  its  president : 

"  The  general  committee,  interpreting  the  sentiments  of  the  society  it 
represents,  before  proceeding  to  regular  work,  express  their  profound  sympathy 
for  the  American  people,  and  join  in  their  regrets  for  the  assassination  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States.  We  feel  a  horror  at  the  odious  crime 
of  which  the  illustrious  man  has  been  a  victim." 

We  have  the  honor  of  transmitting  to  you  our  annual  circular,  which  shows 
our  association  to  have  among  its  members  forty-two  mayors  and  about  four 
thousand  merchants. 

Accept  the  assurance  of  the  high  consideration  with  which  we  have  the 

honor  to  be  your  very  humble  servants, 

ALLAIN  NIQUET, 

President  of  tlie  General  Committee  of  tlie  Union. 
PASCAL  BONNIN, 

Director. 
The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER. 


112  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

PARIS,  Mai/  2,  18G5. 

Sin :  Instruments  *as  we  are  to  works  of  reconciliation  and  peace,  we  cannot 
remain  silent  at  this  event  that  has  excited  the  indignation  and  sorrow  of  all 
civilized  nations. 

We  now  come  in  our  turn  to  pay  a  tribute  of  admiration  to  the  memory 
of  that  great  and  good  man,  who  has  so  nobly  served  the  cause  of  humanity, 
and  to  express  the  profound  regret  we  feel  at  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
the  noble  martyr  of  duty.  As  his  existence  was  an  honor  to  our  age,  so  every 
contemporary  laments  his  exit  from  this  world. 

Honor  to  the  country  that  produces  such  paragons  for  modern  society. 
They  are  the  glory  of  labor  and  religion  in  their  most  liberal  forms,  of  all  vir 
tues  that  are  the  bases  of  liberty  and  public  prosperity. 

With  such  citizens  it  is  not  astonishing  that  America  pursues  the  realiza 
tion  of  the  principles  contained  in  its  immortal  Declaration  of  Independence  : 
"  We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident :  that  all  men  are  created  equal ;  that 
they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights ;  that  among 
these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness." 

Accept  the  expression  of  our  sentiments  of  high  consideration  and  cordial 
sympathy. 

HENRY  CARLE,  (4G  School  street,) 

WITH  TEN  OTHERS, 

In  the  name  of  the  Universal  Religious  Alliance. 
Mr.  BIGELOW, 

Untied  Slates  Minister.  Paris. 


Copy  of  an  extract  of  the  proceedings  of  a  conference  of  the  pastors,  ministers, 
and  elders  of  the  -national  churches  of  France. 

[Translation.] 

PARIS,  May  9,  1865. 

The  pastors,  ministers,  and  elders  of  the  two  national  churches  of  France, 
(Reformed  Church  and  Church  of  the  Confession  of  Augsburg,)  united  in  con 
ference  on  the  occasion  of  the  annual  religious  meeting,  and  justly  moved  at 
the  catastrophe  which  has  taken  away  from  the  United  States  their  pious  and 
wise  President,  experience  the  need  of  expressing  to  their  brethren  of  the 
United  States  their  profound  horror  at  the  assassination  of  their  glorious  Presi 
dent,  and  at  the  attempt  on  the  life  of  his  eminent  minister,  Mr.  Seward,  and 
their  hopes  that  the  great  citizen  who  presided  over  the  destinies  of  America 
may  have,  in  his  successor,  a  worthy  follower  of  his  generous  and  Christian 
enterprise. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        H3 

This  expression  of  their  sincere  sympathy  will  be  presented  to  his  excel 
lency  the  minister  of  the  United  States  at  Paris  by  the  president,  the  vice- 
president,  and  the  secretaries  of  the  conference. 

PAKIS,  April  27,  1865. 
A  true  copy  : 

H.  BLANC, 

One  of  (he  Secretaries. 
His  Excellency  the  MINISTER  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


Letter  addressed  to  madam,  the  widow  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  sent  to  the  care  of  the  United  States  minister  at  Paris 

[Translation.] 

PARIS,  April  27,  1865. 

MADAM  :  "We  learn  with  stupor  the  horrible  crime  which  has  plunged  in 
mourning  your  family  and  all  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  which  has 
changed  rudely  into  lamentations  the  song  of  triumph  and  thanksgivings.  The 
name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  embodied,  in  our  estimation,  one  of  the  greatest 
causes  with  which  heart  can  be  inspired,  and  it  is  just  at  the  moment  when 
that  cause  is  crowned  with  victory,  after  a  cruel  struggle,  that  he  to  whom  the 
triumph  is  mainly  due  perishes,  the  victim  of  an  unaccountable  fanaticism. 
Only  this  was  wanting  to  complete  the  horrors  of  slavery,  the  consecration  of 
victory,  and  the  glory  of  the  defender  of  liberty.  Madam,  we  do  not  seek  to 
console  you  with  the  idea  of  the  glory  henceforth  attached  to  the  name  of  your 
husband,  whom  future  ages  will  rank,  as  we  do  now,  among  the  benefactors  of 
the  human  race.  But  directing  your  attention,  as  well  as  our  own,  to  some 
thing  higher,  let  us  adore  the  mysterious  will  of  God  who  has  deigned  to  make 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  one  of  those  powerful  workers  that  he  employs  in  the 
accomplishment  of  his  designs,  and  who  has  allowed  him  to  be  taken  away 
from  this  world  after  the  gloom  and  labor  of  the  combat.  We  associate  our 
selves  from  the  bottom  of  the  heart  in  your  grief,  which  is  not  only  a  national 
mourning  but  extends  throughout  humanity. 

We  pray  God  to  console  you  as  He  alone  can  do,  and  show  you,  by  fiu'th, 
him  whom  we  mourn  in  that  eternal  glory  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  where 
God  gathers  all  his  children,  illustrious  or  obscure,  around  Jc'sus  Christ,  who 
gave  his  life  to  save  the  world.  We  pray  that  the  indignation  excited  by  the 
horrible  act  may  not  change  the  thoughts  of  charity  which  ought  to  crown  the 
work  of  empacipaf  ion.  May  God  now  finish  that  work,  and  confer  his  bene 
dictions  on  the  people  of  the  United  States,  who  have  been  so  cruelly  tried,  and 
on  you,  madam,  whose  grief  we  share,  and  on  the  many  thousand  souls  who 

15 


114  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

have  each  borne  their  tribute  of  suffering  in  this  violent  intestine  commotion  of 
the  country. 

In  the  name  of  the  conference  of  pastors,  ministers  of  the  Holy  Evangel, 
and  the  members  of  the  consistories  of  the  two  national  churches  of  France, 
(Reformed  Church  and  Church  of  the  Confession  of  Augsburg.) 

L.  VALLETTE,  Pastor, 

President  of  the  Conference. 
DE  CONNUICK,    Vice- President. 
CAUCUS,  Pastor,  Secretary. 
H.  BLANC,  Minister, 

H.  E.  Secretary. 
Ilis  Excellency  the  MINISTER  of  the  United  States. 


[Translation.] 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  The  Constitution  of  your  country  has  forever  put  Amer 
ican  democracy  beyond  the  possibility  of  being  affected  by  the  violence  done 
to  persons.  Where  liberty  reigns,  where  the  law  alone  governs,  the  first  magis 
trates  may  perish  without  shaking  or  even  threatening  the  institutions.  Regret 
and  indignation  may  agitate  the  people,  they  cannot  be  seized  with  fear.  We 
know  that  these  are  the  holy  conditions  enjoyed  by  the  people  of  the  United 
States  by  reason  of  their  institutions. 

Permit  us,  however,  to  express  the  grief  we  feel  at  the  death  of  the  citizen 
who  has  just  fallen  a  victim  to  assassination.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  will  be 
lamented  as  he  lias  been  admired  by  the  French  democracy.  What  finer 
model,  indeed,  can  we  have  than  that  great  man  of  the  people — that  laborious 
man,  sprung  from  the  humblest  ranks,  and  coming  to  be  the  first  magistrate  of 
his  country,  and  remaining  the  faithful  servant  of  the  laws  ? 

Tell  the  people  of  the  Union,  Mr.  President,  that  we  associate  ourselves 
with  their  sorrows  as  we  participate  in  their  hopes.  Slavery  is  dead ;  liberty 
will  never  die;  and  the  triumph  of  the  great  republic  is  assured. 

(Here  follow  the  names  of  the  editors  of  the  four  papers  :  the  editor  in 
chief  of  the  Temps,  being  A.  Nefftzer ;  of  the  Opinion  Nationale,  R.  de  Guer- 
ault ;  the  Avenir  National,  A.  Peyrant ;  and  the  Siecle,  L.  Havin.) 

PRESIDENT  JOHNSON. 


[Translation.] 

PARIS,  June  9,  18CJ5. 

SIR  :  I  was  struck  with  horror  when  I  heard  the  news  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S 
death.     The  illustrious  genius  and  worthy  magistrate  did  not  live  to  enjoy  Hie 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  H5 

glory  of  his  great  deeds.  The  abominable  crime  of  his  death  ought  to  be 
avenged.  Justice  will  be  done ;  but,  unfortunately,  the  most  guilty  will  not 
receive  it,  but  they  will  wither  like  the  weeds  in  barren  fields.  His  memory 
will  be  venerated  by  all  nations  living ;  and  generations  to  be  born  will  yield 
him  homage.  Rash  assassins  have  spilled  a  precious  blood  ;  but  it  will  cry 
aloud  from  earth  for  vengeance,  and  its  voice  will  be  heard  afar. 

Horrid  slavery  is  no  more.  Europe  rejoices  at  it;  let  the  world  rejoice. 
A  new  order  of  events  will  rise,  and  men  will  be  blessed  whose  hopes  had 
almost  vanished.  The,  black  has  a  right  to  enjoy  liberty  as  well  as  life ;  and 
now  he  has  it  in  America. 

May  the  successor  of  the  deceased  be  worthy  of  his  place,  and  finish  the 
labor  to  be  done ;  then  the  world  will  chant  a  chorus  of  gloria  in  excelsis,  in 
populo  supremo.  Amen. 

Accept  the  expression  of  my  highest  consideration. 

IMBERT,  Ex-Professor,  $c. 

Mr.  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States. 


J.  L'.  Litisine  to  Messrs.  Seward. 

[Translation  ] 

PARIS,  May  25,  1865. 

GENTLEMEN  :  There  are  names  which  explain  the  condition  of  a  country, 
and  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  is  one  of  them.  The  illustrious  citizen  who  protested  against 
slavery  and  assassination  has  fallen  a  victim  to  fanaticism. 

In  dedicating  this  day  a  sprig  of  anemone  to  the  memory  of  your  glorious 
martyr,  thus  joining  in  the  prayers  of  thousands,  be  assured  that  my  heart  also 
protests  against  assassination,  whatever  may  be  its  motive,  and  particularly 
against  that  of  which  you  yourselves,  together  with  your  friends,  came  near 
being  the  victims. 

Mr.  LINCOLN  placed  entire  confidence  in  you,  gentlemen,  and  you  may 
believe  that  a  poor  French  workingman  feels  intense  satisfaction  in  your  speedy 
recovery,  because  he  sees  in  it  a  determination  on  your  part  to  finish  the  task 
begun  by  President  LINCOLN,  and  to  attend  more  devotedly  to  the  cause  of  the 
slaves  liberated  by  your  blood  and  his. 

May  peace  hereafter  preside  over  your  noble  efforts. 

J.  C.  LUSINE, 
No.  26  Bernard  Street,  Paris. 

(Enclosed  is  a  printed  sonnet  taken  from  the  Phare  de  la  Loire,  May  2, 
1865,  entitled:  Un  Ramcau  d"  Immortelle.} 


116  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Extrait  clu  Phare  de  la  Loire  du  2  Mai,  18G5.] 
UN  RAMEAU  D'IMMOETELLE. 

• 

LINCOLN,  grand  citoyen,  fils  do  la  liberte, 
Integre  magistral,  vertu  digne  d'Homere; 
Toi  qui  n'oublias  point  ton  berccau  ni  ta  more, 
•  Gloire  de  1'Amerique  et  do  I'humanite  ! 

Ton  devoir  est  rempli :  Ton  ombre  avec  fierte 
Voir  1'esclavage  en  vain  queter  1111  victimaire, 
11  n'a  pris  qne  ton  corps;   le  crime  est  cpliemere. 
Ton  ceuvre  a  toi  s'onvolc  a  1'immortalite ! 

Aussi,  comme  une  femme  an  fruit  do  ses  entrailles, 
Le  Sud  an  Nord  ivni  pleurc  a  tes  i'uncrailles : 
Ton  sang  dicte  la  paix  an  peuple  fier  geant! 

Reeois  done,  6  martyr  de  la  liberte  sainte, 

DCS  travailleurs  Francais  dans-le  deuil  et  la  plainte: 

Un  rameau  d'immortelle  a  travers  1'ocean! 

J.  C.  LUSINE, 
Employe,  ancicn  ouvricr  rclieur. 
28  AVKIL,  1865. 


Alfred  Monod,  lawyer  at  Hie  council  of  slate. 
[Translation.] 

PAULS,  Aprtt  27,  1865. 

I  will  express  to  you  without  delay  the  very  sincere  and  profound  sorrow 
at  the  news  of  the  horrid  catastrophe  that  reached  us  to-day. 

The  loss  of  a  man  like  LINCOLN  is  a  cause  of  mourning  for  all  in  the  world 
who  have  at  heart  the  triumph  of  liberty  and  democracy. 

Mr.  Seward's  death  is  a  blow  almost  as  terrible. 

Allow  me  to  inform  you  of  a  fact  you  will  certainly  be  glad  to  learn.  The 
different  religious  Protestant  societies  are  now  holding  their  public  annual  con 
ferences.  The  Evangelic  Society  assembled  yesterday  evening.  The  Reverend 
William  Monad  announced  the  horrid  news  to  the  astounded  assembly  in  these 
terms : 

"  The  terrible  manifestation  of  wickedness  of  which  we  have  heard  to-day 
has  struck  us  all  with  consternation. 

"  President  LINCOLN  has  been  assassinated. 

;'  We  cannot  give  full  expression  to  our  feelings  at  such  a  loss.  We  an; 
not  discouraged ;  it  is  even  the  abolition  of  slavery  that  God  has  sealed  with 
LINCOLN'S  purest  blood. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        117 

'•  Let  it  be  known  to  our  brethren  in  the  United  States  that  we  mourn 
with  them  their  greatest  citizen. 

"  John  Brown,  AHRAHAM  LINCOLN  !  both  were  martyrs  to  a  holy  cause. 
"  John  Brown  was  the  first ;  God  grant  that  LINCOLN  may  be  the  last !' 
Accept  the  homage  of  my  very  sincere  and  respectful  devotion. 

A.  MONO!) 
The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER. 


[Translation.  ] 

PARIS,  May  3,  1865. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  fell  a  victim  to  the  most  execrable  crime  known,  at  the 
very  moment  the  Union  was  saved  by  his  firmness,  patriotic  energy,  and  mod 
eration. 

.  The  Sunday  Courier  boasts  of  being  the  first  among  French  newspapers 
to  embrace  the  American  cause  from  its  beginning,  and  to  advocate  the  ideas  to 
which  Mr.  LINCOLN  made  himself  a  martyr ;  and  to-day  we  express  the  pro 
found  grief  his  unexpected  death  has  caused  us. 

This  great  citizen  belonged  not  only  to  America,  but  to  the  entire  human 
family  ;  and  his  death  is  felt  by  all  those  of  old  Europe  who  believe  in  liberty, 
law,  and  justice. 

When  the  northern  armies  entered  Richmond,  we  felt  that  the  last  ram 
part  of  slavery  had  fallen,  and  we  rejoiced  in  the  victory;  now  we  ask  the  right 
to  participate  in  your  mourning. 

If  America  wants  this  good  man's  memory  to  be  handed  down  to  future 
generations  in  a  monument  of  marble,  we  will  be  the  first  to  contribute  our 
humble  aid,  as  we  were  the  first  to  help  the  glorious  cause  in.  our  journal 
Accept  the  assurance  of  our  respectful  and  devoted  sentiments. 

PH.  TARGET, 
E.  VILLETARD, 

Responsible.  Editors  of  tJte  Sunday  Courier. 
The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER 


118  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  MR.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

President  of  the  republic  of  the  United  States  of  America — .May,  3865. 

[Translation.] 

The  works  of  Satan  fill  the  earth  with  pain ; 

The  world  is  now  mourning  one  of  his  wicked  deeds, 

Who  has  not  heard  of  his  last  exploit? 

The  news  is  carried  by  the  tolling  of  a  bell. 

Public  welfare  now  demands  that  we  be  all  united; 

Let  feelings  of  jealousy  be  laid  aside ; 

We  only  think  of  saving  our  country. 

Free  and  noble  children  of  America! 

The  hero  of  the  great  republic  is  no   more; 

He  who,  when  in  danger,  saved  its  flag! 

Washington  will  receive  him  as  a  brother, 

But  the  world  will  mourn  him  more  than  Washington. 

The  universe  will  sing  a  hymn, 

And  say  he  went  down  as  a  martyr  to  the  tomb. 

When  the  madman  in  his  fury  struck  the  sage, 

The  human  race  was  shocked  with  horror  and  remorse. 

Why  should  just  men  tolerate  such  fiends  among  them? 

If  such  men  were  less  common  now,  in  France, 

We  would  ne'er  regret  so  many  crimes. 

God  cries  in  his  anger,  vengeance; 

Justice  wants  another  bloody  sacrifice, 

And  LIXCOLN  fell,  the  victim  of  innocence. 

Like  Christ,  like  Brown,  he  was  a  martyr. 

Ho  died  to  save  his  country  and  to  free  the  blacks. 

Now  his  holy  reign  is  over, 

Forget  him  not,  ye  generous  sons  of  Ham. 

Let  us  now  look  up  to  heaven, 

And  ask  his  immortal  soul, 

Freed  from  the  trammels  of  the  flesh, 

If  his  work  was  not  perfect. 

The  world  moves  on,  and  men  rejoice 

That  freedom  is  restored  to  all. 

Some  may  not  bless  him  now; 

But  ere  they  die  they'll  see  the  good  ho  did, 

And  praise  him. 

AUGUSTE  L'ALLOUX, 
Former  interpreter  of  Du  Petti  Thouars,  Bruat  and  Hamlin, 

Baclidor  of  Arts,  professor  of  English,  first  primary 
free  teacher,  38  Cliaussee  du  Maine,  Paris. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        119 

[Translation.] 

34  TAITBOUT  STEEET,  April  29,  1865. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  should  have  written  to  you  sooner  in  expression  of  my  feel 
ings  at  the  horrid  news,  but  1  was  sick  when  I  first  received  it ;  yet  sick  as  I 
was,  I  lectured  last  Thursday,  on  Franklin,  at  the  Conservatory  of  Arts  and 
Trades,  and  spoke  of  President  LINCOLN.  Never  in  my  life,  as  a  professor, 
have  I  found  so  much  sympathy.  The  audience  applauded  three  times  with 
great  enthusiasm,  not  tor  the  speaker,  but  for  the  noble  victim  of  a  base  assas 
sination.  You  should  see  how  general  the  excitement  is  in  Paris ;  it  is  much 
greater  than  I  expected.  Cochin,  Broglic,  and  myself  are  drawing  up  an  ad 
dress,  which  I  am  sure  will  be  signed  by  the  most  important  men  in  France. 

What  more  can  we  do?  If  I  can  be  of  any  service  to  you,  dispose  of  me, 
and  consider  me  one  of  your  best  friends. 

Do  not  take  the  trouble  to  answer  this  unless  you  have  some  important 
communication  to  make,  for  you  must  have  many  letters  to  write  ;  but  when 
you  write  to  Washington,  assure  Mr.  Seward  how  much  I  am  interested  in  his 
situation,  and  that  I  wish  his  speedy  recovery.  Mr.  Seward  is  now  more 
necessary  to  America  and  to  the  whole  world.  Adieu. 
Your  very  devoted, 

ED.  LABOULAYE. 

The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER. 


[Translation.] 

PARIS,  May  20,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  of  sending  you  with  this  letter  several  copies  of  an 
ode  I  have  composed  in  honor  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  two  letters,  one  for 
the  widow  of  the  great  man,  and  the  other  for  Mr.  Johnson,  now  President  of 
the  United  States. 

I  shall  be  infinitely  obliged  to  you  if  you  will  send  them  to  their  destina 
tions  in  the  shortest  possible  time. 

You  will  also  do  me  the  favor  to  fix  a  day  when  I  can  have  a  brief  inter 
view  with  you. 

Accept  my  sympathy  for  your  glorious  country,  and  the  assurance  of  my 
most  distinguished  consideration. 

PAUL  THOUZERY. 
Mr.  BIGELOW, 

Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  tlie  United  States  of  America. 


120  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

[Translation,  j 

PARIS,  May  20,  1865. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  To  one  whom  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  loved  and  associated 
with  him  in  his  great  work  I  send  an  ode  addressed  to  the  memory  of  that 
great  man. 

May  my  verses  find  an  echo  in  every  American  heart !  May  your  worthy 
citizens  aid  you  in  the  labor  you  have  undertaken  !  You  only  were  worthy  to 
succeed  LINCOLN. 

The  ode  I  send  you  to-day  will  prove,  I  hope,  that  the  sympathy  of  the 
world  is  with  you. 

To  eulogize  the  dead  in  presence  of  the  living  is  honoring  the  latter,  by 
showing  them  that  we  confide  in  their  genius  and  in  their  impartiality. 
I  am,  with  respect,  Mr.  President,  your  humble  admirer, 

PAUL  THOUZERY. 
Mr.  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America 


A  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
ODE. 


Oui,  ce  n'est  qne  trop  vrai,  la  fatalo  nouvcllo, 
Dout  out  voulu  doutcr  notro  raison  rebelle, 
S'est  confirmee,  et  tous  nons  point  son  affreux  sort; 
Et  les  peuples  tremblants,  dans  Fun  et  1'autre  mondi; 
Sentant  leur  coeur  saisi  d'unc  douleur  profondc 
Disent  en  pleurs :  LIXCOLX  EST  MOIIT  ! 

II  est  mort,  co  lieros  digne  dos  temps  antiques 
Que  no  puis-je  aujonrd'hui,  dans  des  chants  hoineriques 
Apprendre  a  1'univers  quels  furcnt  ses  bienfaits, 
Bappeler  ses  vcrtus,  parlor  do  sa  sagcsso ; 
II  vous  a  surpasses,  vieux  Nestors  do  la  Grece! 
J'en  voux  pour  preuve  ses  hauts  faits. 

II  est  mort,  mais  du  moins  son  oeuvre  est  immortelle; 
Sa  glorie,  desornais,  rayonnera  plus  belle, 
Comme  le  Clirist,  ilva  gravi  son  Golgotha, 
Et  son  sang  repandu  sur  un  nouveau  Calvaire, 
Pollen  delicieux,  fera  gcrmer  sur  terre, 
Les  reves  d'or,  qu'il  enfanta. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        121 

11  est  mort,  ;ivcc  lui  perira  1'esclavage, 
Son  martyrc  a,  nos  yeux  en  est  un  divin  gage, 
Son  vo3u  lo  plus  ardent  ainsi  s'accomplira : 
Des  bords  de  FOrenoque,  au  rivage  du  Tibro 
Et  du  Tttgc  a  1'Indus,  tout  horame  sera  libre; 
Au  grand  livre  ehacun  lira! 

II  est  mort,  mais  du  inoins  sa  tache  fut  complete, 
II  est  mort  sur  la  breche,  ainsi  qu'un  noble  athlete; 
Quand  on  a  bien  vecu,  qu'importe  le  trepasf 
Pour  le  pcnsenr,  mourir,  n'est-ce  done  pas  renaitro? 
C'est  se  transfigorer,  devenir  un  autre  6tre, 

O  I 

Puisque  1'ame  ne  pent  pas ! 


ii. 

O  toi  dont  1'aveuglo  furie, 
A  seme  la  terre  de  deuil, 
Wilkes  Bootli,  traitre  a  la  patrie, 
A  genoux,  devant  ce  cercucil. 
Ile'ros  d'un  dramc  epouvantable, 
Maudissant  ta  haine  execrable, 
Viens  courber  ta  tete  coupable, 
Devant  ces  restes  adores, 
Vicns  e'couter  la  plainte  ame're 
Qui,  de  tons  les  points  de  la  terre, 
Monte  vcrs  la  celeste  sphere, 
Sortant  do  nos  coaurs  attends. 
Ton  audace  egala  ta  rage, 
Mais  ton  projet  avortera. 
Et  1'Ame'rique,  avec  courage, 
Toujours  vers  son  but  marchera. 
En  vain,  tu  frappas  ta  victime, 
Sache-le  bien,  jamais  le  crime 
Ne  pourra  rendre  Wgitimo 
Le  plus  odieux  des  desseins; 
Et  ton  nom,  maudit  d'agc  en  age, 
Par  1'humanite  qu'il  outrage 
Sera  clone"  sur  une  page, 
Au  pilori  des  assassins. 


ill. 

Et  toi  noble  martyr  que  le  monde  ro've're, 
Toi,  qui  des  opprimds  voulais  etre  le  pore, 
En  vain  tu  succombas  sous  le  plomb  meurtrier, 
Ton  nom,  le  plus  grand  nom,  de  toute  rdpubliquo, 
Rayonnera  toujours  au  front  do  1'Amdrique 
Comme  un  splendide  bouclier. 

1C 


122  ASSASSINATION    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Quelle  etoile  jamais  fur   pamlle  a  la  tionnef 
Comme  Franklin,  issu  de  race  plebeienne, 
Parti  des  derniers  rangs,  fils  do  ta  volonte, 
Tu  montas,  tu,  montas  jusques  au  rang  supreme, 
Puis  JUSTICE  ET  DEVOIR  fureut  ton  diademe, 
Et  ton  sceptre,  la  LIBERTK. 

Oomme  John  Brown,  ee  Christ  de  1'humanite  noire, 
Tu  brillcras  sans  cesse,  au  zenith  de  1'histoire, 
Les  siecles  a  venir  encor  te  beniront,. 
Et,  plus  vil  fut  cclui  qui  t'arracha  la  vie, 
Plus  belles,  desormais,  malgre  1'inlame  cnvie, 
Tes  oeuvres  etincelleront. 

Dors  en  paix,  dors  en  paix  dans  tcs  langes  fundbres, 
La  raison,  chaquo  jour,  dissipo  les  tennebres 
Quo  repandaient  sur  nous  1'ignorance  et  1'orgucil; 
De  ces  rudes  fleaux  nous  chasserons  la  race, 
Et  nos  fils  heureux,  en  marchant  sur  ta  trace, 
No  rencontreront  mil  ecueil. 


Salut,  salut  a  vous,  martyrs  de  la  penseo, 
Chacun  de  vous  travaillc  a  1'oeuvre  commencee, 
Et  do  la  memo  foi  vous  dressez  les  autels; 
Depuis  celui  qui  prit,  sans  trembler,  la  cigue, 
Chacun  do  vous  ressent  quclque  doulour  aigue. 
Saint,  vons  fetes  immortals! 

Oui  par  vous  notro  torro  ou  tout  so  renouvollo 
Vcrra  regner  un  jour  la  paix  imiverselle, 
L'amour  entre  ses  fils  rnettra  1'egalite ! 
Et  I'hommc  compronaut  enfin  le  grand  dictame, 
Sentira  tressaillir  ct  resonner  son  ame 
Au  grand  nom  de  fraternite  ! 

PAUL  THOUZERY. 
AVRIL,   1805. 


[Translation.] 

9  VILLA  ST.  MICHEL,  (BATIGNOLLES,) 

Paris,  May  17,  1865. 

The  triumph  of  the  federal  cause,  or  rather  of  justice,  in  America,  made 
every  heart  friendly  to  liberty  palpitate  with  joy.  Why  should  sorrow  come  in 
such  a  tragic  manner  to  change  the  sentiments  of  harmony  and  concord  that 
seemed  to  surround  this  generous  successor  of  Washington  at  a  time  when  his 
moderation  and  tranquil  virtues  promised  a  perpetuity  of  peace  ?  What  a  grand 
and  noble  duty  he  had  to  perform  after  what  he  had  done  already  with  such 
calm  energy.  In  sacrificing  such  a  man,  blind  passion,  we  have  no  doubt, 
consecrated  his  memory  while  it  conquered  and  killed  forever  the  worst  of 
causes.  Such  are  the  sentiments  I  have  endeavored  to  express  in  the  language 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       123 

of  my  adopted  country  in  honor  of  that  beautiful  American  republic  of  which  I 
would  like  to  have  the  glory  of  being  a  citizen,  and  to  the  eminent  magistrate 
tor  whom  the  world  now  mourns. 

You  will  honor  me  much,  sir,  by  accepting  the  dedication  of  this  ode,  and 
bestowing  upon  its  author  a  benevolent  regard. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  most  profound  respect,  your  very  humble 
and  obedient  servant, 

F.  CAMPADELLI, 
Ex-Lieutenant  of  Italian  Volunteers. 

Hon.  Mr.  BIGELOW, 

United  States  Minister  at  Paris. 


ODE. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  ou  k  triomplic  de  1?  Union  Amerieainc:  dt'xlic  a  TlionoraJble  Monsieur  Bigelow, 

Ministre  dcs  Etats  Unis. 

Lo  montlc  gemissait  do  cette  lutto  immense 

Ou  s'exaltait  1'orgueil  et  1'insigno  deincnco 

D'olygarques  brisant  le  pacto  d'Union, 

Pacte  sacre,  portant  en  sa  pnissante  sevo 

DCS  destins  que  n'ont  pas  les  conquetes  du-  glaive 

Pour  coudiiirc  a  son  but  la  giande  nation. 

De  Washington  pour  eux  1'oeuvre  scrait  chimore  — 

Quaud  co  lieros  vengea  la  liberte,  sa  mere, 

Centre  les  opprcsseurs  d'un  monde  en  son  berceau, 

Afin  do  lui  donner  sa  base  legitime, 

II  groupa  sans  effort,  par  un  lien  intime, 

DCS  Etats  fraternels  sous  un  me'me  drapeau. 

Et  ce  labour,  scelW  du  sang  do  tant  de  braves, 

Fonde  par  la  vertti,  pure  do  cos  entraves 

Que  1'ambition  forgo  au  profit  des  tyrans, 

A  constamment  fleiiri  pros  d'un  siecle  prosperc, 

Donnant  a  1'Univera  1'exemple  salutaire 

Du  saint  respect  dos  lois  qui  fait  les  penples  grands. 

Si  1'Europo  so  plait  a  so  faire  uno  idolo 
Do  tout  usuq>ateur  sans  froin  qni  les  immole, 
Dictant  pour  toute  loi  sa  seulo  volonte, 
Sur  ce  sol  generoux,  immense  cliani])  d'asile. 
Conviant  I'hommo  fort  a.  lo  rendro  fertile, 
Lo    iremicr  fruit  vital  est  dans  la  libcrt^. 


La,  ce  n'est  pas  n\  vain  quo  tout  mortol  1'implore: 
Du  faible  cllo  est  le  droit,  et  lo  puissant  s'honorc 
De  toujours  maintenir  son  niveau  respecte. 
Alors,  chez  lui,  talents,  genie,  honneur,  fortune, 
Au  lieu  cVfitnt  un  danger  pour  la  cause  commune, 
Sont  les  gages  certains  do  sa  prospdritc. 


124  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Aussi,  quelle  grandeur  an  vieux  mondc  inoonnue 
L'Ameriquo  atteignait,  depuis  la  bienvenue 

Do  1'ere  ou  Washington  vint  affirmcr  BOS  droits! 
La  Maison-Blanche  a  vu  sans  garde  pretorionno, 
Sans  liete.urs,  sans  1'eclat  do  la  pompo  anoiennc, 
DCS  magistrals  plus  grande  et  plus  fiers  quo  des  rois. 

Droit  moderne,  salut !  Et  voila  ton  prodige ! 
Palais  do  la  vertu,  salut!  car  ton  prestige 
No  vient  pas  d'un  pouvoir  par  la  force  usurpe : 
Quiconque  en  tes  lambris  pense,  agit  ou  repire, 
ISPest  grand  qu'en  subissant  et  maintenant  1'empire 
Des  lois  qui  font  Fhonneur  d'un  people  emancipe. 

Eli  quoi!  des  heritiers  do  ce  plan  raagnilique 
Ou  se  de'veloppait  la  grande  Republique 
Out  ose  le  briscr,  sous  lo  pretexto  vain 
De  cctte  liberte  qui  serait  leur  victime, 
Si,  triomphaut  tivec  1'cscLavagc,  leur  crime ! 
Us  lui  faisaient  subiv  un  affront  souverain  ! 

Mais  le  droit  s'est  love  dans  sa  virile  force: 

Tout  un  peuple  a  fletri  cet  infame  divorce 

Que  pour  eux  seuls  rfivaient  d'orgueilleux  citoyens; 

Et,  saisissant  le  for  contre  la  liguc  impie, 

II  a  vaincu — laissant  toute  liaine  assoupie 

Quand  ont  mis  1'arme  bas  ses  aveugles  soutiens. 

Gloire,  honucur  a  LINCOLN!    homme  d'une  foi  pure, 
Qui  porta  lo  fardcau  si  grand,  sans  dictature, 
Sans  violation  du  temple  saint  des  lois; 
Honncur  a.  ces  guerriors  loyaux,  vaillants  et  fermes, 
Qui  des  rebellions  ont  pu  franchir  les  termcs, 
Sans  jamais  imprimer  de  taclic  a  leurs  exploits ! 

Us  attcignaient  deja  1'Iicure  do  la  Concorde — 
Anie'rique !    c'etait  un  eloquent  exorde 
Pour  la  democratic  on  marclic  d'avonir — 
Quo  peuvent  desormais  les  sopliismcs  nefastes 
Dont  so  parent  oncor  les  tyrans  et  les  castes, 
Quand  devant  eux  surgit  I'oinbro  do  ton  martyr ! 

0  crime !    6  trahison !    dans  ton  rovers  supremo 

Tu  glisses  dans  le  sang  et  1'ignoble  blaspheme — 

En  vouant  pour  jamais  a  I'immortalite 

Un  champion  du  droit  clement,  dont  la  grande  ame 

Est  I'augusto  rachat  de  co  tribut  infame 

Qu'uno  race  payait  a  la  fatalitc ! 

F.  OAMPADELLI, 
Ex-Liciitcnimt  des  Vdontaircs  Italicn? 
PAKIS,  ce  icr  Mai,  1865. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        125 

[Translation.] 

PARIS,  June  7,  1 865. 

MOST  ILLUSTRIOUS  EXCELLENCY  :  I  have  the  honor  of  sending  you  a,  copy 
of  my  letter  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  illustrious  nation  whose  destinies  are 
intrusted  to  your  hands.  You  will  see  in  it  the  faithful  expression  of  my  senti 
ments  for  the  great  statesman,  ABRAHAM  .LINCOLN.  You  will  find,  at  the  same 
time,  an  antidote  to  the  plague  which  threatens  America  by  the  crime  of  Dr. 
Blackburn. 

I  do  not  doubt  but  the  papers  will  make  known  this  remedy  by  publica 
tion,  and  thus  snatch  from  certain  death  thousands  of  victims,  if  the  dreadful 
plague  should  break  out. 

May  God  give  you  the  light  to  lead  the  great  nation  of  the  United  States 
to  its  highest  destiny,  is  my  most  cordial  wish  for  you,  whom  Providence  has 
called  to  the  eminent  post  of  President. 

Deign  to  accept  the  humble  homage  of  the  distinguished  sentiments  with 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  excellency's  very  humble  and  most  obedient 
servant, 

J.  II.  VRIES 

The  PRESIDENT. 


[Translation. — Extract.] 

Letter  from  ,/.  //.  Vries,  surnamed  ffie  Black  Doctor,  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the 
illustrious  nation  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

PARIS,  May  24,  18G5. 

The  sanguinary  and  fratricidal  war  that  caused  the  generous  blood  of  your 
country's  children  to  flow  like  water  has  fortunately  found  a  termination  amid 
the  plaudits  of  the  entire  world.  God  has  made  the  cause  of  right,  justice,  and 
civilization  to  triumph  ;  victory  has  been  given  to  the  North,  that  hideous  sla 
very  might  no  longer  pollute  that  land  marked  by  the  seal  of  the  cross  of 
Christ. 

Every  heart  was  given  up  to  transports  of  joy  caused  by  those  decisive 
victories,  when  a  new  disaster  occurred  to  plunge  us  into  mourning.  Hell 
sought  another  victim  to  pay  the  ransom  of  the  liberty  of  more  than  four  mil 
lions  of  slaves. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  struck  down  in  the  midst  of  the  triumph  for  the 
cause  of  which  he  was  the  glorious  personification.  Alas  !  it  was  ever  so 
History  lias  never  shown  us  a  single  step  in  the  progress  of  humanity  thai  was 
not  paid  for  by  the  sacrifice  of  those  who  contributed  most  to  its  advance. 


12B  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Permit  me  to  address  you,  madam,  the  illustrious  widow  of  the  great  man 
whose  loss  we  deplore  with  so  much  bitterness  and  tears.  We  all  know  that 
your  magnanimous  heart  would  willingly  have  suffered  a  thousand  deaths  to 
redeem  the  life  of  your  worthy  spouse  and  consort.  Such  was  not  the  will  of 
God  ;  but  you  can  seek  consolation  in  your  great  and  lawful  sorrow. 

While  Mr.  LINCOLN  lived,  no  one  paid  him  greater  homage  than  myself. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  war  I  prophesied  the  triumph  of  the  cause  that  he 
defended.  I  foretold  his  re-election  to  the  presidency  long  before  it  occurred, 
and  in  1863  I  published  a  letter  in  which  I  openly  declared  that  he  would 
obtain  the  victory. 

But  if  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  so  much  applauded  in  his  glorious  mission  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery  and  the  maintenance  of  the  Union,  it  is  now  our  holy  duty 
to  glorify  him  in  the  death  he  received  at  the  hands  of  an  infamous  and  satanic 
murderer,  in  the  midst  of  his  triumph. 

We  may  truly  say  that  no  other  man,  since  the  coming  of  Christ  among 
us,  has  held  a  more  exalted  mission  in  his  hands  than  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  His 
tory  only  gives  us  the  pictures  of  great  men  waging  sanguinary  wars  for  terri 
torial  extension  and  the  subjugation  of  neighboring  nations  to  their  insatiable 
ambition ;  but  LINCOLN  battled  for  the  liberty  of  four  millions  of  men,  whom 
the  blind  prejudices  of  race  and  color  separated  from  the  whites,  who  are  their 
brothers  in  every  sense  of  the  word. 

The  cause  of  which  he  was  the  great  representative  was  pre-eminent ;  it  is 
the  most  glorious  that  could  arm  the  cohorts  of  a  generous  people,  and  it  will 
mark  the  greatest  epoch  in  the  progress  of  humanity  that  could  be  caused  by 
the  irresistible  advance  of  destiny  towards  true  civilization. 

With  this  brilliant  setting,  it  is  certain,  madam,  that  the  name  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN  will  shine  in  the  annals  of  history  with  a  radiant  and  immortal  splen 
dor.  The  martyr's  halo  that  now  crowns  him,  so  far  from  lessening  the  gran 
deur  of  his  name,  will  only  serve  to  place  the  seal  of  glory  on  it.  He  will  hold 
the  first  rank  among  the  great  men  that  ages  and  generations  have  exalted,  and 
he  will  even  rise  above  them  all,  for  the  cause  that  he  served  and  which  has 
triumphed,  is  the  purest  and  most  noble  in  the  progress  of  humanity. 

Therefore,  in  the  midst  of  our  profound  regrets,  we  must  learn  to  temper 
our  sorrow  and  to  dry  up  our  tears.  The  judgments  of  God  are  just  and 
righteous ;  martyrdom  has  placed  the  sublime  victim  upon  a  pedestal  of  glory, 
before  which  the  many  races  and  generations  of  men,  like  his  contemporaries, 
will  offer  the  splendid  homage  of  their  admiration  and  their  love. 

We  published  three  letters  in  the  papers  of  1863,  which  duty  prompted 
us  to  write.  The  first,  addressed  to  the  Queen  of  England,  implored  her  gra 
cious  Majesty  to  remember  that  most  of  the  American  people  were  descendants 
of  persons  born  upon  the  soil  of  Great  Britain. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       127 

In  our  letter  to  Mr.  LINCOLN,  we  advised  him  to  arm  the  colored  slaves  as 
soldiers,  and  thus  insure  an  infallible  victory  to  the  North.  That  letter  plainly 
shows  bow  well  founded  were  all  our  presentiments,  and  how  certainly  they 
have  been  realized  by  the  Almighty. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  we  implored  him  to  cease  a 
strife  that  had  no  just  cause;  for  the  maintenance  of  the  black  race  in  slavery 
was  essentially  and  palpably  wrong.  We  begged  him,  while  it  was  yet  time,  to 
spare  the  effusion  of  more  blood,  but  he  persisted  in  his  detestable  and  crimi 
nal  design,  and  he  was  overcome  as  we  predicted. 

And  now  a  price  is  put  upon  his  head  His  condition  is  worse  than  that 
of  his  slaves  whose  emancipation  he  sought  to  prevent  by  force  of  arms.  lie 
is  wandering,  a  fugitive  and  vagabond,  without  an  asylum  or  sanctuary  for  the 
preservation  of  his  life. 

In  him,  too,  we  now  see  exemplified  that  terrible  lex  talwnis  laid  down  by 
God  in  His  holy  scriptures,  and  repeated  by  Mr.  LINCOLN  in  his  admirable 
inaugural  address  at  the  beginning  of  his  second  presidential  term.  He  is  now 
treated  in  the  same  manner  that  he  once  treated  his  brothers;  may  God  have 

mercy  upon  him,  for  he  may  expect  no  pity  from  his  fellow-men. 

***  ****  *  # 

I  have  labored  all  my  life  for  the  abolishment  of  slavery,  and  therefore  I 
have  a  twofold  right  to  exult  at  the  glorious  dawn  of  universal  emancipation 
which  has  been  given  us  through  the  courage,  fortitude,  and  magnanimity  of  the 
incomparable,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

And  so  I  have  put  on  mourning  for  that  great  man,  as  an  illustrious  brother, 
whom  it  was  becoming  to  honor  by  a  public  homage. 

In  the  intimate  conviction  of  ray  soul,  I  believe  that  God  intends  a  glorious 
destiny  for  the  United  States  of  America,  and  all  my  prayers  are  that  the  gen 
erous  nation  may  consummate  the  great  designs  of  God  for  the  triumph  of 
civilization  and  the  progress  of  humanity. 

Condescend  to  accept,  madam,  and  my  countrymen,  the  sincere  protests  of 
my  high  regards. 

J.  H.  VRIES. 


[Translation.] 

MAY  3,  1865. 

MONSIEUR  LE  MINISTRE:  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  fallen  a  victim  to  the  most 
execrable  outrage  at  the  moment  when  the  re-establishment  of  the  Union  was 
assured,  thanks  to  his  own  firmness,  energetic  patriotism,  and  moderation. 

The  Courrier  du  Demanche,  among  all  the  French  journals,  may  boast  of 
the  honor  of  having  been  from  the  first  day  of  the  struggle,  and  without  hesi- 


128  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

tation,  the  defender  of  the  views  for  which  LINCOLN  has  lost  his  life  ;  and  we 
come  to-day  to  express  to  you  the  profound  grief  which  all  my  brother  editors 
feel  at  the  death  of  this  great  citizen. 

It  was  not  only  to  America  but  to  the  whole  of  humanity  that  he  belonged. 
The  blow  which  fell  upon  LINCOLN  has  been  felt  by  all  those  who  in  our  old 
Europe  believe  in  liberty,  in  law,  and  justice.  It  was  but  a  few  days  ago,  when 
the  armies  of  the  north  entered  Richmond,  we  felt,  on  thinking  that  the  last 
rampart  of  slavery  had  fallen,  all  the  joys  of  victory.  We  now  ask  of  you, 
to-day,  the  right  of  taking  part  in  your  mourning. 

Does  America  desire  that  marble  shall  transmit  to  future  generations  the 
memory  of  that  good  man,  who  steadfastly  remained,  in  spite  of  the  most  fearful 
trials  to  which  the  head  of  a  government  could  be  exposed,  the  faithful  servant 
of  the  laws  ?  If  your  country  will  consecrate  his  glorious  memory  by  a  monu 
ment  worthy  of  it.  we  should  claim  the  honor  of  being  foremost  in  this  act  of 
gratitude,  as  we  have  been  the  first  to  welcome  the  double  election  of  this  ever 
illustrious  victim. 

Receive,  sir,  the  assurance  of  our  profound  respect. 

P.  TARGET 

E.  VILLETARD. 


[Translation.] 

The  editor  in  chief  of  the  journal,  The  Europe,  has  addressed  the  follow 
ing  letter  to  MM.  Havin,  Peyrat,  Guerault,  and  Nefftzer,  editors  in  chief  of  the 
Siecle,  the  Avenir  Nationale,  and  the  Opinion  Nationale : 

MAY  2. 

"  GENTLEMEN  AND  DEAR  CONFRERES  :  By  the  side  of  that  experience — 
those  lessons  and  examples  which  have  been  left  to  the  world  by  the  life  and 
death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN — must  be  placed  that  great  feeling  which  is  alone 
capable  of  presiding  over  the  universal  renovation,  the  feeling  of  joint  responsi 
bility. 

"  Yes,  before  the  death  of  the  great  republican  citizen  the  hearts  of  all  free 
men  have  been  united  in  the  same  sadness,  the  same  convictions,  the  same 
hopes. 

"  I  will,  therefore,  dear  confreres,  send  you,  in  the  name  of  the  editors  and 
printers  of  the  republican  journal,  The  Europe,  the  most  sympathetic  in  your 
address,  to  citizen-President  Johnson. 

"  It  is  not  so  much  the  feeling  of  regret  which  unites  us  around  the  tomb 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  as  the  joy  of  placing  there  the  cable  which  will  hence 
forth  connect  European  democracy  with  American  institutions. 
"  Sincerely  yours, 

"  GREGORY  GANESCO." 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        129 

[Translation.] 

PARIS,  April  27,  1865. 

General  Count  Faubert,  former  minister  plenipotentiary  from  Hayti  to 
Rome,  and  his  son,  Fenelon  Faubert,  secretary  of  the  Haytian  legation  to  Mad 
rid,  present  to  the  United  States  minister  plenipotentiary  in  Paris  the  expression 
of  their  sincere  sympathy,  and  the  horror  they  felt  on  hearing  the  news  of  the 
double  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  Mr.  Sevvard,  Secretary  of  State. 
The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER  PLENIPOTENTIARY, 

Near  the  Court  of  the  Tuilleries. 


An  address  from  French  West  Indian  colonists  in  Paris  to  citizen  John  Bigelow, 
envoi/  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  of 
America  at  Paris. 

[Translation.] 

CITIZEN  :  Only  a  few  days  ago  the  glorious  news  of  the  final  triumph  of 
emancipation  reached  us,  and  we,  children  of  the  Franco-American  colonies, 
devoted  to  your  cause,  were  in  the  midst  of  our  rejoicing  when  the  terrible  news 
of  President  LINCOLN'S  death  came  to  trouble  our  mirth. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  illustrious  President  of  the  great  republic,  the 
benefactor  of  humanity,  is  no  more.  He  has  fallen  a  victim  of  his  devotion  to 
liberty,  pierced  by  a  slaveholder's  dagger. 

If  we  rejoice  with  you  in  your  victories,  we  must  also  mourn  with  you  the 
immense  loss  to  the  republic  and  to  humanity.  But  we  fear  not  for  the  cause 
of  the  Union  and  the  universal  abolition  of  slavery.  An  odious  crime  has  been 
committed  in  vain  ;  it  has  failed  in  its  aim.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  died  a  martyr 
to  liberty,  with  a  halo  of  glory  purer  than  any  that  ever  crowned  a  statesman, 
and  his  works  shall  live  after  him. 

The  providential  mission  of  the  United  States  fortunately  does  not  depend 
upon  the  lite  of  a  single  man,  and  the  liberty  begun  by  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  we 
are  sure,  will  produce  worthy  successors  of  him  who  was  brave  in  war,  mag 
nanimous  in  victory,  and  who  will  ever  live  to  be  the  first  in  the  hearts  of  the 
whole  world. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be  your  very  humble  and  devoted  servants, 

A.  MICHELY,  Guyana. 
E.  GUERIN,  Guadeloupe. 
E.  LACOUNIE,  Martinique. 
AND  SEVENTEEN  OTHERS,  from  Guyana  and  the  French  Antilles. 

17 


130  ASSASSINATION    OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

From  (he  legation  of  Ids  imperial  majesty  the   Shah  of  Persia,  at,  Paris,  to  the 

United  States  minister. 

0 

[Translation.] 

PARIS,  May  9,  1865. 

I  have  just  received  a  telegram  from  Teheran,  expressive  of  the  horror  felt 
by  the  government  of  his  imperial  Majesty  the  Shah  of  Persia  at  the  news  of 
the  assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN. 

I  am  requested  by  him  to  express  to  you  his  great  regrets  on  this  occa 
sion,  and  to  ask  you  to  transmit  them  to  your  new  President. 
Accept  the  assurance  of  my  very  high  consideration. 

SULEIMAN  KHAN, 

Persian  Charge  d' Affaires. 
His  Excellency  Mr.  BIGELOW, 

United  States  Envoi/  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  §c, 


To  his  Excellency  John  Bigelow,  Envoy  Extraordinary : 

SIR  :  We  have  learned  with  the  most  profound  emotions  that  our  beloved 
late  Chief  Magistrate  is  no  more ;  that  at  the  height  of  his  fame  and  usefulness 
he  has  been  stricken  down  by  an  assassin's  hand.  Our  joy  over  the  nation's 
deliverance  from  the  horrors  of  civil  war  is  turned  into  mourning,  by  an  event 
shocking  to  humanity,  and  lamented  by  every  friend  of  liberty  and  law. 

Separated  as  we  are,  temporarily,  from  our  native  land,  and  standing  amid 
the  hospitable  altars  of  a  people  associated  with  our  most  cherished  traditions, 
our  hearts  impel  us  to  give  some  expression,  through  you,  of  our  sorrow  and 
our  sympathy. 

We  beg  to  assure  you  that  we  share  the  grief  that  fills  the  hearts  of  our 
countrymen  at  home,  and  mourn  with  them  the  loss  of  the  illustrious  citizen, 
the  wise  magistrate,  the  just,  pure,  and  good  man. 

Yet,  while  we  mourn  this  incalculable  loss,  we  would  gratefully  remember 
that  Providence  which  spared  him  to  his  country  until  he  had  successfully 
guided  us  so  near  the  end  of  the  strife. 

His  firmness,  his  justice,  ever  tempered  with  mercy,  his  faith  in  the  dignity 
and  rights  of  man,  and  his  absorbing  patriotism,  were  the  inspirations  of  his 
official  life,  and,  under  God,  have  afforded  us  the  happy  vision  of  approaching 
peace  and  a  restored  Union. 

Four  years  ago  he  was  wholly  unknown  to  the  world  at  large,  and,  except 
in  his  own  State,  had  yet  to  win  the  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens.  To-day, 
after  an  ordeal  as  severe  as  ever  tested  ability  and  character,  he  is  universally 
accepted  as  one  of  the  few  born  to  shape  the  best  destinies  of  States,  and  to 
make  the  most  powerful  impress  for  good  upon  the  fortunes  of  the  human  race. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        131 

If  it  was  not  reserved  for  him  to  create  a  nation,  he  was  called  most 
conspicuously  to  aid  in  preserving  one  against  the  most  formidable  armed  con 
spiracy  ever  aimed  at  the  life  of  a  state 

If,  in  the  completeness  of  our  institutions,  it  was  not  his  office  to  add  to 
the  safeguards  of  liberty  for  his  own  race,  it  will  be  his  undying  glory  to  have 
lifted  four  millions  of  a  feeble  and  long  unbefriended  people  from  bondage  to 
the  dignity  of  personal  freedom. 

The  rights  of  humanity  at  last  are  vindicated,  and  our  country  is  relieved 
of  its  great  reproach. 

Already  the  world  is  claiming  for  itself  this  last  martyr  to  the  cause  of 
freedom,  and  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  taken  his  place  among  the  moral  constella 
tions  which  shall  impart  light  and  life  to  all  coming  generations. 

We  would  here  gratefully  remember  the  words  of  sympathy  for  our 
country,  and  of  respect  for  the  fallen,  uttered  with  united  voice  by  the  rulers  and 
people  of  Europe.  We  believe  this  event,  which  all  humanity  mourns,  will 
strengthen  the  tie  of  friendship  which  should  ever  unite  the  brotherhood  of 
states. 

We  would  not  in  this  address  say  more  of  the  assassin  than  express  our 
abhorrence  of  his  dreadful  crime,  but  we  lovingly  remember  that  the  last  utter 
ances  of  him  we  mourn  were  words  of  clemency  toward  the  defeated  enemies 
of  his  country :  "  With  charity  to  all,  and  malice  for  none,"  he  was  superior  to 
revenge.  "  Peace  and  union !"  These  secured,  there  was  little  place  in  his 
heart  for  the  severities  of  justice. 

It  was  this  gentleness,  united  to  an  integrity  and  unselfishness  of  character 
never  surpassed,  that  won  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.  We  mourn  not  only 
the  magistrate  we  revered,  but  the  friend  we  loved. 

It  is  not  for  us  to  scrutinize  the  dealings  of  a  just  God ;  we  bow  before 
his  dispensations  when  least  intelligible  to  human  wisdom.  But  in  sealing  with 
his  blood  the  work  to  which  he  was  called,  Mr.  LINCOLN  has,  we  believe,  been 
the  means  of  placing  upon  more  imperishable  foundations  the  unity,  the  glory, 
and  the  beneficent  power  of  our  beloved  country.  And  if  there  be  inspiration 
in  high  example,  we  know  that  his  wise  and  upright  policy  in  all  our  domestic 
and  foreign  relations  will  be  an  additional  guarantee  for  peace,  charity,  and 
justice  throughout  the  civilized  world. 

We  beg  to  assure  you,  and  through  you  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  family,  of  our 
deep  sympathy  in  this  their  hour  of  affliction.  We  know  how  inadequate  is 
all  human  consolation,  but  it  is  grateful  to  us  to  assure  the  bereaved  that  we 
mourn  with  them  their  irreparable  loss. 

To  the  honored  Secretary  of  State;,  Mr.  Seward,  whose  death  was  also 
purposed,  and  the  Assistant  Secretary,  Mr.  Frederick  W.  Seward,  and  their 
families,  we  wish  also  to  express  our  sympathies,  in  view  of  their  great  perils 
and  sufferings. 


132  ASSASSINATION    OP   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

We  deem  it  fitting  to  express  to  our  distinguished  fellow-citizen  who 
succeeds  to  the  chief  magistracy  our  sense  of  the  trying  circumstances  under 
which  he  is  called  to  his  new  trust.  We  find  in  the  record  of  his  long  and 
useful  public  career  the  basis  of  the  most  perfect  confidence  in  his  ability,  his 
justice,  and  his  patriotism. 

We  beg  you,  sir,  to  assure  our  fellow-countrymen,  and  the  more  immediate 
sufferers  by  the  terrible  tragedy,  and  the  President,  of  these  our  most  heartfelt 
sentiments. 

We  have  the  honor,  sir,  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

N.  M.  BECKWITH, 
JAMES  0.  PUTNAM, 
JAMES  PHALEN, 
WILLIAM  C.  EMMET, 
THOMAS  W.  EVANS,  M.  D.. 
ROBERT  M.  MASON, 
RICHARD  M   HOE, 
JOHNSTON  LIVINGSTONE, 

Committee. 
PARIS,  Mai/  4,  1865.  AND  SOME  TWO  HUNDRED  OTHERS. 


Rf.pl y  of  Mr.  Bigelow. 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  respect  and  share  the  emotions  which  have  inspired  this 
address.  I  shall  have  a  melancholy  satisfaction  in  communicating  it  to  those 
whose  stricken  hearts  have  the  first  claim  to  its  consolations. 

The  crime  which  has  provoked  this  impressive  demonstration  from  the  loyal 
Americans  in  Paris  is  one  which  unites  all  the  elements  of  human  depravity  in 
their  largest  proportions.  Its  victims  are  among  those  whose  loss  at  the  present 
moment  the  whole  civilized  world  would  most  unanimously  deplore.  Upon  us, 
his  compatriots,  who  knew  best  what  a  rare  collection  of  public  and  private 
virtues  went  down  into  the  grave  with  AURAHAM  LINCOLN,  this  blow  has  fallen 
with  peculiar  severity,  and  I  thank  you  for  the  faithful  eloquence  with  which 
you  have  interpreted  our  common  sorrow. 

But  no  crime  was  ever  committed  that  was  not  an  involuntary  homage  to 
virtue.  The  war  between  the  principles  of  good  and  evil  is  always  waging ; 
and  if  the  Lamb  that  took  away  the  sins  of  the  world  had  to  bear  his  testi 
mony  upon  the  cross,  why  should  he  who  proclaimed  deliverance  to  a  race  of 
bondmen  be  safe  from  the  treacherous  hand  of  the  assassin  \  How  more  appro 
priately  could  our  great  national  reproach  ultimate  itself?  Was  it  more  than 
historic  justice  to  mark  the  grave  of  chattel  slavery  in  the  United  States  by  a 
crime  that  was  never  perpetrated,  whatever  the  pretence,  except  in  the  interests 
of  slavery  I 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       133 

Those  who,  like  myself,  are  accustomed  to  search  for  the  hand  of  God  in 
the  phenomena  of  human  life,  cannot  hut  feel,  as,  after  much  reflection,  I  am  led 
to  feel,  that  our  people  were  never  nearer  to  Him  than  at  the  dreadful  moment 
when  we  seemed,  humanly  speaking,  most  deserted.  What  revelations  that 
crime  has  made;  what  lessons  it  has  taught,  and  will  teach;  what  prejudices 
it  has  corrected ;  what  hostilities  it  has  suspended  ;  what  sympathies  it  has 
awakened  !  They  are  in  every  one's  mind ;  they  are  on  every  one's  tongue. 
Even  here  in  a  foreign  land,  and  where  what  we  most  cherish  in  our  political 
institutions  may  be  supposed  to  be  but  imperfectly  comprehended,  what  Ameri 
can  has  not  been  surprised  and  comforted  by  the  spontaneous  and  universal 
demonstrations  of  sympathy  which  our  national  bereavement  has  elicited  from 
all  parties,  and  from  every  class,  from  the  humblest  and  from  the  most  exalted  ! 
Such  a  tribute  was  never  paid  to  our  country  before;  such  homage  was  never 
paid  to  any  other  American.  And  why  to  Mr.  LINCOLN  I  Because  his  death, 
and  the  time  and  manner  of  it,  seem  to  have  rendered  his  whole  public  career 
luminous,  and  to  make  it  clear  to  the  most  distant  observers  that  our  late 
President,  inspired  by  a  love  which  made  all  men  his  brothers,  had  been  build 
ing  wiser  than  they  knew ;  that  he  had  been  fighting  the  fight  of  humanity,  of 
justice,  and  of  civilization ;  and,  finally,  that  he  had  been  summoned  hence  to 
receive  a  crown  of  triumph  more  enduring  than  that  which  was  preparing  for 
him  here. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  during  the  long  four  years  of  our  bloody 
struggle  with  this  rebellion  the  world  made  less  progress  in  comprehending  its 
baleful  origin  and  purposes,  arid  the  common  interest  of  humanity  in  resisting 
it,  than  has  been  made  during  the  brief  interval  which  has  elapsed  since  this 
dreadful  tragedy.  By  the  hand  of  an  assassin  that  simple-hearted  and  single- 
minded  patriot  has  been  transfigured,  and  has  taken  his  place  in  history  as  the 
impersonation  of  a  cause  which  henceforth  it  will  be  blasphemy  to  assail. 

I  was  never  so  proud  of  being  an  American  as  when  I  learned  with  what 
comparative  unanimity  my  countrymen  put  the  seal  of  their  approbation  upon 
all  the  sacrifices  he  had  invited  them  to  make  by  re-electing  him  to  the  presi 
dency.  Nor  was  I  ever  more  proud  of  being  a  man  than  since  I  have  learned 
by  his  death  how,  during  all  his  troubled  administration,  his  public  and  private 
virtues  have  been  secretly  but  steadily  graving  themselves  upon  the  hearts  of 
mankind  My  heart  goes  out  more  than  ever  to  our  brothers  in  foreign  lands 
who  have  shown  such  readiness  to  lessen  the  burden  of  our  great  affliction  by 
sharing  it  with  us. 

I  desire  to  join  with  all  my  heart  in  your  expression  of  sympathy  for  thoso 
whose  grief  is  yet  too  poignant  to  be  assuaged  by  such  considerations  as  these. 
May  God  sustain  them,  and  in  His  own  good  time  reveal  to  them  the  silver 
lining  which  always  lies  concealed  in  the  i'olds  of  the  darkest  clouds. 


134  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN 

And.  while  weeping  with  those  that  weep,  you  do  well  to  rejoice  with 
those  who  rejoice  that  God  in  his  mercy  shortened  the  arm  that  was  lifted 
against  our  venerable  and  illustrious  Secretary  of  State  and  his  noble  sons. 
Had  they,  too,  been  swept  into  a  martyr's  grave,  then,  indeed,  had  assassination 
triumphed.  But  thanks  be  to  God.  they  still  live,  and  in  them  lives  on  our 
lamented  President.  In  their  trials,  in  their  disappointments,  in  their  plans,  in 
their  hopes,  in  their  triumphs,  the  late  President  and  Mr.  Seward  were  one. 

In  Mr.  Seward' s  escape  the  murderer  of  the  President  is  deprived  of  every 
advantage  that  could  possibly  have  tempered  the  remorse  by  which,  for  the 
remaining  hours  of  his  wretched  life,  he  must  have  been  tormented.  Swift 
justice  has  already  overtaken  him,  and  he  is  now  where  we  have  no  occasion 
to  follow  him,  either  with  our  wrath  or  with  our  commiseration. 

I  had  occasion,  some  three  years  ago,  to  warn  Mr.  Seward  of  plots  matur 
ing  then  against  the  lives  of  leading  loyal  statesmen  in  different  cities  of  our 
republic,  intelligence  of  which  had  reached  me  here.  His  reply  has  acquired, 
from  recent  events,  such  a  painful  interest  that  I  feel  justified  by  the  present 
occasion  in  reading  it  to  you  : 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 

"Washington,  July  15,  1862. 
******  *  *  * 

'•  There  is  no  doubt  that  from  a  period  anterior  to  the  breaking  out  of  the 
insurrection,  plots  and  conspiracies  for  purposes  of  assassination  have  been 
frequently  formed  and  organized.  And  it  is  not  unlikely  that  such  an  one  as 
has  been  reported  to  you  is  now  in  agitation  among  the  insurgents.  If  it  be  so. 
it  need  furnish  no  ground  for  anxiety.  Assassination  is  not  an  American  prac 
tice  or  habit,  and  one  so  vicious  and  so  desperate  cannot  be  engrafted  into 
our  political  system. 

"This  conviction  of  mine  has  steadily  gained  strength  since  the  civil  war 
began.  Every  day's  experience  confirms  it.  The  President,  during  the  heated 
season,  occupies  a  country  house  near  the  Soldiers'  Home,  two  or  three  miles 
from  the  city.  He  goes  to  and  from  that  place  on  horseback,  night  and  morn 
ing,  unguarded.  I  go  there,  unattended,  at  all  hours,  by  daylight  and  moonlight, 

by  starlight  and  without  any  light." 

******** 

You  will  remark  in  these  lines  that  same  hopeful,  confiding  nature  that 
thinketh  no  evil;  that  inextinguishable  reliance  on  the  good  sense  and  manly 
instincts  of  his  country-people,  which  has  sustained  him,  and  through  him,  in  a 
great  degree,  the  nation,  during  four  long  years  of  trial  which  required,  if  any 
ever  did,  statesmen  that  walked  by  faith  and  not  by  sight. 

Among  the  many  marvellous  results  of  this  great  tragedy  there  is  still  one 
to  which,  I  am  sure,  you  will  pardon  an  allusion. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        135 

The  fatal  ball  that  raised  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  to  the  glory  of  a  martyr, 
discharged  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  Andrew  Johnson,  for  which  nothing  short  of 
the  highest  national  honors  would  suffice.  Among  the  statesmen  now  living  it 
would  be  difficult  to  name  one  who,  according  to  his  opportunity,  has  placed  his 
country  under  greater  obligations  than  the  constitutional  successor  of  President 
LINCOLN.  With  some  experience  of  almost  every  condition  of  social  life,  he  has 
passed  through  every  gride  of  public  distinction  in  the  United  States,  from  the 
lowest  to  the  very  highest,  and  he  never  quitted  any  public  trust  except  for  one 
of  greater  honor  and  responsibility.  That  could  never  be  said  of  an  ordinary 
man.  Mr.  Johnson  has  now  entered  upon  new  and  unprecedented  trials.  I 
share  fully  your  confidence  in  his  ability  to  meet  them  all.  It  should  be  a 
matter  of  congratulation  with  us,  in  this  hour  of  national  affliction,  that  the 
mantle  of  our  lamented  President  should  have  fallen  upon  the  ample  shoulders 
of  a  statesman  so  experienced,  so  upright,  and  so  meritorious  as  Andrew 
Johnson. 


A.:  L.:  G:.  D:.  G:.  A.-.  D:.  L.:  U:. 

[Translation.] 

ORDER  OF  PATJ,  May  18,  1865. 
To  Hi*  Excellency,  Ambassador  of  the  United  States : 

The  regrets  of  the  whole  world  accompanied  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  when  he 
fell,  triumphant,  from  the  murderer's  bullet.  His  admirable  good  sense,  his 
inviolable  respect  for  the  laws,  his  regard  for  the  liberty  and  dignity  of  the  peo 
ple  who  had  trusted  their  destiny  to  him,  his  unwavering  faith  in  justice  and 
truth,  have  made  him  one  of  the  most  noble  characters  of  modern  times.  In 
the  first  rank  of  great  men,  history  will  point  him  out  as  one  of  those  rare 
modern  examples  of  true  patriotism,  placing  its  strength  in  the  practice  of  civil 
virtues.  By  this  murder  the  assassin  has  not  gained  his  end.  He  has  taken 
a  precious  life,  but  he  has  not  destroyed  the  existence  of  the  American  people ; 
they,  by  their  institutions  and  the  practice  of  liberty,  are  beyond  the  reach  of 
such  human  events. 

This  lodge,  the  cradle  of  Henry  the  Fourth,  at  Pan,  under  the  sad  circum 
stances,  regrets  the  great  citizen,  and  has  the  greatest  confidence  in  the  great 
republic  of  the  United  States. 

A.  LACOSTE. 

FELIX  ARRIA. 

A.  BIVOT. 

A.  DUMOULON. 

A.  VERRIN. 

E.  GENERSE. 

P.  ETCIIEBARTKR. 


136  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

To  his  Excellency  the  Minister  of  the  United  States  at  Paris  : 

SIB  :  The  undersigned,  residents  and  visitors  at  Pan,  forgetting  their  politi 
cal  dissensions  before  such  a  national  calamity  as  the  dastardly  murder  of  the 
late  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  beg  leave  most  respectfully  to  convey  to 
your  excellency  the  expression  of  their  horror  and  indignation  at  so  criminal  an 
act. 

They  earnestly  wish,  moreover,  through  the  medium  of  your  excellency, 
to  add  the  testimony  of  their  sympathy,  in  common  with  their  own  country 
men  and  all  the  civilized  world. 

They  have  the  honor  to  be,  most  respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

E.  RORRUN  GRAVES. 
A.  G.  VAN  ZANDT. 

p.  MCCARTY. 

THOS.  MCCARTY. 

PRE SCOTT  HALL  WARD. 

JNO.  A.  POST. 

EUGENE  CRUGER. 

AUSTIN  L.  S.  MAIN. 

MUSGRAVE  HENRY,  N.  8.  V.  C. 

CHAS.  RUSH,  Vice-Admiral,  B.  M.  S. 

W.  H.  BEYTU,  R.  A.,  B.  M.  S. 

ARTHUR  NUGENT,  R.  J.  A. 

FRANCIS  P.  BLAIR  RIGGS. 

WILLIAM  CORCORAN  RIGGS. 

A.  S.  DANIELL. 

J.  D.  OGDEN. 

J.  M   WRIGHT. 

GEORGE  TALBOT  BAGOT. 

C.  0.  SHEATEIELD,  Major  General. 


[Translation.] 

REFORMED  CHURCH  OF  FRANCE,  CONSISTORY  OF  PONS, 

Pans,  May  2,  1865. 

I  propose  to  sign  the  address  which  my  colleagues,  now  in  conference  at 
Paris,  have  had  the  honor  to  send  to  you  for  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

I  join  in  the  sympathetic  regrets  of  that  missive,  from  the  bottom  of  my 
heart,  with  good  wishes  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  to  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
in  the  great  cause  of  liberty  that  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  carried  through  so  victo 
riously. 

Our  souls  were  chilled  when  the  fatal  news  reached  us;  our  hearts  -sank  to 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       137 

hear  of  a  man  who  was  extending  the  olive  branch  to  the  conquered,  from  the 
soldier  to  the  commander-in-chief,  being  shot  by  a  miserable  fanatic. 

We  regret  to  see  your  great  nation  lose  that  halo  of  glory — respect  for  the 
elect  of  the  people.  Your  former  Presidents  could  mingle  among  crowds  of 
people  without  a  shade  of  danger;  now,  as  with  us  in  Europe,  you  must  pro 
tect  them  by  a  hedge  of  bayonets.  Let  us  hope  that  it  may  not  be  so ;  that 
this  political  crime  will  remain  solitary  and  alone  in  the  history  of  your  republic; 
so  that  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  you  may  teach  Europe  due  respect  for  the 
representative  of  sovereign  power. 

We  have  the  firm  conviction  that  the  death  of  your  President  will  not 
prevent  you  from  liberating  the  last  of  your  slaves ;  yet  with  that  respect  for 
the  conquered,  and  that  great  charity  of  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  given  you  such 
ii  good  example,  may  God  help  you  to  finish  the  work,  and  shed  his  benedic 
tions  upon  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  very  humble  and  most  devoted  servant, 

BARTHE, 
Pastor  and  President  of  the  Consistory  of  Pons. 

Mr.  BIGELOW, 

Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  to  France. 


The  Friends  of  Perfect  Union  Lodge  to  the  United  States  ambassador  in  Paris. 

[Trauslation.] 

PERPIGNAN,  May  31,  1865. 

SIR:  At  its  session  on  the  12th  instant  the  Friends  of  Perfect  Union  Lodge 
fired  a  triple  battery  of  mourning  to  the  memory  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  late 
illustrious  President  of  the  United  States. 

We  have  the  honor  of  sending  you,  with  this,  an  extract  of  the  minutes  of 
the  session  on  the  12th,  and  a  cantata  composed  for  the  occasion  by  two  mem 
bers  of  the  lodge. 

We  respectfully  request  you  to  have  the  kindness  to  transmit  these  docu 
ments  to  Mrs   Lincoln  through  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York 
With  great  respect,  your  very  humble  and  obedient  servants, 
Officers  of  the  lodge : 

BOURGUET,  the  Venerable. 
RAYNAL,  Senior  Warden. 
ROLLAND,  Junior  Warden. 
IIERNCOE,  Orator. 
MERIE,  G.  de  Seals. 
C.  THOUBERT,  Secretary. 
18 


138  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Extract  from  the  'working  book  of  the  Lodge  of  the  Friends  of  Perfect  Union, 

session  of  the  12th  of  May.  1865. 

[Translation.  ] 

The  members  being  called  to  order,  the  Master  speaks  : 

"  DEAR  BROTHERS  :  An  illustrious  Mason,  a  great  citizen,  the  very  dear 
brother  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  fell  by  the  pistol  of 
an  assassin  on  the  14th  of  April  last. 

"  A  keeper  of  flocks,  a  laborer,  a  woodman,  a  lawyer,  Brother  LINCOLN 
grew  up  to  work,  a  self-made  man. 

"  He  abolished  slavery.  Honor  to  the  memory  of  that  good  man  who  has 
been  of  such  signal  service  to  the  cause  of  humanity. 

"  Let  us  give,  then,  a  triple  battery  of  mourning  to  the  memory  of  our 
very  illustrious  brother  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN." 

Brother  Vallarino  then  sang  an  anthem,  composed  by  Brother  Mercadier, 
and  set  to  music  by  Brother  Coll,  a  member  of  the  lodge. 

Brother  Mercadier  then  speaks  : 

"May  the  song  you  have  just  heard  bear  beyond  the  ocean  the  expression 
of  our  profound  regrets.  May  our  affliction,  mingled  with  that  of  the  world, 
temper  the  sorrow  of  the  widow  and  children  of  the  great  citizen  who  has  given 
his  life  for  liberty. 

"  In  destroying  the  last  vestiges  of  slavery,  he  finished  the  task  begun  more 
than  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  by  the  Just  Man,  who  was  crucified  for  wish 
ing  to  free  the  human  race. 

"  LINCOLN'S  was  a  great  mission  upon  this  earth,  and  he  has  most  nobly 
fulfilled  it.  May  he  live  forever  in  all  hearts  !  May  his  noble  figure  beam  in 
the  future  and  serve  as  a  beacon  to  all  friends  of  humanity. 

"  Let  us  then,  my  brethren,  give  a  triple  salute  of  joy,  in  honor  of  the  great, 
firm,  glorious,  and  immortal  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  !" 

It  was  unanimously  decided  that  the  banner  of  the  lodge  should  be  veiled 
in  a  mourning  of  crape  for  seven  days  ;  and  that  an  extract  of  the  minutes  of 
this  session  should  be  sent  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  New  York,  with 
the  request  to  have  it  sent  to  the  widow  of  the  very  illustrious  brother,  ABRA 
HAM  LINCOLN. 

BOUKGUET,  tlie  Venerable. 

D.  RAYNAL. 

J.  MERLE. 

A.  ROLLAND. 

C.  THOUBERT,  Secretary. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  139 

Lodge  of  the  Friends  of  Perfect  Union  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

[Translation.] 

MADAM  :  Some  misfortunes  are  irreparable,  and  for  which  there  is  no  con 
solation  ;  these  have  fallen  to  your  lot,  and  the  world  deplores  it. 

These.are  not,  then,  vain  efforts  of  .comfort  we  extend  to  you,  but  simply 
the  humble  tribute  of  the  profound  regrets  that  weigh  down  our  hearts.  If  the 
pure  and  holy  life  of  your  great  husband  made  him  the  favorite  of  a  great  nation, 
his  death  has  rendered  him  immortal. 

The  liberator  of  slaves  had  to  be  a  martyr  !  Was  not  the  Nazarene  cruci 
fied  ? 

LINCOLN  is  now  surrounded  by  a  halo  of  glory  that  ages  can  never  efface ; 
his  name  will  be  forever  blessed. 

Be  resigned,  madam,  to  the  inscrutable  decrees  of  Providence,  who  needed 
a  great  soul  to  accomplish  its  designs,  and  fixed  upon  the  man  most  suited  to 
its  purpose. 

We  remain,  madam,  with  the  most  profound  respect,  your  very  devoted 
servants. 

Officers  of  the  lodge : 

BOURGUET,  the  Venerable. 
D.  RAYNAL,  First  Warden. 
A.  HOLLAND,  Second  Warden. 
A.  THERODEE,  Orator. 
C.  THOUBERT,  Secretary. 
J.  MERIE,  Keeper  of  the  Seals. 


Lodge  of  the  Friends  of  Perfect  Union  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of 

New  York. 

[Translation.] 

PERPIGNAN,  FRANCE,  May  31,  1865. 

VERY  DEAR  BRETHREN  :  All  friends  of  humanity  shuddered  with  horror 
when  they  heard  of  the  death  of  the  illustrious  LINCOLN;  and  the  world  sympa 
thizes  with  the  great  nation  that  trusted  him  with  their  destinies. 

Our  lodge  takes  part  in  your  affliction,  and  that  of  the  family  of  the 
lamented  President. 

We  ask  you,  brothers,  to  be  the  interpreters  of  our  regrets  to  the  incon- 


140  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

solable  widow,  by  transmitting  to  her  the  enclosed   pieces  to  her  husband's 
memory. 

Accept  our  fraternal  salutations. 

BOURGUET,  the  Venerable. 

D.  RAYNAL. 

A.  HOLLAND. 

C.  TIIOUBERT,  Secretary. 

J.  MERIE,  Keeper  of  the  Seals. 


IN  TOKEN  OF  RESPECT. 

[Translation  from  Latin  verses.  ] 

From  humble  parentage  and  low  degree 
LINCOLN  ascended  to  the  highest  rank  ; 

None  ever  had  a  harder  task  than  he. 
It  was  perfected — him  alone  we  thank. 

Did  the  assassin  think  to  kill  a  name, 

Or  hand  his  own  down  to  posterity  1 
One  will  wear  the  laurel  wreath  of  fame, 

The  other  be  condemned  to  infamy. 

Caesar  was  killed  by  Brutus, 

Yet  Rome  did  not  cease  to  be ; 
LINCOLN  by  Booth,  and  yet  the  slaves 

In  all  America  are  free  ! 
RIETI,  May,  1865.  F.  B. 


Royal  Scotch  Lodge  the  Elect  of  St.  Stephen.      Courage,  charity,  discretion. 

[Translation.] 

SIR  :  The  Lodge  of  the  Elect,  at  St.  Stephen's  on  the  Loir,  has  unani 
mously  decreed  to  wear  full  mourning  in  memory  of  the  death  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  the  American  patriot  and  martyr  of  human  emancipation  ;  and  to 
make  known  to  you  the  deep  sorrow  it  felt  at  the  news  of  the  crime  of  which 
the  illustrious  President  of  your  free  America  has  been  the  unfortunate  victim 
The  five  officers  of  this  lodge  are  glad  to  communicate  these  facts,  so  con 
sonant  to  their  own  feelings. 

Accept  this  evidence  of  our  regrets  and  sympathy,  and  of  our  respectful 
good  wishes. 

G.  L.  MARECHAL,  Venerable. 

FREYNET,  Warden. 

E.  BESSY,  Keeper  of  the  Seals. 

AYMARD,  Orator. 

M.  LIART,  Secretary. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY        141 

[Translation.  ] 

LODGE  OF  GOOD  FAITH, 
St.  Germain-en-Laye,  May  15,  1865,(com)non  era.) 

The  Masonic  Lodge  of  Good  Faith,  on  hearing  of  the  odious  crime  that 
deprived  the  Uniled  States  government  of  its  illustrious  President,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  experienced  the  same  sorrow  felt  by  the  whole  world.  French  Free 
masonry  does  not  meddle  with  political  passions;  but  as  a  body  of  enlightened 
men  it  professes  those  great  principles  of  humanity  that  your  regretted  Presi 
dent  practiced  with  so  much  skill  and  success. 

The  abolishment  of  slavery,  the  great  work  so  long  desired  by  civilized 
nations,  the  sacred  design  of  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  all  governments,  wras 
prosecuted  with  tact  and  ingenuity  by  your  predecessor,  for  which  he  has  ,i 
right  to  not  only  the  gratitude  of  his  own  nation,  but  to  the  homage  of  every 
body  who  recognized  in  him  the  honorable  representative  of  the  liberal  ideas 
adopted  by  the  human  race  in  this  age  of  progress.  This  spirit  recoils  before 
no  obstacle,  but  in  its  onward  march  crushes  tyranny,  intolerance,  and  preju 
dice. 

No,  this  assassination  cannot  destroy  the  great  fundamental  principles  of 
universal  morality.  Martyrs  may  fall  under  the  cruel  blows  of  blind  fanaticism, 
but  truth  will  rise  more  radiant  and  triumphant  out  of  the  darkness  where  igno 
rance  and  obstinacy  sought  to  bury  it.  As  ardent  propagandists  of  masonic 
faith,  which  is  one  day  to  unite  all  men,  we  will  escape  all  future  imminent 
dangers. 

In  completing  the  noble  task  of  your  predecessor  you  will  be  sustained  in 
the  sacred  duty  by  our  good  wishes  and  our  prayers  in  the  accomplishment  of 
this  humane  labor. 

Under  these  unexpected  circumstances  the  Lodge  of  Good  Faith  adopts 
your  ideas  of  universal  happiness,  and  is  proud  to  say  it  joins  you,  heart  and 
soul,  in  the  sympathetic  bonds  of  love  for  the  public  good. 

Our  wishes  will  be  satisfied  if  you  deign  to  receive,  at  this  solemn  moment, 
the  respectful  homage  of  our  fraternal  sentiments,  and  the  assurance  of  our  pro 
found  and  sincere  affection. 

PERROT,  Venerable. 
P.  FONTAINE. 
MAYER. 
BAMBRINE. 

AND  MANY  OTHERS. 

The  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


142  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Address  sent   to  Madam  Lincoln  by  a  great  majority  of  the  students  of  the 
Faculty  of  Protestant  Theology  at  Strasbourg. 

[Translation.  ] 

STRASBOURG,  May  5,  1865. 

MADAM:  The  undersigned,  students  of  the  Faculty  of  Protestant  Theology 
at  Strasbourg,  identity  themselves  with  the  great  sorrow  caused  by  the  crime 
of  which  President  LINCOLN  has  been  the  victim  for  having  re-established  the 
Union  and  destroyed  slavery. 

They  know  that  even  should  the  powers  of  evil  triumph  momentarily  in 
the  world,  Christ  will  reign  in  the  end,  and  with  him  justice  and  liberty. 
Receive,  &c..  in  the  name  of  the  subscribers. 

E.  L.  PRUVOT. 


[Translation  ] 

STRASBOURG,  May  9,  1865. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'S  life  was  a  long  homage  paid  by  that  honest  man  to  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  the  people  who  elected  him.  His  death  is  a  public 
calamity,  deplored  by  all  those  who  believe  in  the  providential  mission  of  the 
republic  of  the  United  States.  But  they  are  comforted  in  remembering  that 
no  private  misfortune,  however  great  it  may  be,  can  prevail  against  a  cause 
founded  on  justice,  or  against  institutions  based  upon  liberty. 

The  inhabitants  of  Strasbourg,  signing  this  address,  have  the  honor  of  ask 
ing  you  to  accept  the  expression  of  their  sentiments  of  profound  condolence  for 
the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

A.  SCHMIDT,  Prof,  of  Theology. 

CH.  GEROLDE. 

A.  SCHALLER,  Minister. 

BOUVARD,  Proprietor. 

V.  GEISTOD. 

C.  F.  SCHMIDT. 

AND  MANY  OTHERS. 

Mr.  BIGELOW, 

United  States  Minister,  Paris. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        143 

Address  of  the  working  classes  of  Tar  are. 
[Translation.] 

TARAKE,  May  4,  1865. 

The  working  classes  of  Tarare,  profoundly  moved  by  the  deatli  of  the 
illustrious  citizen  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  great  American  republic,  the  equal 
of  Washington,  associate  themselves,  heart  and  soul,  with  the  addresses  of  the 
students  and  the  four  journals  of  Paris — addresses  so  conformable  with  the  true 
sentiments  of  liberty,  justice,  and  hope,  and  stamped  with  so  grievous  a  sym 
pathy. 

LAGANTE. 

DEMANGE. 

BOST. 

GAY. 

EAUXANT. 

V.  JAY. 

AND  SOME  THIRTY  OTHERS. 


[Translation.] 

TOURS,  May  17,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  hope  the  address  of  the  democrats  of  Tours  will  have  a  favorable 
reception  from  you. 

It  was  hard  to  obtain  208  signatures  in  a  city  where  there  is  only  one 
newspaper,  where  the  press  only  speaks  the  official  language  of  the  prefecture, 
where  liberty  is  limited  by  policemen  and  public  functionaries,  and  where 
democracy's  warmest  partisans  are  among  the  common  people. 

Our  document  will  reach  you  after  passing  through  the  soiled  hands  of 
our  hardy  workmen,  who  cannot  leave  the  sheet  of  paper  spotless  whereon 
they  have  put  their  hearts  with  the  signature  of  their  hands,  to  express  their 
sympathy  for  your  great  republic. 

It  is  not  you,  a  representative  of  a  country  where  labor  leads  to  the  highest 
dignities  of  a  nation,  that  will  disdain  our  address  because  it  carries  the  visible 
impress  of  hands  devoted  to  work. 

These  are  the  hands  that  will  break,  in  this  country,  all  the  bonds  and 
fetters  that  are  pul  on  liberty  under  the  specious  pretext  of  measuring  and 
regulating  its  gait;  these  are  the  hands  that  will  shake  most  cordially  those  of 
your  citizens. 

Accept  the  assurance  of  our  sympathetic  sentiments  for  you  and  your 
country. 

ARMAND  RIVIERE, 

Cliecre.  Street,  No.  12. 

Mr.  BIGKLOW, 

Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  lrnited  State*  to  France. 


144  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.  ] 

The  democrats  of  the  city  of  Tours  applauded  the  victories  gained  by  the 
Union  over  the  partisans  of  slavery.  They  always  hailed  with  joy  the  triumph 
of  the  great  cause  of  humanity,  so  bravely  sustained  by  your  LINCOLNS,  Grants, 
Sheridans,  Shermans,  and  Sewards.  But  joy  gave  place  to  grief  when  they 
heard  that  a  madman  had  murdered  the  President  of  your  republic,  the  great 
citizen,  who,  like  Washington,  had  no  other  ambition  than  the  good  of  his  coun 
try  and  of  humanity,  who  sought  to  make  no  pedestal  but  of  his  civil  virtues 
and  the  respect  for  the  laws  of  his  country. 

As  precious  as  were  the  lives  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  and  of  Seward,  treach 
erously  assassinated  by  the  fanaticism  of  slavery  at  bay,  your  republic  is  fixed 
upon  such  a  solid  basis  that  neither  the  poniards  nor  revolvers  of  monsters, 
though  they  deprive  it  of  the  best  citizens,  can  destroy  it  or  arrest  the  progress 
of  its  glorious  humanitary  conquests. 

Tell  your  valiant  and  true  citizens  that  wherever  true  democrats  are  found, 
their  hearts  have  felt  the  blow  given  to  your  country,  and  those  of  Tours  will 
be  happy  to  transmit  beyond  the  sea  their  fraternal  salutation  to  the  great 
people  who  have  severed  the  last  chains  of  slavery,  and  have  held  so  high  and 
so  firmly  the  banner  of  liberty. 

A.  RIVIERE,  Lawyer.         PIM13ERT. 
AL.  BOUDROD.  L.  DESMOULINS,  M.  D. 

MALERAT,  Merchant.         DESTOUR,  Retired  Captain. 
GROGNARD.  BREAU. 

AND  TWO  HUNDRED  MORE. 


To  the  United  States  minister  at  Par  if. 

[Translation.] 

The  undersigned  join  in  the  same  sentiment  to  reprove  and  condemn  with 
all  their  might  and  deplore  with  all  their  soul  the  nameless  crime  that  has  taken 
from  the  world  and  from  great  America  the  greatest  of  men  and  the  most 
honest  of  citizens. 

Tell  the  people  you  have  the  honor  to  represent,  that  from  this  central  part 
of  France,  the  country  of  Lafayette  and  Mirabeau,  hearts  beat  full  of  hope, 
though  oppressed  by  the  weight  of  deep  grief,  and  confidence  in  the  future  of 
your  country,  made  great  and  imperishable  by  liberty. 

ARMAND  BAZILL.  L.  PENOTT. 

LOUIS  GRENOUILLER.  COLIN. 

A.  THIOR.  GOLS. 

AND  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  OTHERS. 

VJEEZOX,  April  27,  1865. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       145 
EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  PRESS  OF  PARIS. 

[Translations.] 
[From  the  Avenir  National,  April  27,  1865.] 

The  telegraph  brings  us  disastrous  news,  and  which  will  certainly  give 
cause  for  mourning  throughout  the  whole  of  Europe.  President  LINCOLN  has 
been  assassinated.  The  great  citizen  has  fallen  a  martyr  to  his  cause,  but  to  a 
triumphant  cause.  The  death  of  a  citizen,  however  great  and  illustrious  he  may 
be,  can  in  no  way  compromise  the  destinies  of  a  people  surrounded  with  demo 
cratic  and  free  institutions. 

But  if  it  can  be  safely  said  that  the  triumph  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  cannot  possibly  become  a  question  owing  to  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LIN 
COLN,  one  cannot  help  feeling  a  certain  degree  of  apprehension  from  the  disap 
pearance  from  the  arena  of  politics  of  him  who,  with  the  prestige  and  authority 
of  spotless  patriotism,  might  have  served  as  moderator  among  his  fellow-citizens, 
carried  away  by  the  exultation  of  victory. 


[From  the  Avenir  National,  April  28,  18(>f>.  ] 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  receives  his  reward — the;  only  one  doubtless  which  he 
would  be  ambitious  to  obtain,  if  any  ambition  whatever  could  have  entered  the 
heart  of  that  great  citizen.  The  Old  and  the  New  Worlds  are  mourning  for  his 
death. 

What  is  particularly  striking  in  the  effect  produced  here  by  this  unex 
pected  intelligence,  and  which  it  is  important  to  note,  is  the  conviction  univer 
sally  entertained  that  the  death  of  a  man,  however  great  he  may  be,  can  neither 
disturb  public  affairs  nor  shake  the  institutions  of  the  American  republic. 
Among  a  people  really  free  there  are  no  men  who  are  indispensable,  nor  men 
providentially  raised  up.  There  are  citizens ;  so  much  the  better  for  that  people 
if  these  citizens  are  great,  devoted,  and  honest  like  LINCOLN;  but,  as  there  it  is 
the  institutions  which  make  the  men,  the  grandeur  of  a  citizen  has  never  any- 
Ihing  detrimental  in  it  to  the  happiness  of  the  nation. 

With  the  theory  of  providential  men  we  begin  with  Washington,  but  we 
never  know  with  whom  we  shall  end  ;  with  the  theory  which  designates  men 
for  the  institutions,  and  which  makes  especially  the  greatest  of  them  the  pillars 
of  the  land,  a  commencement  is  made  with  Washington  to  end  with  LINCOLN, 
or  rather  not  to  end  Ihus.  The;  list  goes  on  from  one  honest  man  to  another; 
from  one  good  citizen  to  another  good  citizen.  We  see  Andrew  Johnson 
installed  President  twelve  hours  after  the  death  of  LINCOLN,  bowing  to  the 
national  representatives,  speaking  not  of  his  rights,  but  of  his  duties,  and  declar 
ing  that  he  will  faithfully  perform  them. 
19 


146  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  is  the  freest,  the  mildest,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  strongest  on  the  face  of  the  earth ;  and  what  especially  distin 
guishes  the  United  States  is  not  so  much  the  courage  with  which  they  achieved 
their  independence,  as  the  wisdom  with  which  they  have  constituted  their- 
liberty.  That  a  people  driven  to  extremities  should  overturn  their  oppressors 
is  the  most  common  thing  in  history ;  what  is  more  rare  is  to  see  a  people 
sufficiently  energetic  to  assert  their  rights,  vigilant  and  firm  enough  to  preserve 
them.  To  conquer  liberty,  to  lose  it,  to  possess  it  and  not  know  how  to  enjoy 
it — that  is  to  say,  to  be  ignorant  of  the  way  to  be  free — such  has  been  the 
spectacle  afforded  more  than  once  by  European  democracy. 

But  to  consolidate  liberty  after  having  acquired  it,  to  seek  the  guarantee  of 
liberty  in  vigorous  institutions,  to  form  around  it  the  impenetrable  rampart  of 
good  laws,  preserving  it  in  this  way  from  its  own  erratic  courses,  that  is  a  secret 
which  antiquity  never  learnt,  which  Europe  knows  but  little,  and  which  the 
New  World  has  revealed  to  the  Old. 

It  is  in  fidelity  to  principles  that  the  guarantee  of  liberty  is  found ;  they 
are  the  light  which  in  great  political  crises  is  a  guide  to  men  who  preside  over 
the  destinies  of  nations,  and  it  is  because  he  has  been  devoted  to  liberty,  even 
to  martyrdom,  that  LINCOLN  is  lamented  in  the  two  worlds,  and  that  he  has,  as 
we  said  three  days  ago,  his  appointed  place  by  the  side  of  Washington. 

We  acknowledge  that  he  was  not  what  is  called  a  man  of  genius ;  and,  far 
from  regretting  it,  we  must  rejoice  at  it,  for  it  proves  what  can  be  done,  even 
without  great  talents,  by  loftiness  and  firmness  of  character,  political  honesty, 
arid  devotedness  to  the  cause  of  justice  and  liberty. 

A.  PEYRAT. 


[From  tlie  Avenir  National,  April  d'J.  1805.] 

Many  of  our  friends,  faithful  interpreters  of  liberal  and  democratic  opinion, 
call  upon  us  to  open  a  subscription  to  erect  a  monument  to  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Men  like  LINCOLN,  of  whatever  country  they  maybe,  are  the  glory  of  their 
time,  and  it  is  befitting,  for  the  interests  and  the  honor  of  democracy,  that  a 
monument  should  bear  witness  to  posterity  of  the  admiration  and  gratitude  of 
their  contemporaries.  Reverence  for  those  to  whom  liberty  was  dear,  and  by 
whom  its  interests  have  been  promoted,  is  a  proof  of  the  maturity  and  morality 
of  nations. 

We  join,  then,  without  reserve,  in  the  wishes  of  our  friends ;  and  if  we 
consulted  only  our  feelings,  we  would  immediately  open  the  subscription.  But 
unless  better  advised,  we  believe  that  the  initiative  in  this  case  ought  to  be  left 
to  the  United  States.  They  will  take  it  beyond  all  doubt,  and  the  whole  of 
democratic  France  will  associate  herself  with  the  homage  rendered  by  his  fel- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        147 

low-citizens  to  the  upright  man,  who  in  a  crisis  where  so  many  passions  were 
let  loose,  and  liberty  was  menaced  with  so  many  dangers,  gave  to  the  world  a 
rare  example  of  moderation  and  respect  for  the  laws. 

The  Avenir  National  will  then  open  a  subscription  at  its  offices,  and  will 
inscribe  its  name  at  the  head  of  the  first  list. 

A.  PFYRAT. 


[From  the  Avenir  National,  May  1,  1865.] 

The  northern  cause  is  a  cause  doubly  French ;  it  is  French  by  the  traditions 
of  our  international  policy  ;  it  is  especially  so  by  the  identity  of  our  principles 
and  interests.  Thus,  France,  who  sees  all  the  parliaments  spontaneously 
addressing  to  the  United  States  an  evidence  of  their  sympathy,  is  astonished 
at  the  silence  of  the  legislative  chambers.  This  astonishment  is  well  expressed 
in  the  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Schneider,  and  will  be  approved  without  reserve. 

As  for  the  address,  there  is  much  reason  to  fear  that  it  will  not  obtain  the 
same  approbation.  Under  circumstances  like  these,  an  address  signed  by  the 
deputies  of  the  left  must  be  a  political  act.  Now  a  simple  testimony  of  grief 
and  sympathy-is  not  a  political  act 

LINCOLN  represented  the  cause  of  democracy  in  the  largest  and  most 
universal  acceptation  of  the  word.  That  cause  is  our  cause,  as  much  as  it  is 
that  of  the  United  States.  This  is  what  the  address  of  the  deputies  ought  to 
have  said,  or  said  nothing  at  all.  It  should  have  expressed  the  sentiments 
which  M.  Pelletan  expressed,  when  he  spoke  at  the  close  of  the  discussion  on 
the  address.  That  which  the  chamber,  agitated  and  fatigued,  was  unwilling  to 
listen  to,  is  precisely  that  which  ought  to  have  been  embodied  in  their  address. 
Such  as  it  is,  this  address  may  be  signed  by  everybody  without  distinction  of 
opinion,  for  the  excellent  reason  that  no  opinion  is  either  expressed  or  implied 
in  it. 

It  is  a  manifestation  without  meaning,  an  act  without  character;  and  we 
believe  that  the  address  of  the  deputies  on  this  occasion  ought  not  to  have  been 
destitute  of  these  qualities. 

A.  PEYRAT. 


[From  the  Avenir  National,  May  I?,  18fi">.  ] 

The  speech  of  M.  Rouher  and  the  despatch  of  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys,  which 
we  published  yesterday,  the  speech  of  M.  Troplong,  and  the  address  of  the 
journals  which  we  publish  to-day,  are  a  striking  and  unmistakable  testimony 
of  the  sympathy  of  France  with  the  United  States.  The  address  of  the  four 
journals  adds  nothing  to  what  they  have  already  said,  each  one  individually, 


148  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

since  the  day  when  they  learned  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  We 
mi^ht,  therefore,  appear  to  be  useless  as  well  as  to  have  come  late ;  but  our 
confreres  thought  that  a  collective  manifestation  would  give  more  force  to  the 
expression  of  our  common  sentiments,  and  we  have  not  hesitated  to  identify 
ourselves  with  it.  Under  circumstances  so  solemn,  it  cannot  be  too  often 
repeated,  in  every  variety  of  tone,  that  the  triumph  of  the  North  is  the  triumph 
of  democracy  ;  and  we  cannot  express  in  too  strong  a  manner  to  the  United 
States  the  gratitude  we  owe  them  for  the  examples  and  lessons  they  have 
given  us. 

The  United  States  have  performed  two  great  services,  one  to  liberty,  the 
other  to  human  dignity. 

It  was  a  very  old  axiom  of  a  very  old  school  of  publicists,  that  the  durable 
establishment  of  a  democratic  government  was  not  possible  in  a  country  of  great 
extent  and  with  a  numerous  population. 

The  United  States  extend  over  a  territory  thirteen  or  fourteen  times  as 
large  as  France ;  they  have  a  population  of  thirty-five  millions,  and  from  the 
most  moderate  calculations,  and  without  taking  into  account  the  constantly 
increasing  immigration,  North  America,  before  the  end  of  the  present  century, 
will  contain  from  seventy  to  eighty  millions,  united  by  everything  that  can 
make  a  people  great  and  strong — commerce,  industry,  the  form  of  government, 
and  the  configuration  of  the  territory. 

What  dominates  in  this  country,  to  which  so  great  a  past  promises  so  bril 
liant  a  future,  is  not  only  the  republic,  it  is  the  greatest  democracy  and  the 
most  absolute  which  ever  existed.  And  not  only  has  this  democracy  endured 
from  1787,  but  it  has  not  ceased  a  single  day  to  enlarge  itself  and  to  gather 
strength.  "I  know  nothing  so  annoying,"  said  Joseph  de  Maistre,  "as  the  praises 
lavished  on  this  infant  in  swaddling  cloths;  let  it  grow."  The  infant  has  grown  ; 
it  is  now  the  most  powerful  republic  that  has  ever  appeared,  a  people  with 
which  Europe  has  for  a  long  time  had  extensive  dealings,  and  who  shares  with 
her  the  empire  of  the  seas 

Democracy,  in  its  conception  and  affiliation,  in  the  most  radical  spirit,  is, 
therefore,  not  incompatible  with  great  extent  of  territory,  or  the  power  and 
duration  of  a  great  government.  This  has  been  demonstrated  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  and  that  is  the  service  which  the  United  States  have  rendered 
to  liberty.  • 

They  have  rendered  another,  equally  important,  to  human  dignity,  in  show 
ing  that  the  citizen  has  become  among  them  great  and  powerful,  precisely 
because  he  has  been  little  governed;  they  have  proved  that  the  real  grandeur 
of  the  state  depends  upon  the  high  personal  qualities  of  the  individuals.  In 
our  old  societies  power  put  the  man  in  tutelage,  or  rather  the  man  put  himself 
in  that  position  in  the  hands  of  the  government,  whom  he  looked  to  for  every- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        149 

thing  he  wanted  in  life,  and  for  solutions  which  no  government,  whether  mon 
archical  or  republican,  could  give. 

The  United  States,  on  the  contrary,  have  granted  to  public  power  just 
what  it  is  fit  that  that  power  should  possess,  neither  more  nor  less.  There  the 
government  meddles  neither  with  religion  nor  education,  nor  with  morals.  It 
does  not,  under  the  pretence  of  protection,  hinder  anything,  impose  restraints 
upon  any  one,  or  cause  destruction  of  any  kind.  In  demanding  of  governments 
what  it  is  not  in  their  power  to  confer,  we  have  multiplied  problems  and  rendered 
the  solutions  impossible.  The  United  States  have  solved  almost  everything, 
because  they  have  simplified  everything. 

The  fundamental  principle  of  society  in  the  United  States  is,  that  each 
draws  his  own  conclusions  and  acts  in  an  independent  manner.  The  citizen 
has  entire  liberty  of  action ;  but  this  liberty  is  granted  to  him  at  his  own  risk 
and  peril.  "  Go  ahead ;  depend  only  upon  yourself."  Such  is  the  motto  of 
the  American  ;  and  this  motto,  applied  as  well  to  political  as  to  private  life,  has 
made  a  great  people  and  great  citizens.  This  is  the  service  that  the  United 
States  have  rendered  to  human  dignity. 

We  should  look  in  vain  elsewhere  for  such  examples,  such  lessons,  for  so 
valuable  a  subject  of  political  observation  ;  we  cannot  borrow  everything  from 
a  people,  and  there  are  many  things  in  America  which  are  unsuitable  to  Europe ; 
but  that  which  we  should  avail  ourselves  of  everywhere  is  experience,  because 
experience,  being  applicable  to  things  in  general  as  well  as  to  fundamental  mat 
ters  of  policy,  is  independent  of  the  latitude  and  divergences  of  institutions, 
and  teaches  us  to  distinguish  what  forms  the  essence  of  a  free  government  from 
that  which  is  purely  French,  English,  or  American. 

Now  what  in  all  countries  constitutes  the  essence  of  a  free  government  is 
the  feeling  of  dignity  and  personal  valor  which  urges  the  man  to  make  his  way 
in  the  world  without  direction  and  assistance — to  struggle  alone,  with  the  help 
of  his  intelligence  and  labor,  against  the  trials  of  public  and  private  life.  Con 
sequently,  whoever  desires  not  only  to  be  free,  but  "worthy  of  freedom,  must  act 
upon  the  American  motto — "  Go  ahead ;  depend  upon  yourself." 

A.  PEYRAT. 


[From  the  Avenir  National,  May  4,  1805.] 

*  *  *  *  -x-  ***** 

The  telegraphic  despatches,  the  journals,  and  our  private  correspondence 
speak  only  of  the  demonstrations  in  all  parts  of  Europe  to  express  the  grief 
caused  by  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN*. 

These  demonstrations  acquire,  by  their  imposing  unanimity  great,  political 
Bignificancy  ;  they  show  how  extremely  popular  the  ideas  of  liberty  and  equality 


150  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

have  become,  as  they  are  represented  by  the  United  States.  Over  the  ashes 
of  the  President  of  the  American  republic  the  whole  of  Europe  has  come  to 
confess  her  democratic  faith. 

This  movement  has  been  so  general,  so  active,  and  so  spontaneous,  that 
governments  have  joined  with  the  people  in  the  expression  of  their  sympathies 
for  the  United  States  and  their  horror  at  the  assassination.  The  court  of  Rome 
alone  has  remained  silent. 

A.  GAIFFE. 


[From  the  Constitutionnel,  April  29,  1865.] 

The  horrible  outrages  committed  in  the  United  States  have  excited  in 
France  and  throughout  Europe  a  unanimous  feeling  of  sorrow  and  indignation. 
All  differences  of  political  opinion  vanish  before  assassination,  and  all  honorable 
people,  however  they  may  be  divided  upon  the  questions  of  the  day,  feel  the 
same  horror.  The  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  is  a  cause  of  mourning  for  all  civili 
zation. 

Mr.  LINCOLN  owed  solely  to  himself,  to  his  labor  and  his  merit,  his  gradual 
elevation  to  political  honors,  and  to  the  highest  post  in  the  country,  that  of  Chief 
Magistrate.  Whatever  opinion  may  be  entertained  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  fed 
eral  government,  people  are  generally  agreed,  in  America  and  in  Europe,  to 
render  homage  to  the  excellent  and  distinguished  qualities  of  the  President. 
Everybody  recognized  in  him  an  upright  character,  honest  intentions,  and  prac 
tical  shrewdness,  which  was  often  his  safest  guide  in  that  crisis  in  the  midst  of 
which  he  had  been  called  to  power,  arid  which  was  one  of  the  most  terrible 
crises  that  a  nation  had  ever  had  to  go  through. 

But  what  will  reflect  most  honor,  perhaps,  upon  the  memory  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN  is  moderation.  Such  were  the  kindly  dispositions,  the  equitable  and 
'conciliatory  views,  which  he  manifested  at  the  moment  when  victory  declared 
itself  in  favor  of  the  federal  cause,  and  a  few  days  before  the  commission  of  the 
crime  which  so  suddenly  and  so  cruelly  terminated  his  career,  Mr.  LINCOLN 
was  evidently  inclined  to  treat  the  confederates  less  as  a  conquered  people  than 
as  brothers  and  fellow-citizens  whom  it  was  necessary  by  all  means  to  appease 
and  bring  back  into  the  Union.  He  was  wiser  in  that  respect  than  certain 
sections  of  the  Unionist  party,  whose  impetuosities  he  had  some  difficulty  in 
restraining. 

The  last  speech  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  is  a  summary  of  these  generous  senti 
ments;  and  his  last  thoughts  were  probably  more  patriotic  and  humane  than  any 
that  he  has  expressed.  Mr.  LINCOLN  believed  conciliation  to  be  possible,  and 
he  indulged  "the  hope  of  a  just  peace."  A  just  peace!  That  expression, 
which  embodies  an  entire  policy,  might  be  engraved  upon  his  tomb. 

PAULIN  LIMAYRAC. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        15] 

[From  the  Constitutionnel,  May  2,  1805.] 

An  important  communication  was  made  yesterday  to  the  senate  and  legisla 
tive  chambers. 

The  report  of  the  sitting  of  the  legislative  chambers  is  now  before  out 
rea'ders  ;  that  of  the  senate  we  will  publish  to-morrow. 

The  communication  refers  to  a  despatch  addressed  by  the  minister  of 
foreign  affairs  to  our  representative  at  Washington,  to  apprise  him  of  the  senti 
ments  of  the  imperial  government  on  learning  of  the  horrible  crime  committed 
in  the  United  States. 

France  is  a  country  of  noble  feelings  and  generous  thoughts  ;  in  this  direc 
tion  no  nation  goes  before  it;  here  all  countries  follow  France  ;  everybody  knows 
that  on  the  first  news  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  of  the 
Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward,  the  Emperor  charged  one  of  his  aides-de-camp 
to  express  to  the  minister  of  the  United  States  the  affliction  and  horror  which 
these  abominable  outrages  occasioned  him. 

To-day  his  excellency  M.  Rouher,  in  the  admirable  language  of  a  statesman 
and  an  honest  man,  stamped  with  infamy,  and  in  the  most  indelible  manner,  the 
crime  that  has  been  committed,  and  showed  that  its  first  punishment  was  its 
impotency.  The  reading  of  the  despatch  of  M.  Drouyn  dc  Lhuys  did  not 
make  a  less  powerful  impression.  It  was  impossible  that  a  noble  policy  should 
meet  with  more  faithful  and  more  eloquent  interpreters.  Thus  the  observations 
of  the  minister  of  state  and  the  despatch  of  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  have 
obtained  the  unanimous  approbation  of  the  legislative  chamber.  The  language 
of  Mr.  President- Schneider  is  not  less  noteworthy,  and  it  may  be  said  that  this 
sitting  will  send  across  the  Atlantic  the  thoughts  of  the  Emperor  and  the  voice 
of  France. 

PAULIN  LIMAYRAC. 


[From  the  Epoque,  April  28,  18G5.] 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Yesterday,  in  the  first  moment  of  stupor,  we  would  almost  doubt  the  news; 
to-day  there  is  no  possible  room  for  doubt.  The  President  of  the  United  States 
has  been  assassinated,  and  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is  dead.  After  five  years  of 
constant  and  persevering  efforts  in  the  cause  of  the  Union,  he  has  fallen  at  the 
very  moment  of  his  triumph.  The  restorer  of  the  American  country — the 
destroyer  of  slavery — has  paid  for  his  victory  with  his  blood.  His  life  revealed 
the  virtues  of  the  citizen — virtues  claimed  by  the  government  of  a  republic — 
and  his  death  makes  him  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  his  time. 

(Here  follows  an  account  of  the  life  and  public  services  of  Mr.  LINCOLN.) 


152  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

This  is  not  the  moment  to  revert  to  the  severance  which  followed  ins 
election — to  that  four  years'  struggle  from  which,  thanks  to  the  perseverance 
of  LINCOLN,  the  North  has  just  come  out  a  conqueror — and  which  is  a  signal 
proof  that  patience  and  integrity,  united  to  a  firm  and  settled  conviction,  are,  in 
a  free  country  the  three  instruments  of  victory  The  North  was  convinced  of 
it,  for  it  re-elected  LINCOLN  President,  and  the  first  year  of  this  new  presidency 
was  signalized  by  the  final  triumph  of  the  federation. 

The  honor  of  LINCOLN  is  not  only  that  he  conquered,  but  that  he  con 
quered  without  ever  departing  from  the  republican  forms,  without  one  single 
infraction  of  the  laws  of  his  country.  When  every  temptation  was  offered  to 
him — when  certain  violent  measures  even  were  demanded  by  the  situation — 
he  still  thought  he  could  do  without  them,  and,  in  fact,  he  did  know  how  to 
dispense  with  every  measure  of  a  dictatorial  character.  He  took  his  stand  upon 
legality,  and  never  lent  himself  to  an  exceptional  or  arbitrary  act. 

In  a  word,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  a  lawyer — he  was  the  living  law.  To 
say  this  of  a  man  who  has  ruled  over  a  republic,  arid  who  has  governed  it  in  the 
midst  of  a  crisis  such  as  that  which  has  just  passed  over  the  United  States,  is 
to  give. him  the  highest  praise  that  can  be  accorded  to  a  powerful  citizen  in  a 
free  country. 

Such  is  the  man  who  has  just  perished.  Just  and  firm  in  his  government, 
simple  and  almost  patriarchal  in  his  private  life,  always  moderate  and  loyal,  he 
has  been  struck  down  at  the  moment  when,  having  re-established  the  Union  by 
his  energy,  he  was  cementing  it  by  his  clemency.  He  will  be  admired  and 
recorded  in  history  as  the  restorer  of  the  Union,  and  will  be  likened  to  that 
great  man  by  whom'it  was  founded. 

When  his  assassin  took  flight  he  is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  "  Sic  semper 
tyrannic!"  God  grant  that  the  American  government  may  never  have  any 
other  but  such  tyrants  as  he. 

A.  CLAVEAU. 


[From  the  Epoque,  April  29,  1865.] 

From  despatches  received  to-day  we  see  that  hopes  are  still  entertained 
that  Mr.  Seward  will  survive  the  wounds  which  he  has  received.  That  would 
be  the  most  fortunate  circumstance  that  could  happen  to  the  Union.  The  most 
eminent  man  in  the  republican  party — the  friend  and  habitual  counsellor  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN — retaining  his  position  as  the  most  influential  member  of  the  cabinet, 
would  there  maintain  the  traditions  which  constituted  the  power  of  the  Ameri 
can  government  during  the  four  critical  years  through  which  it  has  just  passed, 
and  which  are  still  alone  capable  of  averting  the  new  dangers  with  which  it  is 
threatened. 

JOSEPH  PERRIN. 


EXPRESSIONS  OP  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       153 

[From  the  Epoque,  May  3,  1865.] 

When  we  regretted  a  few  days  ago  the  indifference  (not  to  say  more) 
shown  by  the  legislative  chamber  towards  the  United  States  in  the  discussion 
on  the  address,  we  were  far  from  foreseeing  that  this  indifference  would  so 
quickly  give  place  to  an  expansive  and  enthusiastic  sympathy.  Whatever  may 
be  the  feeling  of  indignation  excited  in  everybody  by  the  crime  which  has  just 
been  perpetrated  in  Washington,  that  crime  changes  nothing  in  the  way  of 
policy;  and  the  partisans  of  the  South,  while  deploring  the  kind  of  stain  which 
has  been  impressed  upon  their  cause,  appear  to  have  no  reason  to  abandon  it. 

Now,  we  cannot  help  observing  that  in  the  sitting  which  took  place 
yesterday  in  the  legislative  chamber,  the  government,  the  majority,  and  the 
opposition  agreed  not  only  to  execrate  an  odious  crime,  not  only  to  deplore  the 
death  of  an  excellent  man,  but  to  evince  their  sympathies  for  the  American 
republic,  and  to  express  their  wishes  for  the  durable  re-establishment  of  the 
Union. 

We  can  give  no  other  interpretation  to  the  language  of  the  minister  of 
state,  in  the  name  of  the  government,  and  that  of  Mr.  Schneider,  in  the  name  of 
the  chamber.  We  point  out  especially  to  our  readers  in  the  speech  of  M. 
Rouher  two  passages  significant  in  themselves,  and  the  purport  of  which  is 
made  still  more  emphatic  by  the  accent  in  which  the  minister  delivered  them : 

"The  first  punishment  which  God  inflicts  on  crime  is  to  render  it  power 
less  to  retard  the  progress  of  good. 

"  The  profound  emotion  and  high  sympathy  which  are  manifested  in  Europe 
will  be  received  by  the  American  people  as  a  consolation  and  an  encouragement. 
The  work  of  appeasing  the  passions,  commenced  by  a  great  citizen,  will  be 
finished  by  the  will  of  the  nation.  * 

"  The  Emperor,  the  public  authorities,  and  the  whole  of  France  are  unani 
mous  in  the  reprobation  of  a  detestable  outrage,  in  their  homage  to  a  great 
political  illustration,  the  victim  to  the  most  criminal  passions,  in  their  ardent 
wishes  for  the  re-establishment  of  harmony  and  concord  in  the  bosom  of  the 
great  and  patriotic  American  nation." 

Mr.  Schneider  was  not  less  explicit. 

The  applause  of  the  chamber  proved  to  the  minister  of  state  and  the 
president  that  their  sentiments  were  now  universally  shared  The  same  depu 
ties  who  exclaimed  So  much  t/te  worse !  when  Mr.  Pelletan  announced  the 
taking  of  Richmond,  cried  "Very  good  !"  when  Mr.  Rouher  expressed  his  wishes 
in  behalf  of  the  American  Union,  which  could  not  be  accomplished  without 
the  fall  of  that  city. 

For  the  rest,  the  Americans  are  receiving  at  this  moment,  on  all  sides, 
marks  of  sympathy  as  lively  as  they  were  unexpected ;  and  it  is  known  that 
20 


154  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

the  two  English  houses  of  Parliament  occasion  them  a  surprise  analogous  to  that 
which  has  just  come  from  the  French  legislative  chambers. 

It  remains  to  ascertain  how  the  Americans  will  receive  the  marks  of  sym 
pathy  which  are  now  lavished  upon  them,  and  whether  they  will  not  have  some 
recollection  of  somewhat  different  sentiments,  which  were  lately  exhibited 
towards  them — we  will  not  exactly  say  by  the  two  governments  of  France 
and  England,  but  at  least  by  the  principal  organs,  in  which  one  is  accustomed 
to  look  for  the  views  and  feelings  of  the  government. 

JOSEPH  PERRIN. 


[From  La  France,  April  28,  1865.] 
THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  MR.  LINCOLN. 

The  news  of  the  odious  outrage  to  which  the  President  of  the  United 
States  has  just  fallen  a  victim  has  caused  a  profound  sensation  throughout 
Europe.  A  conspiracy  was  evidently  organized  to  assassinate  the  supreme 
heads  and  principal  functionaries  of  North  America.  Mr.  Seward  has  been 
struck  in  his  bed.  General  Grant  and  Mr.  Stanton  were  marked  for  the  hand 
of  the  assassin,  and  accident  alone  has  saved  them. 

Public  opinion  will  everywhere  protest  with  equal  indignation  against  the 
fanatics  who  would  dishonor,  if  it  were  possible,  the  party  to  which  they 
belong,  and  the  cause  they  pretend  to  defend. 

But  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  throw  upon  the  entire  South  the  responsi 
bility  of  these  abominable  crimes.  It  cannot  be  that  an  act  of  fanaticism  should 
serve  as  a  pretext  for  rigorous  reprisals  against  the  innocent.  Nothing  can 
diminish  the  horror  inspired  by  this  crime ;  but  nothing  should  be  suffered  to 
exaggerate  resentment  to  such  a  point  as  to  lead  to  useless  vengeance. 


[From  La  France,  April  30,  1865.] 

All  the  European  governments  have  hastened  to  manifest  the  indignation 
with  which  they  have  heard  of  the  assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  to  send 
to  Washington  the  expression,of  their  grief  and  sympathy. 

This  horrible  outrage  has  provoked  similar  manifestations  in  all  the  parlia 
ments  of  Europe  now  sitting  at  Turin,  London,  and  Berlin. 

We  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  French  chambers  will  not  fail  to  take 
part  publicly  in  the  expression  of  that  feeling  with  which  the  whole  country  is 
animated. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        155 

[From  La  France,  May  1,  1865.] 

The  legislative  chambers  will  assemble  to-morrow  at  a  public  sitting. 
The  Moniteur  announces  that  a  communication  from  the  government  will  then 
be  presented  to  them. 

It  is  thought  that  the  government  intends  to  communicate  to  the  chambers 
the  letter  addressed  by  the  Emperor  to  the  government  of  Washington,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  that  thus  the  legislative  body  will 
have  an  opportunity  of  expressing  their  feelings  of  sympathy  for  the  govern 
ment  and  the  American  people. 

A.  RENAULD. 


Mr.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys,  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  wrrote  to  the  minister  of 
the  United  States,  on  the  same  day  when  the  news  of  the  assassination 
,  reached  Paris,  a  letter  expressive  of  the  liveliest  sympathy  and  of  the  deepest 
grief. 

Mr.  Bigelow,  on  his  return  from  Brest,  where  he  had  been  to  be  present  at 
the  inauguration  of  the  railway,  hastened  to  go  in  person  and  thank  the  minister 

for  this  demonstration,  as  cordial  as  it  was  spontaneous. 

******** 

No  light  whatever  has  yet  been  thrown  upon  the  odious  outrage  to  which 
Mr.  LINCOLN  has  fallen  a  victim.  The  assassins  have  not  been  arrested,  and  it 
is  impossible  to  say  what  motives  led  to  the  crime,  or  with  what  party  it  is 
identified.  It  is  certain,  that  among  the  southerners,  as  among  the  northerners, 
the  same  feeling  of  indignation  has  arisen  against  the  authors  of  this  abominable 
crime.  The  letters  of  Mr.  Mason,  in  London,  and  Mr.  Slidell,  in  Paris,  are 
certainly  the  true  expression  of  every  sensible  and  honest  man  among  the 
confederates. 

We  said,  in  announcing  the  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  that  it  was  necessary 
carefully  to  prevent  a  feeling  of  vengeance  against  the  South  becoming  the 
result  of  the  legitimate  emotion  everywhere  caused  by  the  assassination  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  The  cause  of  the  confederates  has  nothing  to 
do  with  these  savage  acts,  and  justice  will  not  confound  in  this  way  the  inno 
cent  with  the  guilty. 

Well,  we  say  it  with  regret,  many  Paris  journals  appear  desirous  of  includ 
ing  in  the  same  anathemas  the  assassins  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  and  the  valiant  defenders 
of  the  independence  of  the  South  ;  and  American  despatches  speak  of  the  excite 
ment  of  the  northern  populations,  whb  utter  the  unjust  cry  of  "Vengeance  against 
the  South." 

Not  vengeance,  but  justice ;  not  passion,  but  reason  ;  not  fanaticism,  but 
moderation  and  equity  ! 


156  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

This  is  what  the  French  press  ought  to  say  to  the  American  people  if  it 
would  preserve  the  traditions  of  generosity  and  civilized  grandeur  which  every 
where  characterize  the  policy  of  France. 

A.  PAULIN. 


[From  La  France,  May  3,  1865.] 
MODERATION  IN  VICTORY. 

The  great  bodies  of  the  state  have  nobly  associated  themselves  with  the 
profound  emotion  with  which  the  views  of  the  tragic  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  has 
been  everywhere  received.  Everybody  will  applaud  the  eloquent  language  in 
which  the  minister  of  state  yesterday  branded  with  infamy  the  political  assas 
sin,  and  glorified  the  eminent  man  whom  North  America  has  just  lost. 

President  Troplong,  in  the  senate,  and  Vice-President  Schneider,  in  the 
legislative  chamber,  expressed  in  the  best  manner  what  were  the  unanimous 
sentiments  of  the  two  chambers  ;  in  the  same  way  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys,  in  the 
important  despatch  addressed  by  him  to  our  charge  d'affaires  at  Washington, 
represented  with  great  fidelity  the  sympathetic  regrets  of  the  Emperor  and  the 
feeling  of  the  public  mind. 

These  official  manifestations  will  convey  to  the  American  people  the  loyal 
expression  of  our  sympathy  for  the  friendly  nation  whose  independence  the 
arms  of  France  assisted  to  achieve,  and  whose  grandeur  is  dear  to  us ;  but  these 
manifestations  carry  with  them  at  the  same  time  advice,  and  hopes  and  wishes 
of  a  just  and  legitimate  character. 

In  the  universal  emotion  which  the  assassination  of  Mr  LINCOLN  gives  rise 
to,  there  is  no  doubt  a  natural  feeling  at  an  act  of  savage  fanaticism  which 
excites  the  indignation  of  every  honest  conscience  ;  but  there  is  also  much 
grief  at  the  disappearance  from  the  scene  of  events,  at  a  moment  when  his 
presence  appeared  to  be  most  needed,  of  the  man  who  could  best  maintain  the 
policy  of  the  United  States  in  the  line  of  moderation  and  justice,  which  is  much 
more  desirable  after  victory  than  when  hostilities  are  pending. 

Mr.  LINCOLN  showed  himself  sincerely  animated,  during  the  last  few  days 
of  his  life,  with  a  spirit  of  wise  conciliation,  which  was  the  best  augury  for  the 
definitive  pacification  of  the  Union. 

Well,  the  words  of  condolence  which  the  representatives  of  France  are 
sending  at  this  moment  to  the  United  States  are  a  special  encouragement  to 
persevere  in  the  policy  of  peace  and  clemency  upon  which  President  LINCOLN 
had  so  visibly  entered. 

That  language  tells  the  American  people  that  the  best  way  to  honor  the 
memory  of  him  whom  they  now  lament  is,  to  immolate  upon  the  altar  of  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       157 

common  country  hatred,  passion,  and  useless  revenge,  and  to  hold  out  to  the 
beaten  South  a  fraternal  hand. 

Will  this  appeal  be  heard  ?  Everything  urges  it  upon  the  good  sense  and 
patriotism  of  the  United  States.  Four  years  of  civil  war  have  left  sufficient 
ruin  to  repair,  sufficient  disasters  to  make  good,  sufficient  wounds  to  heal — that 
all  good  citizens  should  courageously  apply  themselves  to  the  work,  in  order  to 
return  to  the  American  republic  the  material  prosperity  and  moral  greatness 
which  she  formerly  possessed. 

That  is  a  policy  worthy  of  a  great  nation ;  it  is  the  only  one  that  can  be 
advised  by  the  generous  and  civilized  voice  of  France. 

We  could  have  wished  that,  on  the  part  of  the  friends  of  the  North,  Vs 
among  the  friends  of  the  South,  this  advice  of  concord  and  humanity  should 
come  in  every  variety  of  form  from  beyond  the  Atlantic. 

Up  to  the  present  time,  let  us  say  it  with  regret,  we  have  not  found  the 
expression  of  it  in  the  addresses  which  the  organs  of  advanced  democracy,  and 
even  many  Paris  journals,  have  signed  and  sent  to  Washington. 

Certainly,  we  approve  the  sentiments  which  the  members  and  journals  of 
the  opposition  manifest  with  so  much  warmth ;  but  if  they  join  with  us  in  urging 
moderation  in  victory,  forgetfulncss  of  the  past,  and  the  re-establishment  of  peace 
on  the  basis  of  justice  and  right,  would  they  not  do  something  worthy  of  the 
civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  of  the  great  policy  of  our  time? 

J.  COHEN. 


[From  the  Gazette  de  France,  April  28,  1865.] 

Another  political  assassination !  The  horrible  doctrine  which  found  in  the 
Old  World  pupils  and  adepts  has  crossed  the  sea.  The  New  World  has  nothing 
to  envy  in  the  Old  in  this  respect.  There  are  in  Washington,  on  that  ground 
of  liberty,  men  who,  imbued  with  examples  drawn  from  our  saddest  annals, 
take  the  poniard  or  revolver  and  assassinate  the  heads  of  a  government,  simply 
because  they  detest  it,  using  words  formulated  after  the  fashion  of  a  regular 
judgment.  It  is  related  that  the  assassin  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  exclaimed  Sic  semper 
tyrannic!  This  pretentious  phrase,  and  which  indicates  a  preconceived  inten 
tion  to  produce  effect,  is  itself  a  revelation. 

An  American,  of  the  North  or  of  the  South,  who  had  made  up  his  mind  to 
commit  so  horrible  a  crime,  would  never  have  thought  of  displaying  this  theat 
rical  exhibition,  and  parading  a  Latin  ([notation  under  circumstances  so  terrible. 
One  sees  there  a  fanatical  adept  from  that  school  which  has  made  th'e  assassin 
a  political  medium,  which  proclaims  the  holiness  of  insurrection,  and  makes  a 
man  the  judge  of  the  head  of  the  state,  and  the  executioner  under  the  warrant 
which  he  has  delivered  against  him. 


158  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

These  assassins  would  recoil  from  a  crime  against  one  in  their  own  station 
of  life  ;  but  they  have  no  hesitation  in  attempting  the  life  of  a  sovereign — of  a 
man  who  is  the  representative  of  a  policy.  Sic  semper  tyrannis !  exclaimed 
Booth  over  the  body  of  his  victim.  On  reading  this  kind  of  sentence,  which 
would  be  ridiculous  if  it  were  not  odious  by  the  act  which  it  seemed  to  have 
inspired,  it  is  easy  to  understand  that  in  his  own  mind  he  thought  he  was  per 
forming  the  part  of  a  great  citizen.  It  is  like  an  echo  of  the  homage  done  by 
Garibaldi  at  Naples,  on  the  day  when  he  decreed  to  Agesilas  Milano  the  title 
of  "  The  Country's  Martyr."  Booth  had  to  speak  Latin  to  make  himself  recog 
nized  in  the  land  of  liberty,  where  he  accomplished  his  crime.  He  had  to 
speak  the  language  of  Brutus  to  reveal  his  origin,  and  to  show  plainly  that  he 
belonged,  by  the  nature  of  the  deed,  to  the  Old  World.  There  is  only  one 
feeling  throughout  all  France  against  this  odious  assassination,  which  counts 
three  victims ;  unfortunately  the  public  conscience  is  too  often  moved  by  events 
of  this  nature. 

What  will  be  the  consequences  of  the  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  of  that  of 
Mr.  Seward  ?  It  is  necessary  to  know,  first  of  all,  how  the  Americans  interpret 
this  odious  act.  If,  in  their  anger  and  excitement,  they  desire  that  the  respon 
sibility  of  the  abominable  deeds  of  the  assassins  should,  in  the  general  opinion, 
weigh  upon  the  whole  of  a  valorous  and  chivalric  nation,  incalculable  evils  may 
be  the  result.  If,  on  the  contrary,  taking  a  more  just  view  of  things,  they  con 
sider  that  the  heinousness  of  the  crime  should  fall  only  on  the  heads  of  the 
guilty  parties,  the  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  will  not  plunge  the  country  into  a  new 
civil  war,  which  would  not  be  long  before  it  degenerated  into  complete  anarchy. 
But  will  the  friends  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  have  sufficient  wisdom  to  render  this  last 
homage  to  the  political  idea  of  the  President  of  the  United  States?  They 
ought  to  have,  out  of  respect  to  the  memory  even  of  him  whom  they  so  properly 
lament 

GUSTAVE  JANICOT. 


ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

This  crime,  as  may  be  supposed,  has  produced  unutterable  emotion  and 
profound  indignation  in  the  United  States.  It  is  the  first  outrage  committed 
against  the  federal  authorities  since  the  American  republic  was  founded. 
America  had  not  been  previously  dishonored  by  a  political  assassination. 

Mr.  LINCOLN  died  a  martyr  for  the  cause  of  the  Union,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  foresee  what  will  be  the  consequences  of  his  death,  under  the  present  circum 
stances,  as  critical  as  they  are  solemn.  By  his  firmness,  by  his  good  sense,  and 
also,  let  us  say,  by  the  moderation  with  which  he  showed  himself  to  be  animated, 
especially  since  the  decisive  victory  gained  over  the  confederates,  it  is  probable 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       159 

that  Mr.  LINCOLN  would  have  succeeded  in  mastering  the  situation,  in  calming 
excited  passions,  in  pacifying  the  South,  and  in  reconstituting  the  Union  on 
conditions  honorable  to  all.  The  task  before  him  was  full  of  difficulties,  but 
everything  encouraged  the  hope  that  he  would  solve  that  which  stood  in  the 
way  of  pacification  as  successfully  as  he  had  surmounted  the  obstacles  and 
dangers  of  war-  The  workman  was  more  than  ever  necessary  for  the  work 
which  had  to  be  carried  out  to  a  successful  issue.  He  alone,  perhaps,  was  able 
to  inspire  the  southern  States  with  sufficient  confidence  to  treat  of  their  sub 
mission  with  a  feeling  of  security,  for  he  had  determined  to  hold  out  to  them  a 
friendly  hand.  He  had  so  determined  because  he  proposed  to  himself  no  other 
object  than  to  restore  the  federal  edifice  on  the  basis  of  perfect  equality,  such 
as  had  been  founded  by  Washington  and  Jefferson,  the  fathers  of  the  American 
republic,  and  he  renewed  the  engagement  to  do  so  three  days  before  he  fell  from 
the  ball  of  an  assassin.  It  is  certain  that  at  that  hour  he  alone  had  sufficient 
authority  and  influence  to  restrain  the  party  to  whom  he  owed  his  elevation  to 
the  presidency,  and  to  bring  it  back  to  less  hostile  feelings  towards  the  South, 
which  that  party  desired  to  punish  for  its  rebellion  by  treating  it  as  a  conquered 
country.  Therefore,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  in  him  the  United  States  have  lost 
more  than  an  honest  and  able  President.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  passions, 
instead  of  being  calmed,  will  be  excited  afresh ;  that  hatreds  will  be  still  more 
embittered;  and  that  the  South,  seeing  that  it  has  henceforth  to  do  with  pitiless 
conquerors,  will  be  guided  only  by  despair,  and  renew  the  struggle.  The  worst 
solution  that  could  be  arrived  at  would  be  that  which  imposed  on  the  South 
dishonorable  conditions,  and  placed  it  in  a  state  of  inferiority  and  subjection 
to  the  North.  The  South  might  now,  in  consequence  of  exhaustion,  bear  the 
weight  of  these  two  chains,  but  it  would  not  submit  to  them  without  impa 
tience  and  anger,  with  the  firm  resolution  to  break  them  asunder  as  soon  as 
they  recovered  their  strength.  The  shadow  of  the  Union  thus  built  up  again 
would  be  constantly  threatened  with  dissolution.  The  United  States  would  ex 
haust  their  strength  in  the  efforts  to  maintain  it,  without  being  able  to  succeed. 
To  establish  a  durable  and  advantageous  reconciliation,  an  appeal  must  be 
made  to  concord :  the  North  must  make  up  its  mind  to  offer  to  the  South,  not 
the  hand  of  revenge,  but  a  fraternal  hand.  It  is  necessary  that  the  treaty  of 
peace  should  be  ratified  by  unmistakable  evidence  of  a  peaceful  and  forgiving 
disposition.  That  was  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  ambition  ;  and  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  equal  to 

that  patriotic  task. 

A.  ESCANDE. 


160  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[From  the  Gazette  de  France,  April  1)0,  1865.] 

POLITICAL  LETTER   TO   THE   DIRECTOR   OF   THE    GAZETTE  UE  FRANCE, 

APRIL  29,  1865. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND:  What  frightful  news  this  is  about  the  assassinations  in 
America.  If  the  chief  victim  was  not  the  worthiest  of  Washington's  successors, 
we  should  have  to  ask  ourselves  whether  the  horrible  event  of  the  night  of  the 
14th  of  April  really  took  place  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  What!  in  an 
open  theatre,  by  the  side  of  his  wife  ;  in  the  midst  of  an  enthusiastic  and  grate- 
fid  population  ;  on  the  morrow  of  the  greatest  success  which  the  Union  has 
ever  obtained  since  its  foundation,  this  excellent  man — this  great  and  honest 
citizen,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN — killed  by  a  shot  from  the  revolver  of  a  fanatic.  The 
assassin,  a  comedian,  jumping  on  to  the  stage,  and  brandishing  the  classic  dagger, 
exclaiming  to  the  affrighted  public  the  stupid  phrase,  S'ic  semper  tyrannic  ! 
No,  really — and  you  are  right  in  saying  so— that  is  not  American.  I  remember 
but  one  assassination  adorned  with  a  Latin  quotation,  but  it  took  place  in 
Florence,  and  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Lorenzino  treacherously  killed  his 
cousin,  Alexandre  de  Medicis,  who  was  in  reality  a  tyrant,  and  left  in  writing  near 
the  body  the  line  of  Virgil  on  Brutus  :  Vincet  amor  patrios  laudisque  immensa 
cupido !  To  tell  you  what  I  really  think,  the  great  want  of  fame,  of  which  the 
poet  speaks,  has  been,  I  believe,  the  real  incentive  to  these  savage  deeds.  In 
this  way  the  public  is  found  to  be  an  involuntary  accomplice.  Perhaps  it  is  our 
duty  to  remind  the  public  of  it  on  the  occasion  of  every  fresh  attempt  to  acquire 
favor  by  the  perpetration  of  a  crime.  At  all  events,  John  Wilkes  Booth,  the 
assassin  of  the  President,  and  the  accomplice  who  at  the  same  time  stabbed  the 
Prime  Minister,  Mr.  Seward,  may  be  sure  that  they  will  never  find  apologists, 
although  they  may  take  their  place  in  the  gallery  of  historical  assassins.  Like 
Ravaillac,  they  killed  in  the  bud  the  hope  of  an  entire  people,  and  perhaps  des 
troyed  the  peace  of  a  whole  continent.  Like  Louvel,  Fieschi,  and  Orsini,  they 
have,  besides  shedding  innocent  blood,  sacrificed  the  life  and  honor  of  the  cause 
they  desired  to  save.  Who,  I  ask,  will  dare  to  undertake  their  defence?  If 
the  whole  of  Europe  condemned  them — if  the  North  rises  up  in  indignation — 
what  will  not  the  South  do,  more  cruelly  afflicted  by  the  crime  committed,  in 
spite  of  her,  in  her  name,  than  by  the  taking  of  Richmond  and  the  capitulation 
of  Lee  ? 

Moreover,  it  would  be  just — it  would  be  providential — if  the  tragic  denoue 
ment  served  at  least  to  bring  back  to  a  greater  sense  of  equity — I  do  not  say 
of  fjivor — the  feeling  of  our  country  respecting  the  quarrel  which  for  four  years 
has  stained  America  with  blood.  How  far  we  are  removed  from  the  period 
when  the  young  noblesse  of  France,  represented  by  the  Latayettes,  the  Rocham- 
beaus,  the  Castries,  the  Noailles,  the  Broglies,  the  Segurs,  the  Cliastellaxes,  and 
so  many  others,  crossed  the  seas  to  defend,  against  the  attacks  of  England,  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       1G1 

independence  of  some  millions  of  Quakers  and  Methodists.  At  the  present 
day,  on  the  contrary,  the  prejudices  against  America  proceed  from  the  English 
journals,  and  are  accepted,  without  dispute,  by  the  public  of  France  Because 
certain  agents  of  the  United  States  (all  of  the  south,  be  it  said,  by  the  way) 
were  able,  before  the  presidency  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  to  alienate  themselves  from 
the  cabinets  to  which  they  were  accredited ;  because  numerous  piratical  expe 
ditions — all  southern — had  gone  to  brave  Spain  at  Cuba,  and  England  at  Canada 
because  the  evident  interest  of  these  same  southern  States,  which  has  already 
taken  Texas  from  Mexico,  would  be  immediately  to  oppose  their  intervention 
to  ours  in  that  unfortunate  country ;  because  President  Monroe  (a  southerner, 
and  appointed  by  the  South)  determined,  forty-five  years  ago,  that  America 
should  remain  to  the  Americans,  and  that  Europe  should  never  be  permitted  to 
interfere  in  any  way  whatever  with  her  affairs  ;  because,  in  short,  the  people 
of  Washington  are  too  apt  to  assume  the  airs  of  the  New  World,  claiming  a 
right  to  disdain  the  Old,  is  that  any  reason  to  forget  all  principles  of  policy,  and 
to  labor  with  England  for  the  dismemberment  of  that  great  republic  which  we 
have  contributed  so  greatly  to  create — of  that  great  navy,  which  would  be  for 
us  so  natural  and  so  powerful  an  ally  ?  The  worst  of  it  would  be,  that  the 
Americans  would  discern,  under  this  systematic  hostility  to  the  maintenance  of 
the  Union,  a  vague  fear,  unavowed  and  unavoidable,  of  witnessing  the  success 
of  the  experiment  of  liberty  without  anarchy,  and  of  democracy  without  Caesar- 
ism,  of  which  the  United  States  has  afforded  us,  up  to  the  present  time,  the 
seductive  spectacle. 

We  must  have  the  courage  to  acknowledge  that,  in  this  direction,  as  well 
as  many  others,  public  opinion  has  gone  back.  Drawn  towards  the  United 
States  by  the  lingering  idea  of  her  monarchy,  and  the  first  bound  of  her  revo 
lution,  she  has  seen  herself  led  on  to  an  imitation  of  ancient  Home  by  the 
splendors  and  despotism  of  the  first  empire.  Washington  and  Napoleon 
belonged  to  history  within  a  few  years  of  each  other.  I  defy  any  one  to  admire, 
at  one  and  the  same  time,  the  simple  grandeur  of  the  liberator  of  America  and 
the  theatrical  genius  of  the  dominator  of  Europe. 

However  that  may  be,  the  foundation  of  the  American  republic  is  a  part 
of  our  history  and  national  policy — not  less  gloriously  so  than  the  crusades,  or 
the  struggle  between  the  house  of  France  and  that  of  Austria.  It  should  remain 
for  us  a  monarchical  tradition,  and  of  the  brightest  epoch,  since  it  dates  from 
Louis  XVI,  and  from  '89.  On  this  ground  I  venture  to  say  lhat  no  journal  has 
been  more  directly  identified  with  the  republic  than  the  Gazette  de  France. 

But,  I  shall  be  asked,  cannot  America  be  respected  without  sacrificing  the 
South  to  the  North  ?  Ought  we  to  Ibrget  Louisiana  was  French  up  to  the  epoch 
when  the  First  Consul  sold  that  beautiful  province  tor  eighty  millions  ?  Do  we 
not  know  that  slavery  was  the  pretext  and  not  the  cause  of  the  war  which  lias 
just  been  brought  to  a  close  ? 

21 


1G2  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

You  will  doubtless  recollect  that  admirable  passage  in  Tocqueville's  book, 
where  he  describes,  from  the  quarter-deck  of  his  steamer,  the  two  banks  of  the 
Ohio,  one  of  them  belonging  to  the  slave  States,  the  other  to  the  free  States. 
On  the  left  bank  there  are  few  habitations,  and  but  little  going  on  ;  some 
negroes  going  and  coming,  carrying  on  the  work  of  cultivation  indolently  and 
disinterestedly ;  many  forests  not  yet  turned  to  account,  and  the  activity  of 
nature  substituted  for  that  of  man.  On  the  right  bank,  on  the  contrary,  are 
farms,  villages,  magazines  in  great  numbers,  a  variety  of  crops — everywhere  life 
and  industry,  and  the  willing  application  of  manual  labor.  Well,  up  to  within 
late  years,  the  government  of  the  Union  was  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Ohio,  and 
it  was  because  the  elections  of  1860  made  it  pass  to  the  right  bank  that  civil 
war  broke  out.  The  cause  of  the  South,  as  we  have  often  said,  is  that  of  the 
feeble  and  oppressed,  and  that,  we  feel  sure,  is  the  reason  that  has  procured  the 
South  so  many  partisans.  Let  us  be  understood  It  has  never  been  denied 
that  the  southern  confederation  was  inferior  to  its  rival,  not  certainly  in  bravery, 
but  in  the  numerical  strength  of  its  armies  and  resources  The  northern  States 
reckon  from  thirteen  to  fourteen  millions  of  inhabitants ;  the  seceded  States 
only  between  six  and  seven  millions,  not  taking  into  account  the  slave  popula 
tion.  It  is  not  less  true,  that  out  of  eighteen  Presidents  who  have  succeeded 
Washington,  twelve  were  chosen  from  among  the  southerners — slave  owners. 
It  is  equally  true,  too,  that  nearly  all  the  Secretaries  of  State,  charged  with  the 
foreign  relations,  of  the  Presidents  of  the  Senate,  of  the  Speakers  in  the  Cham 
ber,  and  the  Attorneys  General,  of  the  foreign  ministers,  were  also  slave  owners.* 

How  is  this  apparent  anomaly  to  be  explained  ?  In  two  ways,  as  it  seems 
to  me  :  one,  a  general  reason,  the  other  special.  The  first  is,  because  the  rich 
planters  of  the  slave  States  formed  in  the  republic  a  kind  of  aristocracy  of  men 
of  leisure  and  study,  whose  aptitude  made  them  writers,  orators,  statesmen ; 
and  the  military  profession  developed  itself  with  more  facility  among  them  than 
among  the  busy  and  laborious  populations  of  the  Xorth.  The  second  is,  that 
the  maintaining  inviolable  what  they  called  their  "peculiar  institution,"  was 
confounded  by  them  with  the  defence  of  their  own  existence,  while  to  declare 
war  upon  them  would  only  be  to  the  people  of  the  other  States  an  affair  of  pure 
reform  in  a  day  of  an  abuse  of  many  ages'  duration  ;  but  he  was  one  of  those 
Christians  who  see  in  the  negro  a  brother  more  oppressed  and  despised  than 
any  other,  and  that  was  sufficient  for  the  South  to  discern  immediately  that  it 
had  no  other  resource  than  an  appeal  to  force.  Far  from  feeling  themselves 
sufficiently  strong  to  resist  the  North,  the  slave  States  were  obliged  to  gain 
over,  one  by  one,  all  the  States  to  their  "  peculiar  institution,"  either  by  sub 
stituting  slave  labor  for  free  labor  in  the  newly  formed  States,  or  by  making 


*  For  full  details  on  this  subject,  see  the  practical  and  instructive  book  of  M.  Cochin,  on 
the  "  Abolition  of  Slavery. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       163 

themselves  recognized  over  the  whole  territory  of  the  Union,  by  establishing 
the  right  of  pursuit  of  the  fugitive  negro  doctrine,  about  which  they  were  far 
from  coming  to  an  agreement  among  themselves.  Thus  slavery,  vigorously 
upheld  on  one  side,  was  feebly  contested  on  the  other.  Only  this  odious  interest 
was  a  matter  of  life  and  death  for  a  part  of  the  Union,  and  whenever  the  aboli 
tionists  exclaimed  against  slavery  in  the  Congress,  they  were  answered  with  the 
threats  of  immediate  separation ;  and  scarcely  had  Mr.  LINCOLN  been  elected 
President,  when  the  South  drove  out  the  federal  garrison  from  Fort  Sumter, 
and  fired  the  first  shot  of  the  civil  war. 

LINCOLN,  however,  was  not  like  General  Fre"mont,  who  was  one  of  those 
enemies  to  slavery  who  think  to  give  an  account  of  the  progress  of  this  propa- 
gandism.  It  is  sufficient  to  state  that  when  the  war  broke  out  there  wen;  fifteen 
States  where  slavery  was  established,  and  seventeen  free  States,  and  that  the 
negro  population,  which  only  numbered  from  300,000  to  400,000  when  Wash 
ington,  dying,  pronounced  the  manumission  of  those  of  Mount  Vernon,  now 
reckons  from  three  to  four  millions.  It  will  be  seen  whether  it  is  the  North 
which  threatened  the  South,  and  if  it  was  not  time  to  stop  this  gangrene  of 
slavery,  which  by  degrees  would  have  gained  over  all  the  wholesome  members 
of  the  great  American  republic. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  the  worthy  instrument  chosen  by  Providence  to 
commence  this  great  work.  God  grant  that  it  may  be  continued  in  the  same 
spirit  of  moderation  and  justice!  God  grant  that  in  that  country  blood  may 
not  be  answered  with  blood,  and  that  a  private  crime  may  not  be  invoked  as  an 
excuse  for  public  crimes.  "  Yet,  if  God  wills,"  said  LINCOLN  on  the  4th  of 
March  last,  when  he  took  possession  of  the  presidency  for  the  second  time, 
which  was  so  soon  to  terminate  in  his  martyrdom,  "that  it  continue  until  all 
the  wealth  piled  by  the  bondman's  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unrequited 
toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  with  the  lash  shall  be 
paid  by  another  drawn  with  the  sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so 
still  it  must  be  said,  'The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  alto 
gether.' 

"  With  malice  towards  none ;  with  charity  for  all  ;  with  firmness  in  the 
right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we 
are  in;  to  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds;  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne 
the  battle,  and  for  bis  widow  and  his  orphan — to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and 
cherish  a  just  and  lasting  peace  among  ourselves,  and  with  all  nations." 

Do  you  know  any  government  in  Europe  who  can  speak  such  language  as 
this,  and  a  people  who  are  worthy  of  listening  to  it  1  That,  however,  is  the 
language  of  real  power  and  true  liberty.  No  funeral  oration  can  attain  to  the 
simple  and  religious  eloquence  of  these  words,  which  will  remain  as  the  political 
bequest  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  Who  among  us  would  think  of  pitying  him  I 
A  public  man,  he  enters,  by  the  death  which  he  has  received  in  the  full  work 


164  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

of  pacification  after  victory,  into  that  body  of  the  elite  of  the  historic  army  which 
M.  Guizot  once  called  the  battalion  of  Plutarch.  A  Christian,  he  has  just 
ascended  before  the  throne  of  the  final  Judge,  accompanied  by  the  souls  of  four 
millions  of  slaves  created,  like  ours,  in  the  image  of  God,  and  who  have  been 
endowed  with  freedom  by  a  word  from  him. 

LEOPOLD  DE  GAILLARD. 


[  From  the  Gazette  de  France,  May  5,  1865.  ] 

The  lodges  of  Freemasonry  arc  at  work  ;  with  the  symbolical  mallet  and 
trowel  they  make  manifestations  in  honor  of  LINCOLN,  for  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
was  a  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York.  Whether  they  are  produced 
in  the  form  of  harangues  uttered  in  the  workshop,  or  as  addresses  sent  to  RR** 
FF**  of  America,  these  manifestations  are  all  preceded  by  a  special  formality 
peculiar  to  these  mournful  occasions,  a  "  batterie  de  deuil"  followed  by  a  "  batte 
rie  attegresse"  The  lodges  thereby  declare  that  F**  LINCOLN  has  fallen,  like 
Hiram,  from  the  blows  of  the  enemies  to  duty,  and  they  proclaim  him  forever 
honorable,  because  he  has  forever  consolidated,  by  his  life  and  death,  the  foun 
dation  laid  by  Washington,  "  of  that  universal  confederation  of  peoples  of  which 
Freemasonry  has  for  a  long  time  been  the  model  in  the  order  of  philosophy." 

They  also  celebrate  F**  LINCOLN  ;  and  this  is  better,  because  he  has  known 
how  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the  Union  in  the  most  difficult  circumstances,  with 
out  exceptional  laws,  without  having  recourse  to  dictatorial  power,  and  being 
able  to  preserve  the  preponderance  of  the  civil  power. 

AUBRY  FOUGAULT. 


[From  the  Journal  des  Debats,  April  28,  18(>f>.] 

Fresh  details  have  been  received  of  the  horrible  crime  of  which  Mr.  LIN 
COLN,  Mr.  Seward,  and  his  son  have  just  fallen  victims.  This  triple  assassina 
tion,  it  is  asserted,  is  connected  with  a  vast  conspiracy  against  the  principal 
heads  of  the  government  of  the  United  States.  We  must  needs  hope  that  there 
is  some  exaggeration  in  this  news,  and  that  the  abominable  deed  which  has 
excited  one  universal  feeling  of  horror  is  the  work  of  some  isolated  fanatic.  If 
it  were  otherwise,  all  humanity  would  be  immediately  afflicted.  The  United 
States  have  sustained  an  irreparable  loss,  and  we  must  go  back  to  Washington 
to  find  a  citizen  who  has  done  the  great  American  republic  so  much  service  as 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       165 

the  noble  and  unfortunate  President  who  has  just  fallen  by  the  hand  of  a  mis 
erable  assassin. 

Mr.  LINCOLN  was  born  in  1809.  He  was  not  an  old  man,  and  yet  it  can  be 
affirmed  that  no  career  of  a  statesman  was  ever  better  fulfilled.  In  him  were 
found,  if  not  the  brilliant  qualities  which  are  perhaps  thought  too  much  of  in 
Europe,  those  solid  virtues  of  a  citizen,  and  that  strong  good  sense,  which  seem 
ic  be  peculiar  to  the  American  race.  History,  in  fact,  will  tell  with  what  firm 
ness,  and,  at  the  same  time,  with  what  moderation,  he  knew  how  to  direct  the 
policy  of  the  Union  in  circumstances  of  the  greatest  difficulty ;  and  without 
having  recourse  to  exceptional  laws,  without  arming  himself  with  dictatorial 
power,  he  passed  victoriously  through  a  crisis  in  which  his  country  might  have 
been  destroyed ;  and  it  was  at  the  very  moment  when,  at  last,  he  was  effecting 
the  great  object  of  his  patriotic  exertions,  when  he  was  about  to  witness  the 
reconstruction  of  the  American  country  in  all  its  integrity,  that  this  great  citizen 
was  carried  off  by  a  premature  and  bloody  death.  Fate  sometimes  deals  those 
blind  and  cruel  blows  which  fill  with  consternation  and  grief  all  those  for  whom 
patriotism  and  virtue  are  not  mere  idle  words.  America  will  revere  the  memory 
of  LINCOLN  equally  with  that  of  Washington  ;  these  two  names  will  be  written 
together  in  her  gratitude ;  for  if  the  one  founded  the  Union,  the  other  saved  it 
from  destruction. 

Men  ask  themselves  now  what  will  be  the  political  consequences  of  the 
death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  ?  We  do  not  think  the  situation 
of  affairs  will  be  sensibly  modified  by  this  catastrophe.  Certainly  it  is  far  from 
our  intention  to  make  the  cause  of  the  South  responsible  for  the  crime  of  a  few 
fanatics,  but  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  the  horror  inspired  by  an  act  so  atro 
cious  can  have  no  other  effect  than  to  lessen  the  sympathies  which  the  seces 
sionists  have  met  with  in  Europe.  Already  materially  overcome,  or  very  nearly 
so,  they  are  made  to  sustain  a  moral  defeat.  What  is  most  to  be  feared  is  lest 
the  North  in  its  exasperation  should  allow  itself  to  be  drawn  into  a  system  of 
reprisals,  or  at  least  that  the  sentiments  of  conciliation,  of  which  it  began  to 
give  the  secessionists  proofs,  would  give  place  to  feelings  of  an  opposite  nature, 
and  that  it  would  take  advantage  of  its  victory  to  impose  hard  conditions  upon 
the  South  However,  we  have  too  much  confidence  in  the  good  sense  of  the 
North  to  entertain  any  serious  apprehensions  on  this  head.  Its  legitimate 
indignation  will  not  make  it  deviate  from  the  line  of  moderation  and  prudence 
which  it  has  pursued  up  to  the  present  time.  It  will  understand  that  the  best 
way  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  is  not  to  wander  away  from 
the  political  traditions  of  this  great  statesman. 

Like  the  French  press,  the  press  of  England  is  unanimous  in  the  expres 
sion  of  horror  which  is  felt  at  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  An  address  of  condolence  has  been  presented  to  the  American  minister 
by  the  members  of  the,  House  of  Commons. — Leading  article. 


166  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABKAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[From  the  Journal  des  Debats,  April  29,  1865.] 

The  Index,  of  London,  publishes  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Times  by  Mr 
Mason,  representative  of  the  southern  States  in  England.  This  letter  is  a  reply 
to  the  despatch  of  Mr.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War,  to  Mr.  Adams,  on  the  subject 
of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  We  can  easily 
understand  that  Mr.  Mason  should  desire  to  exculpate  his  party  from  all  com 
plicity  in  so  abominable  a  crime ;  but  we  cannot  help  lamenting  the  violent 
tone  of  his  letter.  This  was  not  the  moment  to  give  himself  up  to  bitter 
recriminations ;  and  every  one  will  be  of  opinion  that  the  observations  by  which 
Mr.  Mason  endeavors  to  invalidate  certain  assertions  made  by  Mr.  Stanton, 
would  have  had  much  more  weight  had  they  been  of  a  more  moderate  character. 
The  sad  impression  produced  upon  all  minds  by  the  murder  of  Mr.  LINCOLN 
will  put  the  language  of  the  representative  of  the  South  in  a  light  all  the  more 
unfavorable. — Editorial. 

On  learning  the  terrible  calamity  which  has  just  snatched  from  the  repub 
lic  of  the  United  States  its  best  citizen,  our  mind  was  immediately  carried  back 
beyond  the  last  four  years  to  that  sad  moment  when  the  news  of  the  election  of 
Mr.  LINCOLN  and  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  came  across  the  Atlantic  almost 
simultaneously.  Then  every  one  among  us  took  sides — each  of  us  enrolled 
himself  morally  in  one  of  the  two  armies,  according  to  his  habits  of  thought 
and  the  bent  of  his  inclination.  A  great  many  Frenchmen  have,  in  the  midst 
of  our  barren  revolutions,  and  after  numberless  deceptions,  contracted  a  kind  of 
general  aversion  to  democracy,  and  in  the  eyes  of  those  Frenchmen,  who  are 
now  in  a  frame  of  mind  exactly  the  reverse  to  that  of  their  forefathers  rushing 
to  the  help  of  the  American  republic,  the  probable  fall  of  that  same  republic 
was  not  an  unwelcome  event.  Others  again,  the  friends  of  democracy,  but  of 
a  democracy  disciplined,  guided  by  a  single  master,  or  rather  personified  in  one 
head,  saw  with  not  less  pleasure  the  approach  of  a  dissolution  which  would 
confirm  their  theories,  and  demonstrate  once  more  that  democracy  can  only 
exist  at  the  price  of  liberty.  Fashion,  the  spirit  of  imitation,  our  supposed 
interest  in  the  Mexican  enterprise,  came  in  aid  of  these  sentiments,  and  the 
South  was  so  little  wanting  in  partisans  among  us,  that  hardly  a  fortnight  ago 
the  news  of  the  taking  of  Richmond  was  received  with  an  exclamation  of  regret 
in  the  midst  even  of  the  legislative  chambers. 

[NOTE. — See  the  last  sitting,  on  the  discussion  of  the  address,  and  the  cry 
of  "  So  much  the  worse,"  reported  in  the  Moniteur  of  the  16th  of  April.] 

On  the  other  hand,  the  political  instinct  which  made  enlightened  French 
men  interested  in  the  maintenance  of  the  American  power,  more  and  more 
necessary  to  the  equilibrium  of  the  world — the  desire  to  see  a  great  democratic 
state  surmount  the  terrible  trials,  and  continue  to  give  an  example  of  the  most 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        167 

perfect  liberty,  united  with  the  most  absolute  equality — the  need,  in  short,  of 
lodging  somewhere  a  sympathy,  an  admiration,  and  a  hope  which  were  but.  little 
stimulated  in  the  Old  World,  assured  the  cause  of  the  Nort  h  a  number  of  friends, 
jealous  of  maintaining  the  political  traditions  of  France,  and  the  liberal  spirit 
of  our  country.  We  ourselves  were  of  that  number,  and  we  still  remember  the 
uneasiness  with  which  we  awaited  the  first  words  of  that  President,  then 
unknown,  upon  whom  a  heavy  task  had  fallen,  and  from  whose  advent  to  power 
might  be  dated  the  ruin  or  regeneration  of  his  country.  All  we  knew  was,  that 
h<  had  sprung  from  the  humblest  walks  of  life  ;  that  his  youth  had  been  spent  in 
manual  labor  ;  that  he  had  been  shepherd,  carpenter,  farmer,  rail  layer  ;  that  he 
was  self-taught,  then  raised  by  degrees  in  his  town,  his  county,  and  his  State, 
until  he  became;  the  candidate  of  a  great  party,  and  was  elected  by  the  majority 
of  his  fellow-citizens.  What,  however,  was  this  tavorite  of  democracy  ?  Might 
not  his  elevation  have  been  due  even  to  his  imperfections  ?  Was  it  not  to  be 
leared  that  this  election  was  one  of  those  errors  in  the  choice  of  men  to  which 
democratic  societies  are  so  liable,  ami  which  arc  so  fatal  to  them!  But  as  soon 
as  .Mr.  LINCOLN  arrived  at  Washington,  having  encountered  many  dangers,  and 
been  already  threatened  with  the  knife  of  the  assassin,  as  soon  as  he;  spoke,  all 
our  doubts  and  fears  were  dissipated  ;  and  it  seemed  to  us  that  fate  itself  had  pro 
nounced  in  favor  of  the  good  cause,  since,  in  such  an  emergency,  it  had  given 
to  the  country  an  honest  man. 

He  was  in  fact  an  honest  man,  giving  to  the  word  its  fullest  meaning,  or 
rather  the  sublime  sense  which  belongs  to  it,  when  honesty  has  to  contend  with 
the  severest  trials  which  can  agitate  states,  and  with  events  which  have  an 
influence  on  the  fate  of  the  world.  Very  different  in  this  respect  from  most  of 
the  great  men  whom  it  is  agreed  at  the  present  day  to  admire.  Mr.  LINCOLN 
had  but  one  object  in  view  from  the  day  of  his  election  to  that  of  his  death, 
namely,  the  fulfilment  of  his  duty,  and  his  imagination  never  carried  him  beyond 
it.  The  idea  of  doing  more  or  anything  else  than  his  duty  never  entered  his 
plain  and  upright  mind.  It  is  a  common  error  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  to 
praise  or  blame  Mr.  LINCOLN  for  having  undertaken  spontaneously  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  and  having  plunged  his  country  into  war  to  abolish  it.  It  was  to 
know  him  very  little  to  attribute  such  conduct  to  him,  or  even  such  designs 
Undoubtedly  Mr  LINCOLN  loudly  condemned  the  injustice  of  slavery:  and  while 
deploring  not  long  ago  the  duration  of  the  great  struggle,  he  said  that  it  was, 
perhaps,  in  the;  order  of  Providence  that  civil  war  should  cause  as  much  blood 
to  How  by  the  sword  as  had  been  shed  by  the  lash,  and  that  it  should  destroy 
as  much  wealth  as  had  been  produced  by  the  labor  extorted  from  man  by  the 
iniquitous  violence  of  man.  But  Mr.  LINCOLN  never  confounded  his  feelings 
with  his  duty,  nor  looked  upon  that  duty  in  any  other  light  than  as  lending  to 
the  well-being  of  the  republic  whose  destinies  had  been  committed  to  hi* 
hands.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  felt  a  lively  joy  the  day  when  the  necessities 


163  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

of  the  war  commanded  him,  rather  than  permitted  him,  to  decree  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  and  he  thanked  God  for  being  the  instrument  of  such  an  act.  But, 
he  did  not  hasten  on  that  event  by  a  day  or  an  hour;  and  this  noble  desire  was 
only  second  to  another  ardent  wish,  because  the  performance  of  his  duty — that 
is  to  say,  the  welfare  of  the  United  States — was  foremost  in  all  the  aspirations 
of  his  heart. 

Such  was  this  plain  and  great,  good  man ;  and  if  it  is  desired  to  estimate 
the  value  of  a  man  of  this  kind  to  a  nation  in  danger,  only  conceive  that  the 
United  States,  instead  of  finding  at  their  head  a  resolute  servant,  devoted  to 
duty,  had  fallen  into  other  hands  Let  us  suppose  that,  instead  of  consulting 
only  the  clear  and  strong  voice  of  conscience  and  honor,  Mr.  LINCOLN  had 
asked  himself,  like  a  profound  philosopher,  on  which  side  preponderates  the 
chances  of  this  civil  war ;  if  the  American  Union  was  not  in  fact  too  large  to 
hold  together ;  if  geography  and  the  philosophy  of  history  did  not  decree  its 
dissolution ;  if  Jefferson  Davis  were  not,  after  all,  the  instrument  of  this  great 
change,  and  the  man  expressly  sent  to  accomplish  it — such  reasonings,  sup 
ported  by  a  few  defeats,  (and  defeats  were  not  wanting,)  would  very  quickly 
have  persuaded  Mr.  LINCOLN  that  in  resigning  himself  to  peace  and  the  dissolu 
tion  of  the  republic,  he  was  simply  acting  in  obedience  to  destiny.  These  are 
the  roads  in  which  a  man  may  travel  when  he  looks  for  rules  of  conduct  else 
where  than  in  his  conscience.  But  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  as  far  "removed  from  these 
subtleties  as  light  is  from  darkness.  He  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  religious 
but  his  religion  ranged  itself  by  the  side  of  his  duty.  He  did  not  think  that 
God  could  hold  another  language  to  him  than  that  of  his  conscience ;  and  if  he 
regarded  the  reverses  of  honest  men  as  trials,  it  was  because  he  always  believed 
that  God  was  with  them. 

So  that  nothing  could  shake  him.  He  supported,  both  patiently  and  ably, 
the  ill-will  of  Europe  ;  he  saw  without  alarm  the  armies  of  the  republic  losing 
courage  or  dispersing ;  he  saw  without  fear  and  anger  his  capital  filled  with 
traitors ;  he  carried  on  recruiting  in  the  middle  of  New  York  when  the  city 
was  on  fire.  He  repelled  all  idea  of  a  dictatorship  ;  submitted  himself,  at  the 
period  fixed  by  law,  to  the  popular  election,  and  taking  his  burden  willingly 
upon  him,  set  out  on  his  road,  and  took  no  account  of  obstacles.  A  sense  of 
duty  has  this  extraordinary  advantage  in  it,  that  the  chances  of  life  cannot 
affect  it. 

He  approached  at  last  the  termination  of  so  many  trials.  Guided  by  the 
instinct  of  an  upright  heart,  and  seconded  by  the  able  counsels  of  that  minister 
who  had  the  honor  of  being  attacked  at  the  same  time  with  himself,  and  whose 
deatli  appeared  to  be  equally  necessary  to  the  enemies  of  his  country,  Mr. 
LINCOLN  had  eventually  thwarted  by  victory  the  blind  and  lamentable  enter 
prise  undertaken  by  the  authors  of  the  civil  war,  and  of  which  his  generous 
moderation  was  about  to  be  em-ployed  in  effacing  the  recollection,  lie  could 


EXPRESSIONS  OP  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       169 

display  with  some  degree  of  pride  aloft  and  triumphant  that  Union  flag  which 
had  been  twice  intrusted  to  him,  and  which  he  had  preserved  through  so  many 
perils.  It  is  at  the  moment  that  lie  is  struck  that  the  unforeseen  blow  resounds 
so  grievously  in  the  hearts  of  all  honest  men  in  the  Old  as  in  the  New  World. 
The  Romans  have  held  in  pious  reverence  the  memory  of  a  certain  Fabius 
Dorso,  who,  during  the  siege  of  Rome  by  the  Gauls,  passed  slowly  through  the 
enemy's  lines,  carrying  with  him  respectfully  the  necessary  offerings  for  a 
sacrifice,  which  was  to  be  offered  in  a  day  and  at  a  place  fixed.  It  is  in  a  very 
similar  manner  that  this  honest  man  has  pursued  his  course  for  more  than  four 
years,  holding  religiously  in  his  hands  as  a  sacred  deposit  the  threatened  exist 
ence  of  his  country.  Less  fortunate  than  Fabius  Dorso,  he  has  fallen  at  the 
very  foot  of  the  altar,  and  covered  it  with  his  blood.  But  his  work  was  done, 
and  the  spectacle  of  a  rescued  republic  was  what  he  could  look  upon  with  con 
solation  when  his  eyes  were  closing  in  death.  Moreover,  he  has  not  lived  alone 
for  his  country,  since  he  leaves  to  every  one  in  the  world  to  whom  liberty  and 
justice  are  dear  a  great  remembrance  and  a  pure  example. 

PREVOST  PARADOL. 


[From  the  Journal  des  Debats,  May  3,  1865.] 

We  cannot  but  identify  ourselves  with  the  sentiments  so  warmly  expressed 
by  M.  Rouher,  in  the  speech  delivered  by  him  yesterday  in  the  legislative 
chamber,  and  with  those  of  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys  and  Messieurs  Rouher  and 
Vuitry,  one  to  the  legislative  chamber,  the  other  to  the  senate.  We  feel  only 
one  regret,  which  is  that  the  French  government  has  been  so  tardy  in  publicly 
proclaiming  that  honest  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  had  devoted  his  life  to  the  defence 
of  a  just  cause,  and  that  he  served  it  with  as  much  moderation  as  patriotic  zeal. 
The  acclamation  with  which  the  legislative  chamber  welcomed  the  words  of  M. 
Rouher  says  plainly  enough  what  is  the  opinion  of  France  on  this  subject. 

The  crime  to  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  fallen  a  victim  has  put  an  end  to  the 
hesitations  of  England  as  well  as  those  of  France.  The  House  of  Lords  unani 
mously  adopted  the  address  to  the  Queen  proposed  by  Earl  Russell.  In  the 
House  of  Commons,  Sir  George  Grey  and  Mr.  Disraeli  did  full  justice  to  the 
patient  heroism  which  the  North  displayed,  and  still  displays,  in  the  midst  of 
such  cruel  trials.  Sir  George  Grey,  speaking  in  the  name  of  the  Crown,  said 
in  substance  that  "  if  the  sympathies  of  the  English  people  were  at  first  divided, 
they  were  ranged  on  the  side  of  the  North  as  soon  as  the  news  was  received 
of  the  horrible  atrocities  committed  at  Washington." 

F.  CAMUS. 

22 


170  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[From  the  Journal  des  Debats,  May  4,  ]8G5.] 

It  is  well  to  die;  that  is  a  reflection  we  cannot  help  making  on  reading  the 
funeral  oration  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  s"uch  as  was  pronounced  on  the  1st  of  May 
by  Earl  Russell  in  the  House  of  Lords.  If  the  good  citizen  and  the  honest, 
excellent  man  whom  America  laments  has  waited  a  long  time  for  a  little  justice 
at  the  hands  of  the  English  ministers,  the  justice  now  due  to  him  is  so  much 
the  more  striking  as  it  has  been  slow. 

No  fear  appears  to  be  entertained  in  North  America  about  the  consequences 
of  the  murder  of  LINCOLN.  Certainly,  some  alarm  and  perturbation  were  felt 
at  first ;  here  the  northern  soldiers  wanted  to  massacre  the  prisoners  of  the  south; 
there  old  soldiers  of  the  south,  enrolled  under  northern  banners,  attempted  to 
revolt ;  elsewhere  the  mob  desired  to  burn  the  offices  of  the  journals  of  the 
democratic  party.  All  these  movements  were  very  quickly  and  very  easily  put 
down.  The  taking  of  Mobile,  moreover,  was  another  blow  dealt  to  the  cause 
of  the  South.  The  murder  of  LINCOLN  has  aggravated  the  difficulty  of  treating 
with  the  South,  and  done  nothing  to  embarras  the  victory  of  the  North. 

F  CAMUS. 


[From  the  Journal  des  Debats,  May  8,  18G5.] 

The  grief  and  horror  caused  by  the  murder  of  LIXCOLN  cannot  but  be 
more  deeply  felt  when  we  think  of  the  touching  and  truly  religious  language  in 
which,  a  month  before  his  death,  this  good  man  thanked  his  fellow-citizens  for 
his  re-election.  LINCOLN  felt  nothing  of  the  intoxication  of  triumph ;  victory 
inspired  him  with  no  other  feeling  than  the  satisfaction  arising  from  the  con 
sciousness  of  duty  having  been  performed  and  justice  satisfied.  On  taking 
possession  for  the  second  time  of  the  supreme  magistracy  of  the  republic  he 
said :  "  Neither  party  expected  for  the  war  the  magnitude  or  the  duration 
which  it  has  already  attained.  Neither  anticipated  that  the  cause  of  the  conflict 
might  cease  with,  or  even  before,  the  conflict  itself  should  cease.  Each  looked 
for  an  easier  triumph,  and  a  result  less  fundamental  and  astounding.  Both  read 
the  same  Bible  and  pray  to  the  same  God,  and  each  invoke  His  aid  against  the, 
other.  It  may  seem  strange  that  any  men  should  dare  to  ask  a  just  God's 
assistance  in  wringing  their  bread  from  the  sweat  of  other  men's  faces;  but  let  us 
judge  not,  that  we  be  not  judged.  The  prayers  of  both  could  not  be  answered; 
that  of  neither  has  been  answered  fully.  The  Almighty  has  His  own  purposes. 
'  "Woe  unto  the  world  because  of  offences  !  for  it  must  needs  be  that  offences 
come ;  but  woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the  offence  cometh.'  If  we  shall  suppose 
that  American  slavery  is  one  of  those  offences  which,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
must  needs  come,  but  which,  having  continued  through  His  appointed  time,  He 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       171 

now  wills  to  remove,  and  that  He  gives  to  both  North  and  South  this  terrible 
war  as  the  woe  due  to  those  by  whom  the  offence  came,  shall  we  discern  therein 
any  departure  from  those  divine  attributes  which  the  believers  in  a  living  God 
always  ascribe  to  him  ?  Fondly  do  we  hope — fervently  do  we  pray — that  this 
mighty  scourge  of  war  may  speedily  pass  away.  Yet,  if  God  wills  that  it  con 
tinue  until  all  the  wealth  piled  by  the  bondman's  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  with  the 
lash  shall  be  paid  by  another  drawn  with  the  sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand 
years  ago,  so  still  it  must  be  said,  '  The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and 
righteous  altogether.' "  These  were  nearly  the  last  words — the  novisslma  verba 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN — and  man  may  meet  his  God  with  calmness  when  a 

violent  death  snatches  him  from  this  world  with  sentiments  like  these. 
*  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 

JOHN  LEMOINE. 


[From  The  Monde,  April  27,  1865.] 

We  have  no  desire  to  pronounce  a  precipitate  judgment ;  what  is  to  be 
wished  for  the  sake  of  honor  and  humanity  is,  that  this  odious  outrage  may 
have  been  the  work  of  some  isolated  fanatic.  It  would  be  too  sad  a  spectacle 
to  see  a  lost  cause  replying  by  assassination  to  the  magnanimity  of  its  con 
querors. 

It  may  be  affirmed,  moreover,  that  this  odious  deed  is  also  a  useless  crime. 
Mr.  LINCOLN  dies  surrounded  with  the  purest  glory  that  ever  crowned  a 
statesman ;  but  his  work  will  survive  him,  and  the  greatest  victory  of  liberty 
will  not  have  been  won  in  vain.  The  mission  designed  by  Providence  for  the 
United  States  does  not  depend  upon  the  life  of  one  man,  and  that  liberty  which 
created  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  which  he  has  served  so  well,  will  infallibly  raise  up 
worthy  successors  to  him. 

GUSTAVE  ISAMBERT. 


[  From  the  Opinion  Nationale,  April  28,  1865.  ] 

It  is  with  profound  grief  that  we  yesterday  received  the  news  of  the 
abominable  crime  which  has  so  suddenly  extinguished  in  the  United  States  a 
noble  and  precious  life. 

President  LINCOLN  was  one  of  those  men  who  do  honor  to  their  country, 
to  the  age  in  which  they  live,  and  to  all  humanity.  The  American  republic 
never  produced  a  better,  a  greater  citizen. 

Mr.  LINCOLN  was  the  embodiment  of  duty.  He  knew  but  one  road — the 
right  line — and  to  admirable  perseverance  he  joined  a  loftiness  of  view,  a  cor- 


172  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

rectness  of  judgment,  a  moderation,  a  generosity  of  sentiment  which  inspired 
respect,  commanded  admiration,  and  elicited  sympathy. 

Mr.  Seward,  whose  life  we  still  hope  will  be  preserved,  is  himself  a  man 
of  integrity — a  remarkable  politician — a  diplomatist  of  skill  and  tact,  altogether 
unexceptionable,  which  he  has  proved  under  circumstances  peculiarly  difficult,  in 
warding  off  from  his  country  the  constantly  threatening  danger  of  foreign  com 
plications. 

One  thing  only  can  console  us  in  this  heavy  misfortune :  the  crime  will 
remain  an  abortive  one.  The  Union,  re-established  by  President  LINCOLN,  will 
be  free  from  all  attacks  after  the  last  and  decisive  victories  of  Grant  and  his 
generals.  We  will  say  more.  It  is  in  the  nature  of  these  frightful  outrages 
against  moral  and  social  order  to  recall  men  to  the  wholesome  appreciation  of 
things,  to  the  necessity  of  concord,  and  the  importance  of  fraternity;  and  the 
assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  will  lead  to  the  more  speedy  return  to  the  Union 
of  the  defenders  of  the  secessionists'  cause,  who  are  in  a  state  of  alarm  and 
consternation  at  a  crime  of  which  they  are  innocent,  but  which  was  none  the 
less  committed  in  the  name  of  their  cause. 

It  is  true  that  on  the  6th  of  April  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis  published  a  procla 
mation  in  which  he  declared  his  intention  to  carry  on  war;  but  this  manifest 
was  previous  to  the  surrender  of  Lee  and  his  army,  and  the  valiant  general  who 
laid  down  his  arms  in  order  to  avoid  a  perfectly  useless  shedding  of  blood, 
morally  obliged  Mr.  Davis  to  give  up  a  struggle  which  henceforward  could  hold 
out  no  possible  hope  of  success. 

If  he  persisted  it  would  prove  that  passion  had  the  mastery  of  his  reason, 
and  that  pride  goes  for  much  in  that  ill-understood  patriotism  which  has  done 
nothing  but  heap  disasters  upon  disasters  and  ruin  upon  ruin. 

If,  besides,  the  conduct  of  General  Lee  had  not  enlightened  Mr.  Jefferson 
Davis,  the  blood  which  has  just  flowed  at  Washington  under  the  steel  of  assas 
sins,  would,  no  doubt,  bring  him  to  his  senses,  if  it  were  only  to  ward  off  an 
accusation  which  would  not  fail  to  be  made,  that  of  having  seen  in  the  crime  of 
the  assassins  an  unexpected  piece  of  good  fortune,  and  having  sought  to  turn  it 
to  account  in  resuscitating  a  ruined  cause. 

In  another  column  will  be  found  some  circumstantial  details  of  the  great 
assassination,  and  we  devote  a  special  article  to  the  policy  of  President  LINCOLN. 

The  emotion  caused  by  the  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  been  immense  in 
England,  and  the  London  journals  manifest  with  energy  the  horror  with  which 
this  frightful  outrage  has  inspired  them. 

An  address  of  condolence  has  been  presented  to  the  American  minister 
by  the  members  of  the  House  of  Commons.     Business  has  been  suspended  at 
the  Exchange  and  in  the  markets ;  and  the  most  enthusiastic  partisans  of  the 
secessionist  cause  have  themselves  expressed  the  most  intense  indignation.— 
Editorial. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  173 

MR.  LINCOLN. 

The  odious  crime  of  which  the  President  of  the  United  States  has  just 
become  the  victim  will  be  felt  as  a  public  misfortune  throughout  the  whole  of 
the  civilized  world.  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  had  that  rare  good  fortune,  for  a  states 
man,  to  attain  to  power  by  the  idea  of  which  he  had  become  the  personification, 
and  of  having  been  able  to  bring  to  a  close  the  immense  task  which  events, 
much  more  than  his  own  will,  had  imposed  upon  him ;  an  abolitionist  by  con 
viction,  but,  above  all,  a  practical  and  experienced  man,  he  would  not,  perhaps, 
have  taken  the  initiative  in  the  formidable  question  of  slavery,  if  the  precipita 
tion  of  the  South  had  not  found  in  the  elevation  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  to  the  presi 
dential  chair  a  cause  or  a  pretext  for  an  insurrection  which  had  been  long 
premeditated.  Provoked  by  an  open  revolt,  which  permitted  him  neither  to 
fall  back  nor  to  think  of  a  compromise,  Mr.  LINCOLN  accepted  without  hesitation 
the  heavy  responsibility  which  had  fallen  upon  him.  Without  allowing  himself 
to  be  discouraged  by  the  first  reverses,  he  applied  himself  with  invincible 
tenacity  to  create,  to  organize  everything  that  he  wanted — men,  generals,  an 
army.  The  immensity  of  the  pecuniary  sacrifices,  the  mediocrity  of  the  first 
generals  whom  he  found  at  hand,  the  brilliant  successes  of  his  adversaries,  the 
threatening  sympathies  of  Europe,  nothing  stopped  him,  nothing  made  him  go 
on  faster  than  his  own  wisdom  counselled  him  to  do.  It  is  to  be  remarked, 
too,  that,  abolitionist  as  he  was,  he  decided  to  proclaim  the  abolition  of  slavery 
with  a  sort  of  hesitation  peculiar  to  resolute  characters,  who  do  not  easily  make 
up  their  minds  to  go  forward,  precisely  because  they  know  that  they  will  not 
recede. 

At  length,  after  four  years'  exertions,  victory  crowned  his  policy ;  his  fellow- 
citizens,  full  of  confidence  in  him,  conferred  upon  him  a  second  time  the  power 
of  the  presidency.  Skilful  generals,  whom  the  war  had  brought  to  the  surface, 
reduced  and  disarmed  the  insurrection.  Then  this  firm  and  intractable  man, 
who  could  never  be  brought  to  negotiate  with  insurrection,  appeared  in  a  fresh 
light,  and  showed  himself  as  though  he  were  disarmed  by  victory.  The  most 
noble  sentiments  of  conciliation,  a  kind  of  chivalric  delicacy  which  disguises 
from  the  conquered  the  bitterness  of  defeat,  an  anxious  solicitude  to  reconstruct 
the  Union,  with  the  help  even  of  those  who  had  broken  away  from  it,  burst  forth 
spontaneously  in  the  language  of  the  conqueror  of  a  new  type,  and  impressed 
upon  him  a  character  of  modest  grandeur  and  superior  morality  which  is 
refreshing  to  the  mind,  and  makes  one  feel  proud  and  honored  to  belong  to 
human  nature.  The  attitude  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  during  the  last  days  of  his  life, 
and  his  language  with  regard  to  the  southern  States,  form,  with  the  corres 
pondence  so  heroically  simple  exchanged  between  Grant  and  Lee,  a  charac 
teristic  picture  of  which  the  New  World  has  a  right  to  be  proud. 

The  intention  which  guided  the  arm  of  the  assassin  of  LINCOLN  appears 


174  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

also  to  have  inspired  the  outrage  of  which  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son  have  been 
the  victims ;  it  appears  even,  it'  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  the  summary  details 
which  comprise  all  the  information  that  has  at  present  come  to  hand  on  this 
melancholy  subject,  that  it  is  only  by  "a  fortunate  accident  that  Grant  and  the 
Minister  of  War,  Mr.  Stanton,  have  escaped  an  attempt  of  the  same  kind. 

So  painful  an  experience  of  the  furious  passions  left  upon  the  mind  after 
the  defeat  of  the  South,  will  urge  upon  the  principal  civil  and  military  heads 
of  the  Union  a  system  of  personal  precautions,  the  necessity  for  which  is  only 
too  grievously  demonstrated.  Let  us  hope  that  it  will  occasion  no  other  modi 
fication  of  the  generous  policy  inaugurated  by  LINCOLN,  and  which  will  be  for 
his  fellow-citizens  the  best  and  most  prolific  portion  of  their  inheritance. 

As  for  Europe,  it  will  feel  acutely  the  premature  death  of  the  great  and 
good  man  whom  America  has  just  lost.  His  firmness,  moderation,  and  patriot 
ism,  sincere  and  without  ostentation,  were  a  pledge  that,  entirely  absorbed  with 
the  desire  of  healing  the  deep  wounds  inflicted  by  civil  war,  he  would  not 
divert  attention  with  foreign  broils  so  as  to  render  the  American  people  careless 
of  their  internal  reorganization. 

The  death  of  LINCOLN  puts  everything  in  a  state  of  uncertainty.  Until 
now,  Vice-President  Johnson,  whom  this  melancholy  accident  has  invested  with 
power,  was  the  object  of  certain  prejudices,  which  it  is  asserted  have  no  foun 
dation.  Do  not  let  us  be  in  a  hurry  to  judge  the  matter.  Responsibility  carries 
along  with  it  much  deliberation  and  caution ;  and,  then,  the  force  of  public 
opinion,  the  power  of  democracy,  that  sound  collective  sense  which  comes  from 
the  midst  of  a  free  population,  always  well  informed  upon  public  affairs,  and 
watched  over  by  an  unshackled  press,  and  accustomed  to  decide  upon  their 
own  interests — all  this  assures  us  that  the  fate  of  the  great  American  republic 
cannot  be  endangered  by  the  death  of  its  Chief  Magistrate,  however  superior 
or  great  a  man.  There  are,  in  the  depths  of  democracy,  valuable  reserves  of 
character  and  unknown  talents,  which  necessity  will  raise  to  the  surface.  We 
are  afflicted  with  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  but  it  throws  us  into  no  uneasi 
ness.  And,  again,  why  should  we  grieve  ?  Since  we  are  all  born  to  die,  who 
could  dream  of  so  desirable  a  death  ! 

Have  not  the  duties  of  LINCOLN'S  career  been  fulfilled  ?  Is  not  his  work 
finished  1  And  does  not  his  triumphant  death  lend  a  tragic  brilliancy  to  the 
sober  and  masculine  virtues  of  this  worthy  successor  of  Washington  ? 

R.  DE  GUERAULT. 


The  slave  rebellion  has  closed,  with  a  triple  assassination,  the  terrible 
conflict  which  it  has  sustained  for  four  years  with  the  Washington  government. 
It  was  not  sufficient  for  it  to  have  caused  rivers  of  blood  to  flow  on  the  fields  of 
battle.  It  demanded,  even  after  the  war,  still  more  victims.  It  has  immolated 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       175 

Mr.  LINCOLN,  the  great  citizen ;  a  man  as  conciliatory  as  he  was  energetic ;  the 
head  of  the  state,  who,  finding  himself  confronted  with  the  most  terrible  civil 
war  related  in  history,  has  shown  how,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  to  save  his 
country  and  solve  the  most  difficult  social  problem  of  modern  times. 

The  crime  was  not,  unfortunately,  the  act  of  a  madman,  but  the  result  of 
a  conspiracy,  plotted  by  the  envenomed  partisans  of  slavery.  At  the  moment 
when  one  of  the  assassins,  Wilkes  Booth,  struck  down  Mr.  LINCOLN  at  the 
theatre,  another  stabbed  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  William  H.  Seward,  and 
his  son,  Frederick  Seward,  at  their  own  residence.  This  is  the  intelligence 
sent  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  Stanton,  and  communicated  yesterday  to  the 
London  journals  by  Mr.  Francis  Adams. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  William  Henry  Seward,  and  Frederick  Seward  have 
been  assassinated. 

In  the  presence  of  these  corpses,  which  will  long  dwell  in  our  thoughts, 
before  these  tombs,  which  have  scarcely  closed  over  them,  it  is  well  that 
democracy  should  utter  a  word  of  fraternity. 

Great  reforms  have  not  been  accomplished  but  at  the  price  of  the  lives  of 
the  reformers. 

The  freedom  of  the  blacks  has  been  prefaced  with  the  execution  of  John 
Brown,  and  the  epilogue  is  the  assassination  of  LINCOLN.  That  is  the  order. 
Conquered  reactions  protest  by  the  use  of  hemlock,  the  dagger,  the  funeral 
pile,  and  the  gibbet. 

It  will  always  be  thus  so  long  as  the  dogma  of  the  inviolability  of  human 
life  shall  not  have  penetrated  all  consciences. 

After  John  Brown,  the  scaffold  ceased  to  appear  to  be  a  ligitimate  resort. 
After  LINCOLN,  political  assassination,  the  old  Spartan  doctrine  of  the  sic  semper 
tyrannis,  remains  irredeemably  condemned.  Who  will  profit  by  the  abominable 
act  ?  Will  the  South?  Certainly  not !  The  South  was  only  conquered;  now 
it  is  dishonored.  But  it  is  the  great  republic  now  consecrated  by  martyrdom. 
It  is  the  black  race  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  the  just,  and  it  is  especially  the 
inviolability  of  human  life  that  will  be  benefited  by  the  deed. 

No  more  scaffolds !  No  more  tyrannicide !  It  is  time  that  the  eastern 
doctrine  of  the  redemption  of  blood  should  cease  to  receive  the  consecration  of 
history. 

J.  LABBE. 


[From  the  Opinion  Niitionale,  April  30,  1865.] 

The  funeral  service,  which  we  yesterday  announced  at  the  end  of  our  bul 
letin,  took  place  to-day,  at  12  o'clock,  in  the  Episcopal  chapel,  in  Rue  Bayard, 
being  celebrated  by  the  Rev.  M.  Lamson. 


176  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

The  chapel  was  hung  with  black,  and  ornamented  with  flags  and  escutch 
eons,  with  the  colors  of  the  United  States. 

The  attendance  was  numerous,  and  were  impressed  with  a  deep  sense  of 
the  solemnity  of  the  occasion.  Among  the  French  persons  present  were  the 
following  deputies :  MM.  Berryer,  Jules  Favre,  Eugene  Pelletan,  Jules  Simon, 
Gamier  Pages,  Ernest  Picard,  General  Franconniere,  aide-de-camp  of  Prince 
Napoleon,  and  a  great  many  lawyers,  writers,  and  journalists,  among  whom  were 
MM.  Henri  Martin,  Creinieux,  A.  de  la  Forge,  Floquet,.  Degauve,  Denucques 
Andre  Pasquet,  Dreo,  &c. 

This  mournful  ceremony  had  nothing  in  it  of  apolitical  or  official  character 
and  was  exclusively  religious. 


[  From  the  Opinion  Nationale,  May  ] ,  1 865.  ] 
*#  *****  ## 

We  are  assured  that  Mr.  W.  H.  Seward  is  out  of  danger,  and  America  may 
still  reckon  upon  the  services  of  this  skilful  diplomatist,  who  is  at  the  same  time 
an  honest  man. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  the  federal  securities  have  experienced  no 
depreciation  in  the  different  markets  of  the  United  States.  Such  is  the  power 
of  democratic  institutions,  when  they  are  founded  upon  ripe  judgments,  and 
upon  the  energy  of  religious  sentiment,  which  no  incident,  how  lamentable 
soever,  is  able  to  shake  by  compromising  the  national  credit  and  the  public 
wealth. 


[From  the  Presse,  April  28,  1805.] 
A  DISHONORED  CAUSE. 

How  blind  are  those  assassins  who  take  up  arms  at  the  instigation  of  polit 
ical  hatred  !  They  think  they  strike  the  cause  which  they  detest,  but  it  is  their 
own  cause  which  they  injure  and  which  they  dishonor — the  idiots  ! 

What  has  been  accomplished  by  the  fatal  shot  by  which  President  LINCOLN 
lost  his  life  ?  It  has  abridged  by  some  years,  by  some  months,  by  some  weeks, 
perhaps  by  some  days  only,  the  existence  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  who  might  have 
been  carried  off  by  an  illness,  or  an  accident,  as  a  few  days  before  Mr.  Seward 
was  nearly  killed  by  a  fall  from  a  carriage;  but  the  blow  which  has  deprived  Mr. 
LINCOLN  of  life  has  assured  him  immortality. 

Some  hours  less  in  a  lifetime  !  What  are  they  ?  Can  they  be  put  in  the 
balance  with  succeeding  ages  in  posterity  ? 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       177 

The  history  of  the  republic  of  the  United  States  counts  fourteen  Presidents. 
The  names  of  the  greater  part  of  them  are  already  forgotten,  but  there  are  three 
names  which  will  never  die — those  of  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  LINCOLN. 
That  of  Washington,  personifying  the  lofty  disinterestedness  which  refused  the 
crown  ;  of  Jefferson,  personifying  power  made  illustrious  by  respect  for  liberty  ; 
of  LINCOLN,  personifying  the  devotedness  of  a  man  who  dies  for  having  given 
freedom  to  millions  of  men. 

The  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  will  have  a  withering  effect  upon 
Jefferson  Davis,  if,  with  the  impulse  of  indignation,  shame,  and  grief,  the  first 
act  of  the  president  of  the  Confederate  States  be  not  to  protest,  in  the  name  of 
the  cause  which  he  defended,  against  this  new  appendage  to  war,  which,  if  it 
became  general,  would  descend  from  collective  to  individual  murder — to  the 
usurping  executioner,  constituting  himself  an  avenger  of  faithless  victory.  War 
was  wanting  in  the  process  by  which  this  boasted  crime  might  become  a  quali 
fied  one ;  so  that,  after  having  commenced  war  on  the  field  of  battle,  it  might 
be  ended  in  the  assize  court ! 

Perhaps  this  termination  was  necessary  in  order  that  the  eyes  might  cease 
to  be  blinded  by  the  smoke  of  gunpowder,  and  that  persons  dazzled  with  glory 
should  ask  themselves  what  difference  there  was  between  the  ball  which  might 
have  struck  General  Grant  in  the  theatre  of  war  and  that  which  in  another 
theatre  struck  President  LINCOLN. 

This  is  no  commonplace  suggestion.  Let  it  not  be  said  that  the  soldier 
who  aimed  at  General  Grant  would  have  risked  his  life,  and  that  it  was  not  so 
with  the  assassin  who  fired  the  fatal  shot  at  President  LINCOLN.  Let  the  first 
continue  to  be  called  brave,  but  let  not  the  second  be  called  a  coward.  That 
would  be  neither  true  nor  just.  Wilkes  Booth  and  his  accomplices  were  quite 
aware  that  they  risked  their  lives,  and  when  those  lives  come  to  be  taken  by 
the  executioner,  the  greatest  dishonor  will  not  rest  upon  the  men  personally, 
but  on  their  cause,  if  every  connection  between  them  and  it  be  not,  we  repeat, 
spontaneously  and  solemnly  repudiated  by  president  Davis,  basing  his  submis 
sion  upon  the  horror  with  which  this  outrage  inspired  him,  and,  as  a  pledge  of 
the  sincerity  of  this  submission,  consigning  himself  to  voluntary  banishment. 

For  president  Davis  and  those  of  his  generals  who  have  not  laid  down  Iheir 
arms  there  is  no  other  honorable  course  to  pursue.  If  they  hesitate,  Ihey  arc, 
not  only  lost  but  dishonored,  and  it  will  be  upon  them  that  the  responsibility 
will  justly  fall  of  all  the  excesses  which  an  angry  populace  and  an  irritated  and 
desperate  army  might,  but  we  hope  would  not,  commit  in  the  excitement  of 
anger  and  indignation. 

If  president  Jefferson  Davis  does  not  hasten  to  furnish  this  example  of 

political  candor  and  honesty,  let  him  reckon  no  longer  upon  the  sympathies  of 

Europe,  which  were  attached  1o  his  person  and  his  cause.      In  the  eyes  of  all 

whose  conscience  is  not  perverted  by  passion  there  will  be  only  one  malefactor 

23 


178  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

fallen  still  lower  than  his  accomplices,  the  assassins  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  and 
Frederick  Seward,  and  his  precursor,  the  executioner  of  John  Brown. 

What  a  sorry  cause  was  that  which  commenced  in  November,  1859,  with 
the  destruction  of  John  Brown,  that  glorious  martyr,  whose  firmness  never  for 
sook  him  a  single  moment;  and  which  finished  in  April,  1865,  by  the  assassina 
tion  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  that  imperturbable  President,  who  demonstrated  that 
democracy  had  only  to  spread  open  its  wings  to  soar  from  the  lowest  regions 
to  the  grandest  and  loftiest  elevations. 

Oh  !  let  us  be  believed  when'  we  say  that  the  first  who  will  go  into  mourn 
ing  for  the  illustrious  victim  of  the  stupid  Wilkes  Booth  will  not  be  the  Ameri 
cans  who  have  the  honor  to  belong  to  the  North,  for  the  woodman  LINCOLN  has 
his  successor  naturally  designated  in  the  tanner  Grant ;  it  is  those  who  have 
the  misfortune  to  belong  to  the  South,  since  the  assassination  has  changed  into 
opprobrium  the  prestige  which  at  one  time  attached  to  their  cause. 

EMILE  DE  GIRARDIN. 


[From  the  Presse,  May  1,  1865.] 

Let  us  note  to  the  honor  of  our  old  Europe,  that  it  has  been  grievously 
wounded  by  the  blow  that  has  fallen  upon  LINCOLN.  The  Emperor  has  sent 
one  of  his  aides-de-camp  to  Mr.  Bigelovv,  requesting  the  minister  to  transmit  to 
Washington  the  expression  of  his  sympathy  for  the  deceased  President,  and  the 
horror  he  feels  at  the  crime  which  has  been  committed.  The  English  Parlia 
ment  will  to-morrow  vote  an  address  to  the  government  and  people  of  America. 
The  Italian  Parliament  has  already  voted  an  address,  proposed  by  M.  Crispi, 
and  the  flagstaff  which  bore  the  Italian  colors  on  the  Carignan  palace  was 
draped  with  crape;  at  Brussels  an  immense  meeting  was  held,  to  send  across 
the  Atlantic  the  sympathies  of  the  Belgian  people.  Finally,  at  Berlin,  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  had  a  solemn  manifestation,  and  M.  de  Bismarck  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  new  President,  expressive  of  the  sentiments  of  the  people  and  gov 
ernment  of  Prussia. 

Thus,  across  the  Atlantic,  the  Old  and  New  Worlds  extend  the  hand  to 
each  other  over  the  coffin  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  Extreme  views  and  the  most 
divergent  opinions  meet  around  this  tomb — it  is  because  LINCOLN  was  the  per 
sonification  of  energy  in  the  struggle,  and  wisdom  in  power ;  moderation  in  view 
of  defeat,  and  conscience  in  the  face  of  liberty. 

GEORGES  JAUBERT. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        179 

[From  Le  Pays,  April  28,  1865.] 
MR.  LINCOLN. 

President  LINCOLN  has  fallen  under  the  ball  of  an  assassin,  at  the  moment 
when  the  rare  honor  of  re-election  crowned  with  eclat  his  political  life — at  the 
moment  when  victory  pronounced  definitively  for  the  arms  of  the  North. 

We  are  not  among  those  who  have  approved  of  everything  that  has  been 
done  in  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  administration.  We  have  never  hesitated  to  speak  the 
truth  about  him,  however  severe  it  may  appear  to  have  been.  Upon  points  to 
which  a  portion  of  the  French  press  gave  a  blind  admiration,  we  ourselves,  with 
candor  and  firmness  under  the  loyal  impulse  of  our  conscience,  observed  a  neces 
sary  reserve. 

More  than  once  we  have  had  occasion  to  censure  an  unfortunate  choice — 
more  than  once  to  regret  imprudent  or  illegitimate  acts.  Having  never  been 
the  flatterers  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  we  are,  on  that  account,  more  at  liberty  now  to 
declare  that  we  lament  from  the  bottom  of  our  heart  this  most  cruel  death,  and 
that  we  condemn  in  the  strongest  possible  manner  this  detestable  crime. 

Mr.  LINCOLN  was  an  excellent  man,  and  united  in  himself  everything  which 
can  constitute  the  character  of  a  great  citizen. 

In  the  terrible  crisis  during  which  Providence  put  into  his  hands  the  desti 
nies  of  America,  he  showed  an  unalterable  firmness,  and  a  confidence  beyond 
all  praise  in  the  rightfulness  of  his  mission,  and  in  the  future  of  his  cause. 

Assuredly,  the  American  people  reckon  among  the  glorious  list  of  her 
Presidents  men  who  were,  in  intelligence,  superior  to  Mr.  LINCOLN,  but  there 
were  none  who  were  above  him  in  largeness  of  heart ;  in  the  vigor  of  patriot 
ism  ;  in  tenacity  of  will ;  in  the  energy  of  the  active  faculties.  Thus  these 
masculine  and  simple  characteristics,  with  the  truly  democratic  stamp  of  rough 
ness  and  primitive  austerity,  will  not  fail  to  occupy  an  honorable  place  in  the 
history  of  our  time. 

What  will  be  the  consequences,  in  a  political  point  of  view,  of  this  bloody 
event  ?  That,  however,  is  what  we  shall  soon  learn  ;  moreover  it  would  seem 
to  us  to  be  impious,  at  this  early  hour  of  grief  and  sorrow,  when  so  much  and 
such  mournful  news  is  constantly  reaching  us  from  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

All  that  we  have  at  heart  to-day  is  to  render  sorrowful  homage  to  the 
memory  of  an  honest  man,  struck  down  by  an  assassin  in  the  midst  of  a  renewed 
career  and  a  triumphant  achievement,  and  to  address  to  the  American  nation, 
so  cruelly  deprived  of  their  chief,  the  expression  of  our  sympathy  and  fraternal 
grief. 


180  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[From  La  Patrie,  April  28,  1865.] 
THE  DEATH  OF  MR.  LINCOLN. 

The  violent  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  Has  thrown  the  mind  of  every  one  into 
profound  stupefaction.  Nobody  knows  what  to  think  of  this  assassination,  which 
invests  the  American  question  with  new  complications.  We  dare  not  venture 
to  think  that  this  crime  is  the  work  of  a  political  party,  and  one  hesitates  to 
admit  that  private  revenge  can  have  thus  encompassed  in  its  fury  two  states 
men — the  two  veritable  heads  of  the  government  of  the  North. 

Fatality  weighs  upon  this  unhappy  country,  which  for  four  years  has  been 
devastated  by  an  unjust  war,  and  which,  in  the  day  when  peace  appeared  to  be 
possible,  saw  itself  suddenly  plunged  into  the  most  terrible  eventualities. 

The  first  feeling  inspired  by  such  a  catastrophe  can  be  nothing  but  one  of 
horror.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  motive  of  these  assassins,  there  is  in  this 
act  too  much  baseness  not  to  fill  the  whole  of  Europe  with  indignation.  But 
there  is  another  feeling,  arising  from  the  thought  of  the  troubles  which  the 
murder  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  and  his  minister  may  give  rise  to,  as  well  in  the  north 

as  in  the  south,  and  that  feeling  is  one  of  mingled  apprehension  and  sorrow. 
*  #  *  ****** 

ERNEST  DREOLLE. 


[From  La  Patrie,  May  3,  ]865.] 

Were  we  right  in  saying  that  not  one  of  the  manifestations  on  the  occasion 
of  the  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  by  persons  ever  desirous  to  thrust  themselves  for 
ward,  was  equivalent  to  a  single  one  of  these  simple  and  dignified  measures 
taken  by  the  government  ? 

The  sittings  held  yesterday  in  the  senate  and  the  legislative  chamber  will 
answer  for  us. 

In  the  first  place,  there  is  a  letter  addressed  by  M.  Drouyn  de  Lhuys  to 
our  charge"  d'affaires  at  Washington,  which  is  as  remarkable  for  its  mode  of 
expression  as  for  the  depth  of  feeling  evinced  in  it.  Its  language  responds  to 
public  opinion,  outraged  as  it  is  by  the  assassination  of  the  14th  of  April;  it  is 
also  the  kind  of  language  which  should  be  held  by  the  minister  of  a  government 
remaining  neutral  in  the  struggle  by  which  America  was  divided. 

In  the  legislative  chamber  it  was  M.  Rouher  who  did  homage  to  the 
memory  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  in  the  senate  M.  Vuitry  discharged  that  office. 
Then  the  presidents  of  the  two  chambers  became  in  eloquent  terms  the  inter 
preters  of  the  sentiments  of  their  colleagues. 

The  manifestation,  therefore,  was  complete  and  truly  national.  MM. 
Rouher,  Vuitry,  Schneider,  and  Troplong  vibrate  in  America  with  the  force 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       181 

they  deserve.  M.  Rouher  desires  to  see  in  North  Americans  "an  allied  and 
friendly  people ;"  M.  Schneider  desires  peace  ;  M.  Troplong  acknowledges,  with 
truth,  that  "  America  has  passed  through  more  grievous  trials  than  ever  fell  to 
the  lot  of  a  country  founded  on  liberty  !" 

May  the  future  justify  the  confidence  of  the  minister  of  state  !  May  it 
satisfy  the  desires  of  M.  Schneider,  and  may  the  trials  spoken  of  by  M.  Trop 
long  us  having  been  endured  in  North  America  speedily  cease!  That  is  the 
wish  which  we  also  entertain  from  the  bottom,  of  our  hearts. 

ERNEST  DREOLLE. 


[From  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  May  1,  1805.] 

During  the  last  fortnight  the  news  from  the  United  States  has  brought  us 
the  greatest  political  consolation  which  liberal  opinion  has  received  for  the  last 
fifteen  years,  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most  poignant  griefs  which  could 
be  felt  by  the  afflicted  spectators  of  the  most  tragical  of  human  events. 

Sorrow  has  come  at  last.  Mr.  LINCOLN,  who  for  four  years  had  sustained 
in  the  midst  of  difficulties  and  the  most  cruel  trials  that  a  nation  could  pass 
through,  the  fortunes,  imperilled  on  every  side,  of  the  democratic  and  liberal 
republic  of  the  United  States;  Mr.  LINCOLN,  who  had  with  so  much  tranquil 
firmness  of  mind  saved  his  country  from  the  calamity  of  internal  dissolution ; 
Mr.  LINCOLN,  who  helped  to  achieve  the  late  victories  by  which  the  integrity 
of  the  American  republic  has  been  assured ;  Mr.  LINCOLN,  who  now  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  blessings  of  peace,  and  already  applied  his  honest  and  scrupulous 
mind  to  the  work  of  the  reconciliation  of  parties  and  the  reorganization  of  the 
great  American  party  ;  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  suddenly  fallen  beneath  the  hand  of  an 
assassin,  having  been  shot  with  a  pistol.  An  atrocious  conspiracy,  designed  to 
annihilate  at  once  the  genius  and  the  arm  of  the  American  government,  which  was 
to  have  been  brought  to  bear  at  the  same  time  against  General  Grant,  Mr.  Sew- 
ard,  and  Mr.  Lincoln,  has  not  missed  the  most  eminent  of  the  victims  contem 
plated  by  it,  and  has  horribly  succeeded  in  killing  the  President  of  the  republic. 

One  universal  feeling  of  stupor,  indignation,  and  affliction  has  followed  upon 
the  announcement  of  this  atrocity.  Europe,  as  the  United  States  well  know, 
has  not  been  less  sensibly  affected  than  themselves  by  the  crime  under  which 
their  chief  has  fallen.  Feelings  and  pre-occupations  of  many  kinds  mingle  with 
our  first  emotions  of  painful  surprise.  We  have  been,  as  it  were,  thunderstruck 
by  the  sudden  contrast  which  places  such  a  catastrophe  on  the  morrow  of  the 
great  and  decisive  victories  obtained  by  the  American  government.  Men  anx 
iously  ask  one  another  how  far  the  work  of  American  reconciliation  will  be 
embarrassed  and  obstructed  by  this  loss ;  to  what  hands  the  supreme  power  is 
about  to  pass;  what  violence  and  what  reprisals  the  detestable  provocation  of 


182  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

political  assassination  may  probably  lead  to.  But  this  astonishment,  theso 
doubts  and  fears,  have  been  subordinate,  in  the  conscience  of  European  com 
munities,  to  the  deep-felt  sympathy  for  the  noble  and  generous  victim.  The 
general  grief  is  spontaneously  assuaged,  so  to  speak,  by  the  endeavors  to  do 
justice  to  the  merits  and  virtues  of  Mr.  LINCOLN.  Assuredly,  in  some  of  the 
great  nations,  and  in  several  government  departments  of  Europe,  there  has  been 
little  disposition  during  the  last  four  years  to  be  just  to  Mr.  LINCOLN  and  his 
most  devoted  colleagues.  Death  seems  to  have  revealed  to  all  eyes  the  real 
worth  of  this  honest  man  ;  it  has  taught  the  indifferent  and  the  inattentive 
themselves  the  loss  which  the  cause  of  political  probity  and  humanity  has  sus 
tained  in  him.  Opinion  has  done  Mr.  LINCOLN  wrong  while  living.  We  may 
say  that  it  is  now  making  solemn  efforts  to  repair  that  wrong  when  he  is  no 
more. 

This  is  a  spectacle  of  high  morality.  What  was  the  last  President  when  the 
election  carried  him  to  supreme  power,  and  when  the  civil  war  broke  out  which 
threatened  the  destruction  of  the  United  States?  The  biography  of  Mr.  LINCOLN 
was  then  already  known  ;  but  it  was  not  such  as  surrounds  their  heroes  with 
the  admiration  of  Europe,  or  the  exclusive  sympathies  of  refined  circles.  There 
was  nothing  brilliant  in  the  career  of  the  man ;  none  of  that  prestige  which 
attaches  to  tried  talent.  The  only  extraordinary  thing  in  the  life  of  Mr.  LIN 
COLN  was  his  elevation  to  the  highest  office  in  the  state ;  and  that  promotion, 
even,  was  a  cause  of  surprise  and  distrust.  With  the  prejudices  which  we,  in 
our  old  Europe,  entertain,  how  few  of  us  can  understand  how  he,  who  began 
life  as  an  illiterate  workman,  should  become  the  enlightened  head  of  a  nation 
of  thirty-five  millions  of  souls !  We  are  familiar  only,  in  Europe,  in  political 
matters,  with  the  slow  process  of  education  acquired  by  traditional  classes, 
administrative  supernumeraries,  and  by  long  literary  culture.  Old  classical  poli 
ticians,  we  doubt  not  that  the  most  rapid  and  the  most  solid  of  educations,  how 
little  elegant  and  gracious  it  may  be  in  form,  is  under  a  government  freed  from 
the  shackles  of  social  conventionalisms — that  acquired  in  a  private,  laborious,  and 
struggling  life,  united  with  the  political  life  exercised  in  the  midst  of  liberal 
institutions.  Mr.  LINCOLN,  then,  was  formerly  a  workman,  a  rail-splitter,  self- 
taught,  had  become  attorney's  clerk,  then  an  attorney,  and  had  passed  over  the 
various  gradations  of  political  functions  more  easily  than  he  had  risen  by  manual 
labor  to  the  exercise  of  a  liberal  profession.  He  came  from  the  rude  West, 
unpolished,  absolutely  destitute  of  self-sufficiency,  of  the  elegant  manners  and 
the  shining  qualities  which  accompany  the  practiced  politician,  the  fortunate 
speculator  in  commercial  cities,  the  gentleman  planter  of  the  southern  States. 
He  and  his  friends  succeeded  for  the  first  time  to  the  direction  of  affairs.  Power 
had  long  been  monopolized  by  the  southern  and  democratic  coalition,  over  whom 
they  triumphed;  and  it  seemed  that  there  were  no  statesmen  known  in  America 
but  those  who  had  been  chiefs  of  this  coalition.  His  own  principles  were  not 


EXPKESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       183 

sufficiently  defined  and  settled  to  enlighten  public  opinion  as  to  his  future  policy. 
It  seemed  that  he  was  to  carry  into  the  government  that  kind  of  hesitation  and 
awkwardness  which  were  observed  in  him  personally.  It  was  even  because 
there  was  in  him  something  of  indistinctness  and  confusion  that  he  was  pre 
ferred  to  candidates  better  known  in  the  republican  party,  to  the  brilliant  and 
adventurous  General  Frdmont,  and  to  the  eloquent  and  skilful  Mr.  Seward.  In 
a  word,  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  not  one  of  those  men  who  bring  to  the  power  with 
which  they  are  invested  a  force  and  brilliancy  acquired  beforehand ;  he  belonged 
to  that  class,  on  the  contrary,  who  borrow  their  grandeur  and  prestige  from  the 
task  with  which  they  are  charged,  the  duties  which  it  imposes  upon  them,  and 
from  the  manner  in  which  they  fulfil  those  duties.  He  did  not,  thank  God, 
belong  to  that  family  of  great  men  in  the  Old  World,  of  whom  it  has  been  said, 
"It  is  fortunate  that  Heaven  has  spared  a  number  of  them  to  the  human  race; 
for  one  man  to  be  exalted  above  the  human  family,  it  would  cost  too  dear  to  all 
the  others."  But  from  the  first  words  and  first  acts  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  it  was 
easily  foreseen  that  he  would  fulfil  his  mission,  and  would  not  be  found  unequal 
to  the  situation. 

Mr.  LINCOLN  appeared  to  take  as  the  rule  of  his  conduct  the  principle  of 
a  law  whose  observance  elevates  the  simple  and  strengthens  the  humble.     He 
sought  the  path  which  simple  duty  pointed  out  to  him,  that  which  is  readily 
perceived  and  immediately  adopted,  and  which  is  not  created,  so  to  speak,  by  an 
effort  and  a  caprice  of  philosophical  induction.     Mr.  LINCOLN  undertook  the 
government,  determined,  according  to  a  common  expression,  the  beauty  of  which 
his  life  and  death  will  make  us  thoroughly  understand,  to  be  the  slave  of  duty. 
The  circumstances  amidst  which  he  arrived  at  Washington  in  1861  to  take  the 
presidency  will  not  fail  to  be  remembered.     He  narrowly  escaped  an  attempt 
at  assassination.     The  integrity  of  the  United  States  was  a  cause  which  had 
then  but  feeble  defenders ;  and  the  commander-in-chief,  at  that  time  old  Gen 
eral  Scott,  considered  he  had  gained  a  great  victory  when  he  succeeded  in 
maintaining  sufficient  order  in  the  capital  to  make  it  possible  for  the  ceremony 
of  the  inauguration  of  the  new  President  to  take  place.     Mr.  LINCOLN  showed 
immediately  that,  in  his  eyes,  simple  duty,  direct  and  close  at  hand,  was  the 
mainstay  of  the  Union  and  the  honest  performance  of  his  duty.     He  drew  the 
line  indicated  by  this  sense  of  duty  as  tight  as  possible.     It  was  necessary  to 
do  away  with  every  pretext  put  forward  by  those  who  prepared  and  proclaimed 
the  separation  of  the  southern  States.     The  pretext  alleged  by  the  secessionists 
was  the  design  they  attributed  to  the  republican  party,  now  in  power,  to  impose 
upon  the  southern  States  the  forcible  abolition  of  slavery.     Undoubtedly,  Mr. 
LINCOLN  felt  the  repugnance  of  every  enlightened  mind  and  clear  conscience 
against  this  institution  of  shivery  which  the  fanatics  of  the  south  were  not  afraid, 
for  so  many  years,  to  erect  into  an   institution  ol  divine  right;  but  the  simple 
duty,  the  direct  and  consequently  superior  duly  of  the  President  of  the  United 


184  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

States,  was  the  preservation  of  the  Union  before  laboring  for  abolition — to  be 
an  unionist  before  an  abolitionist.  Mr.  LINCOLN  showed  himself  ready,  if  the 
Union  were  preserved,  to  give  his  adversaries  every  chance  of  an  honorable 
compromise  on  the  question  of  slavery.  "  How  much  he  was  reproached  for 
this  moderation  at  the  time  !  Some  looked  upon  it  as  a  weakening  of  the  cause 
of  the  North — the  disavowal  of  the  generous  sympathies  of  the  world,  acquired 
by  a  government  which  undertook  to  carry  out  boldly  the  work  of  abolition ;  in 
the  eyes  of  others,  it  was  a  one-sided  and  perfidious  policy,  which  concealed  its 
real  object  by  mere  manoeuvres  of  routine.  The  war  broke  out — the  impetu 
ous  South  Carolinians  drove  from  Fort  Sumter  the  small  federal  garrison,  and 
insulted  the  stars  and  stripes  of  the  national  flag.  This  insult  was  deeply  felt 
by  the  mass  of  the  American  people;  the  southern  States  proclaimed  the 
separation,  and  the  struggle  was  commenced.  Mr.  LINCOLN  still  resisted  the 
strong  tendencies  of  so  violent  a  situation ;  for  many  months  he  maintained  the 
cause  of  the  Union  as  superior  to  that  of  abolition,  being  anxious,  as  long  as 
possible,  to  leave  a  door  open  to  conciliation.  It  was  more  than  a  year  after 
wards,  and  when  the  fortunes  of  war  were  most  unfavorable  to  the  cause  of 
the  United  States,  that  Mr.  LINCOLN  resolved  to  decree  the  abolition  as  a  war 
measure  and  a  means  of  legitimate  defence,  but  still  not  by  way  of  a  sovereign 
right  which  his  government  had  arrogated  to  itself  against  the  private  rights  of 
the  southern  States.  In  thus  confining  himself  to  the  accomplishment  of  his 
duty  within  the  narrowest  limits,  Mr.  LINCOLN  (and  it  is  not  less  honorable  to 
his  sagacity  than  his  integrity)  was  satisfied  that  he  stood  upon  the  most 
national,  and  consequently  most  unassailable,  ground.  The  persistent  carrying 
out  of  this  line  of  conduct,  however,  has  displayed  at  once  the  wisdom  and 
successful  policy  involved  in  it.  Sectarian  dissensions  have  disappeared  in  this 
large  and  simple  policy,  and  nothing  has  been  lost  to  the  collateral  advantages 
resulting  from  the  triumph  of  the  Union;  on  the  contrary,  they  have  gained  by 
remaining  subordinate  to  the  clearest  and  most  considerable  of  the  national 
interests.  It  is  evident  that  Mr.  LINCOLN  found  his  mind  strengthened  and 
his  conscience  tranquillized  by  this  close  observance  of  the  line  of  duty.  It  is 
proved  by  the  course  of  events.  He  suffered  himself  to  be  cast  down  by  no 
reverse,  nor  to  be  unduly  elevated  by  any  amount  of  success.  The  calmness  of 
his  mind  was  manifested  in  the  familiarity  of  his  bearing  and  language,  in  that 
good  humor  which  was  peculiar  to  him,  in  those  proverbs  and  those  innocent 
witticisms  which  often  teemed  in  his  conversation,  and  which  the  popular  good 
sense  understood  so  correctly.  A  thousand  anecdotes  are  told  of  him,  and  a 
thousand  phrases,  which  displayed  extraordinary  self-possession  in  the  midst  of 
a  crisis  unparalleled,  and  a  mind  which  always  saw  its  way  clear  in  the  midst 
of  the  most  confused  and  perilous  circumstances.  To  a  serene  and  simple 
firmness  was  added  a  moderation  to  which  his  contemners  and  enemies  of 
Ibnner  times  now  hasten  to  do  justice.  He  was  never  seen  to  be  rash  and 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       185 

inflated  in  his  predictions  ;  irritated  or  regretful  against  such  of  his  agents  as 
had  been  unfortunate,  endeavoring  to  amuse  or  lead  away  popular  sentiment  bv 
attacks  directed  against  persons,  or  against  the  foreign  governments  of  whom 
America  had  a  right  to  complain.  By  his  circumspection  and  care  he  avoided 
the  risk  of  augmenting  the  number  of  the  enemies,  or  aggravating  the  dangers 
which  might  threaten  his  country.  After  the  last  decisive  military  successes  of 
the  North,  his  first  thoughts  and  first  words,  like  those  of  the  man  whom 
political  hatred  designed  to  send  out  of  the  world  with  him,  Mr.  Seward,  were 
in  favor  of  clemency  and  peace  at  home  and  abroad.  In  a  very  short  time,  in 
the  space  of  four  years,  this  man,  whose  mind  and  character  were  an  enigma  to 
all  at  the  beginning  of  18C1,  had  acquired  an  immense  ascendancy  over  his 
countrymen,  and  gained  their  confidence.  A  striking  proof  of  this  is  furnished 
by  the  last  presidential  election,  and  it  is  confirmed  by  the  deep  and  heartfelt 
grief  which  seized  upon  the  people  of  the  United  States  at  the  news  of  his 
tragical  end. 

Keen  sorrow  must  have  its  way  in  the  imposing  and  touching  manifestations 
which  surround  the  memory  of  that  statesman  who  was  faithful  to  his  duty  until 
death.  All  Europe  has  been  deeply  affected.  The  despotic  governments  of  the 
continent  have  joined  in  official  expressions  of  profound  regret  addressed  to  the 
representatives  of  the  United  States.  The  free  jieople  of  England  and  Italy 
participate  in  the  movement  by  the  demonstrations  of  their  parliaments  and 
their  municipal  corporations.  Such  a  spontaneous  burst  of  human  feeling  is 
riot  only  an  imposing  homage  rendered  to  a  noble  victim;  it  is  a  pledge  of 
sympathy  given  by  the  world  to  the  United  States;  it  marks  with  indelible 
characters  in  the  conscience  of  humanity  the  signification  and  extent  of  the 
internecine  struggle  which  the  republic  has  sustained ;  it  is  a  weighty  piece  of 
advice  given  to  the  American  government  to  persevere  in  the  road  of  humanity, 
conciliation,  and  indulgence  on  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  entered ;  it  is  in  this 
sense  of  itself  a  great  event.  When  we  consider  the  degree  of  sensation  every 
where  excited  by  the  murder  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  it  seems  that  we  have  a  right  to 
hope  that  this  sad  catastrophe  will  not  be  attended  by  those  politically  disastrous 
consequences  which  were  at  first  apprehended.  Destinies  like  that  of  Mr 
LINCOLN,  crowned  by  a  sort  of  martyrdom,  inculcate  clemency.  The  United 
States  can  do  no  better  honor  to  this  great  victim  than  by  remaining  faithful  to 
the  spirit  of  his  policy.  The  American  people  will  not  convert  into  a  feeling 
of  vengeance  against  the  South,  which  is  at  their  feet,  the  just  horror  with 
which  so  infamous  a  crime  has  inspired  them.  Misplaced  controversies  have 
arisen  as  to  what  were  the  political  opinions  of  the  assassin  of  Mr.  LINCOLN 
if  this  assassin  is  really  the  man  he  has  been  taken  for,  namely,  the  comedian 
Wilkes  Booth,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  doubt  that  he  was  a  violent  secessionist 
It  is  asserted,  in  fact,  that  this  Booth,  at  the,  time  of  the  attempt  of  the  aboli 
tionist,  John  Brown,  which  excited  in  Virginia  some  years  ago  an  alarm  so 


186  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

cruel  in  its  consequences,  enrolled  himself  in  the  troop  which  took  Brown,  and 
that  he  was  one  in  the  cortege  of  inexorable  fanatics  who  conducted  the  unfortu 
nate  (Kansas)  farmer  to  the  gibbet.  There  would  be  a  sort  of  ferocious  fatality 
in  the  coincidence  which  made  one  of  the  executioners  of  Brown  the  pitiless 
murderer  of  Mr.  LINCOLN;  but  whatever  may  have  been  the  fanaticism  with 
which  the  assassin  was  animated,  it  would  be  an  odious  injustice  to  treat  as 
accomplices  in  the  murder  the  populations  who  furnished  Stonewall  Jackson 
and  Robert  Lee  the  heroic  soldiers  under  their  command.  The  American 
people  will  not  commit  this  injustice. 


[From  the  Sificle,  April  28,  18(>5.] 

The  American  republic  had  triumphed  over  the  rebellion  of  the  slave  States; 
nothing  more  was  required  than  to  subdue  the  difficulties  of  peace  itself.  The 
man  who  had  accomplished  the  first  of  these  tasks,  and  was  on  the  point  of 
effecting  the  second,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  has  just  fallen  beneath  the  blow  of  a 
secessionist.  Slavery,  therefore,  has  its  fanatics  ! 

What  was  LINCOLN  before  the  suffrages  of  his  fellow-citizens  placed  him 
at  the  head  of  the  republic  I  A  carpenter  Then  a  grocer,  taking  advantage 
of  his  brief  intervals  of  leisure  to  study  the  law.  Charged  with  the  government 
of  one  of  the  greatest  nations  in  the  world,  in  a  crisis  the  most  terrible  in  its 
history,  the  ex-carpenter  showed  himself  equal  to  the  situation.  It  will  be  the 
same  with  him  who  succeeds  Mr.  LINCOLN  in  so  unexpected  a  manner,  and  who, 
like  his  predecessor,  attained  to  the  rank  he  occupies  by  the  various  gradations 
of  labor.  The  great  republic  will  pursue  the  course  of  her  glorious  career. 
As  for  the  man  who  has  just  paid  with  his  life  for  the  place  which  history 
reserves  for  him,  by  the  side  of  Washington,  he  goes  down  to  the  grave  followed 
by  the  regret  of  the  whole  world.  We  should  utter  our  own  feelings  of  sorrow 
with  greater  emotion  if  the  calm  and  simple  figure  which  we  have  just  employed 
did  not  arrest  our  pen,  and  impose  upon  us  a  degree  of  tranquillity  and  sim 
plicity. 

While  one  of  the  assassins  killed  Mr.  LINCOLN,  another  penetrated  into  the 
room  of  Mr.  Seward,  who  was  in  bed  suffering  from  an  accident  reported  in  all 
the  journals,  and  stabbed  him  repeatedly  with  a  dagger.  The  son  of  Mr. 
Seward  lost  his  life  in  endeavoring  to  defend  his  father.  It  was  only  by  an 
accident  that  General  Grant  himself  escaped  death.  On  the  departure  of  the 
mail,  Mr.  Seward  was  still  living.  May  his  life  be  spared  to  find  in  the  esteem 
and  respect  of  every  friend  of  liberty  some  compensation  for  the  loss  which  he 
has  just  sustained  as  a  father  and  a  citizen.  A  distinguished  writer,  an  eloquent 
speaker,  Mr.  Seward  has  been  able  to  show  what  he  was  worth,  as  a  statesman, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        187 

under  the  most  difficult  and  delicate  circumstances.  Thanks  to  him  that 
northern  America  has  been  able  to  preserve  an  attitude  at  once  calm  and  firm 
in  the  face  of  foreign  powers,  which  have  been  nearly  all  either  ill-disposed  or 
hostile. 

TAXILE  DELORE. 


A  GREAT  DEMOCRATIC  MARTYR. 

Slavery,  before  expiring,  has  summoned  up  what  remained  to  it  of  power 
and  rage,  in  order  to  strike,  from  behind,  the  man  by  whom  it  was  to  be  over 
thrown. 

The  satanic  pride  of  this  perverted  society  could  not  be  resigned  to  defeat. 
It  would  not  fall  with  honor,  like  other  causes,  destined  to  rise  again.  It  expired, 
as  it  had  lived,  by  violating  every  law,  human  and  divine. 

There  is  the  spirit  and  probably  the  work  of  the  famous  secret  association 
of  the  Golden  Circle,  which,  after  having  for  twenty  years  made  preparations 
for  the  great  rebellion,  spread  its  accomplices  thoughout  the  west  and  the  north 
and  around  the  chair  of  the  President  gave  the  signal  for  that  impious  war  on 
the  day  when  public  conscience  at  last  snatched  from  the  slaveholders  1 1ll- 
government  of  the  United  States. 

On  the  day  when  the  good  man  of  whom  they  have  just  made  a  martyr 
was  raised  to  power,  they  endeavored  to  carry  into  effect  what  had  been  con 
cocted  by  treason. 

But  they  failed ;  not  succeeding  in  overthrowing  LINCOLN  by  the  force  of 
war,  they  felled  him  by  assassination. 

The  conspiracy  appeared  to  have  been  a  most  desperate  one.  In  assailing 
with  the  President  his  two  principal  ministers,  on  one  of  whom  an  attempt  was 
made,  and  the  commander-in-chief,  who  was  saved  by  an  unforeseen  circum 
stance,  the  murderers  reckoned  upon  disorganizing  the  government  of  the 
republic,  and  imagined  that  they  were  resuscitating  the  rebellion. 

Their  expectations  will  be  disappointed.  These  sanguinary  fanatics,  whose 
cause  is  much  less  damaged  by  material  superiority  than  by  the  moral  power 
of  the  democracy,  had  become  incapable  of  comprehending  the  nature  and  the 
results  of  the  free  institutions  which  their  fathers  had  gloriously  contributed  to 
establish.  We  shall  see  a  fresh  example  of  what  these  institutions  arc  able  to 
effect. 

The  indignation  of  the  people  will  not  be  exhausted  in  a  passing  explosion; 
it  will  become  consecrated  ;  it  will  be  resumed  in  the  unanimous  action,  perse 
vering  and  invincible,  of  the  universal  will.  Whoever  are  to  be  the  agents, 
the  instruments  of  this  work,  we  may  rest  assured  that  it  will  be  accomplished. 
The  event  will  show  that  it  was  not  dependent  upon  the  life  of  one  man,  or 


188  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

upon  several  men  It  will  be  accomplished  after  LINCOLN,  as  well  as  it  was 
accomplished  by  him,  but  LINCOLN  will  remain  the  austere  and  sacred  personi 
fication  of  a  great  epoch,  the  most  faithful  exponent  of  democracy. 

This  man,  simple  and  upright,  strong  and  prudent,  raised  by  degrees  to 
the  command  of  a  great  people,  and  always  equal  to  the  situation,  executing 
quietly  and  without  precipitation,  and  with  excellent  good  sense,  the  most 
colossal  undertaking,  giving  to  the  world  an  example  of  civil  power  in  a 
republic,  directing  a  gigantic  war  without  for  a  moment  compromising  free 
institutions,  or  threatening  them  with  military  usurpation,  dying  at  last  at  the 
moment  when,  having  conquered,  he  was  about  to  pacify  the  country — (and  God 
grant  that  the  atrocious  madman  who  killed  him  may  not  have  destroyed  with 
him  the  feeling  of  clemency,  and  determined  upon  pacification  by  force,  instead 
of  the  peace  which  he  desired!)— this  man  will  live  in  the  traditions  of  his 
country  and  of  the  world,  in  some  sort  the  embodiment  of  the  people,  modern 
democracy  itself.  It  was  necessary,  then,  that  the  blood  of  the  just  should 
seal  the  great  work  of  emancipation,  which  the  blood  of  the  just  had  inaugu 
rated  !  The  tragic  history  of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  opened  with  the  gibbet 
of  John  Brown,  will  close  with  the  assassination  of  LINCOLN. 

And  now  let  him  repose  by  the  side  of  Washington,  as  the  second  founder 
of  the  great  republic !  The  whole  of  the  democracy  in  Europe  is  present  in 
spirit  at  his  funeral  obsequies,  in  the  same  way  that  it  heartily  voted  for  his 
re-election,  and  applauded  the  victory  in  the  arms  of  which  he  has  fallen. 
Democracy  will  identify  itself  wholly  and  directly  with  the  monument  which 
America  will  raise  to  him  in  the  capital  in  which  he  cast  down  slavery. 

HENRI  MARTIN. 


[From  the  Sifecle,  April  :iO,  1865.] 

I  pause  to  pay  a  tribute  of  homage  to  the  memory  of  that  great  and  good 
man,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  ;  he  will  have  been  the  apostle  and  the  martyr  of 
freedom.  The  cause  of  slavery  could  only  be  put  an  end  to  by  assassination 
It  dies  as  it  had  lived,  the  dagger  in  hand.  "What  a  lost  cause !  What  a 
dishonored  cause !  The  frightful  drama  of  Golgotha  is  the  purchase  of  the 
disinherited.  The  blood  of  the  just  is  invariably  the  ransom  of  slaves. 

EDMUND  TEXIER, 


[From  the  Steclc,  May  !i,  1865.] 

We  yesterday  expressed  our  opinion  that  the  legislative  chambers  had  a 
great  duty  to  perform ;  we  an;  able  to  state  to-day  that  that  duty  has  been 
nobly  accomplished.  The  words  uttered  by  M.  Rouher,  minister  of  state, 
respond  to  the  feelings  of  the  whole  of  France. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        189 

The  despatch  of  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  is  written  in  the  same 
spirit,  and  these  two  declarations  corroborate  each  other,  and  perfectly  agree 
with  the  national  feeling. 

The  American  republic  is  partly  the  work  of  France.  Our  most  eminent 
fellow-citizens  watched  over  it  in  its  infancy.  In  troublous  times  it  has  served 
as  a  counterpoise  to  the  omnipotence  at  sea  which  England  pretended  to 
exercise,  who  was  then  our  rival,  but  now  our  ally. 

When  all  the  European  parliaments  had  testified  their  sympathy  with  the 
United  States,  it  would  have  been  an  anomalyif  the  legislative  body  of  France 
failed  to  honor  the  martyr  to  progress,  the  firm  and  devoted  virtuous  man,  who. 
in  the  midst  of  the  horrors  of  a  protracted  civil  war,  never  for  a  moment 
despaired  of  the  future  of  the  great  cause  of  civilization,  and  who  vigorously 
upheld  the  great  principles  of  the  American  Constitution.  Let  us  observe 
that  the  president  of  the  legislative  body,  in  carrying  out  the  wishes  of  the 
government  with  respect  to  these  communications,  gave  expression  to  noble 
sentiments,  witli  which  the  chamber  identified  itself;  and  this  unanimous  con 
currence  is  not  the  least  significant  symptom  of  the  power  of  public  opinion  in 

our  democratic  France. 

**#  *#**  *  # 

EMILE  DE  LA  BEDOLLIERE. 


[From  the  Temps,  April  27,  1865.] 

Frightful  news  reaches  us  at  the  moment  of  going  to  press.  President 
LINCOLN  has  been  assassinated ;  and  an  attempt  has  been  made  upon  the  life 
of  Mr.  Seward,  but  he  survives.  We  wish  we  could  doubt  the  correctness 
of  these  particulars,  which,  unfortunately,  come  to  us  in  a  form  altogether 
affirmative. 

We  are  not  at  all  uneasy  about  the  grandeur  of  the  Union,  nor  in  respect 
of  American  liberty.  A  ruined  cause  can  never  be  sustained  by  crime,  but 
every  one  will  readily  understand  that  the  whole  Union,  in  the  south  as  in  the 
north,  is  deeply  wounded  by  the;  ball  which  has  just  carried  off  this  great 
citizen  in  the  midst  of  such  critical  circumstances. 


[From  the  Temps,  April  28,  1865  ] 


The  fresh  and  grievous  details  which  we  receive  of  the  lamentable  tragedy 
at  Washington  leaves  scarcely  any  room  for  the  doubt  we  expressed  yesterday. 
The  assassination  perpetrated  on  President  LINCOLN,  on  Mr.  Seward,  and 
intended  for  Mr.  Stanfon,  Minister  of  War,  and  probably  also  for  General 
Grant,  is  indeed  the  result  of  a  political  plot.  American  despatches  confirm  it, 


190  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

and  it  is  the  unanimous  impression  of  the  English  press.  We  cannot  help 
remembering,  besides,  that  the  passions  which  have  just  struck  down  Mr. 
LINCOLN  conspired  against  him  at  the  time  of  his  first  election,  and  that  on 
going  from  Springfield  to  Washington  to  *be  installed  he  was  nearly  being 
assassinated  at  Baltimore,  in  February,  1861. 

Let  us  take  care,  however,  not  to  fell  into  a  too  common  error,  and  charge 
the  whole  of  the  southern  people  with  the  execrable  crime  which  completes 
the  downfall  of  their  cause.  No  doubt  there  are  many  in  the  rebel  States, 
many  who  do  not  repudiate  with  horror  the  atrocity  of  this  vengeance,  and 
many  politicians  who  do  not  look  upon  the  evil  as  irremediable. 

How  are  we  to  understand,  for  example,  that  a  man  like  General  Lee,  if 
he  were  not  bound  by  his  word  of  honor  given  to  General  Grant,  if  he  still 
believed  the  struggle  to  be  possible,  would  consent  to  resume  his  sword  and 
place  it  again  in  the  service  of  a  cause  dishonored  by  assassination  ?  The 
wretches  who  killed  Mr.  LINCOLN  have  at  the  same  time  destroyed  the  South. 

It  is  probable  that  they  meditated  more  than  a  simple  act  of  vengeance. 
In  their  eyes,  perhaps,  the  chief  crime  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  and  Mr.  Seward  was  not 
that  they  had  triumphed  over  the  South,  but  rather  that  they  had  proclaimed  a 
policy  of  moderation  and  conciliation  which  would  assure  to  the  restored  Union 
peace  with  foreign  nations,  and  the  respect  of  the  world.  To  create  irrecon 
cilable  hatred  between  the  two  sections  of  the  Union  ;  to  exasperate  the  North; 
to  replace  temperate  chiefs  of  the  States  by  men  of  an  opposite  character ;  to 
substitute  passion  for  wisdom,  and  to  hurl  the  United  States  into  the  dangerous 
hazard  peculiar  to  violence  and  anarchy — this  wae  no  doubt  what  they  desired 
to  effect,  but  in  which  they  have  not  succeeded.  They  have  misunderstood 
human  nature,  in  taking  no  account  of  the  horror  which  would  be  excited  by 
their  act,  even  in  the  south,  and  they  have  not  the  less  misconceived  the 
imperishable  destiny  of  the  United  States.  We  associate  ourselves  with  the 
general  grief,  but  we  share  in  no  way  whatever  the  apprehensions  which  we  per 
ceive  are  attached  to  it.  The  United  States  will  not  fail  in  any  of  the  duties 
prescribed  to  them  by  the  situation  of  affairs.  The  policy  which  Mr.  LINCOLN 
and  Mr.  Seward  have  had  the  honor  of  sealing  with  their  blood  will  be  the 
policy  of  their  successors;  for  the  latter  cannot  deviate  from  it  without  making 
themselves  the  dupes  and  the  accomplices  of  assassins. 

A.  NEFFTZER. 


[From  the  Temps,  May  1,  J865.] 

After  having  registered  the  prompt  and  spontaneous  manifestations  which 
have  taken  place  in  the  English,  Italian,  and  Prussian  parliaments,  we  at  last 
hear  something  of  the  legislative  chambers  of  France. 

Nobody  will  have  any  difficulty  in  identifying  himself  with  the  sentiment 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       191 

manifested  in  this  address ;  but  we  confess  that  we  have  no  very  clear  notion 
as  to  what  is  meant  by  it.  Do  the  deputies  who  signed  it  propose,  as  may  be 
inferred  from  the  letter  which  they  sent  at  the  same  time  to  the  President,  to 
submit  it  to  the  chamber?  It  is  certainly  conceived  in  a  manner  not  at  all 
calculated  to  awaken  susceptibilities  of  any  kind ;  but  besides  that,  one  cannot 
discover  how  the  chamber  can  be  affected  in  this  way;  there  is  no  explanation 
of  the  extra  parliamentary  signatures  which  are  attached  to  the  address,  and 
which  would  furnish  a  reason  for  its  non-reception.  Will  they,  on  the  con 
trary,  after  having  made  this  manifestation  on  their  own  account,  and  simply  in 
the  quality  of  citizens,  provoke  a  parliamentary  manifestation  in  which  they  are 
prepared  to  join  ?  In  that  case  we  do  not  understand  the  double  purpose  to  be 
served;  for  what  has  just  been  read  is  assuredly  the  least  that  the  legislative 
chambers  could  say ;  and,  to  express  our  thoughts  fully  on  this  matter,  we  trust 
that  if  this  assembly  is  called  upon  to  pronounce,  in  any  way,  upon  the  event 
referred  to,  something  more  precise,  emphatic,  and  appropriate  to  the  circum 
stances  will  result  from  the  deliberation  in  the  chamber. 

A.  XEFFTZER. 


[From  the  Temps,  May  2,  1865.  ] 

The  succession  of  LINCOLN  has  been  settled  without  a  moment's  uncer 
tainty,  by  the  application,  pure  and  simple,  of  the  Constitution,  the  wisdom  of 
which  once  more  displays  itself  on  the  present  occasion.  It  may  be  easily 
imagined,  on  the  day  after  the  commission  of  a  political  crime,  in  the  midst  of 
the  difficulties  of  internal  pacification,  what  confusion  and  perturbation  might 
be  occasioned  by  general  elections,  of  which  nobody  could  foresee  the  conse 
quences.  On  this  point  there  can  be  no  doubt :  the  presidential  chair  had 
scarcely  been  vacant  a  few  hours,  when  Andrew  Johnson  was  installed  at  the 
White  House. 

Tin;  horror  of  a  crime  which  the  excitement  of  the  struggle  could  in  no 
way  palliate,  the  painful  feelings  occasioned  by  the  extinction  of  a  pure  glory  in 
all  its  lustre,  would  at  first  produce  a  kind  of  stupor.  No  one  can  manifest  too 
much  grief  for  the  murder  of  an  eminent  patriot,  which  has  nothing  of  the 
effect  of  the  heroes  of  Franconi;  but  the  highest  praise  that  can  be  bestowed  on 
LINCOLN  is  just  this,  that  having  arrived  at  the  period  of  great  trouble,  he  did 
nothing  to  make  himself  indispensable,  and  that  his  disappearance  has  nothing 
in  it  threatening  to  stability,  which  is  a  condition  too  often  attached  to  the 
existence  of  one  man.  It  would  be,  then,  to  misconceive  the  real  grandeur  of 
the  character  of  LINCOLN  to  dwell  upon  the  commonplaces  of  funeral  orations, 
instead  of  giving  ourselves  up  without  faltering  to  the  examination  of  the  ques 
tions  which  the  succession  gives  rise  to. 


192  ASSASSINATION1   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[From  the  Temps,  May  4,  1865.] 

PARIS,  May  1,  18G5. 

To  THE  EDITOR  :  The  government  and  the  great  bodies  of  the  state  have 
solemnly  testified  the  grief  and  indignation  they  felt  at  the  assassination  of 
President  LINCOLN. 

The  press,  it  may  be  said,  of  all  shades  of  political  opinion,  has  gone  before 
the  public  authorities  in  the  spontaneous  expres_sions  of  horror  and  regret. 

Some  citizens,  necessarily  in  small  numbers,  will  be  able  to  add  their  sig 
natures  to  those  of  the  deputies  and  writers  who  have  taken  the  initiative  in  an 
address  of  condolence  to  the  United  States. 

But  will  not  the  people  of  Paris,  whose  sympathies  and  liberal  instincts 
have  been  so  deeply  wounded  by  this  crime,  have  an  opportunity  afforded  them 
of  publicly  lamenting  the  fate  of  the  former  workman — almost  one  of  them 
selves — who  was  the  greatest  and  the  purest  minded  among  the  successors  of 
Washington  ?  The  mass  of  the  people  cannot  sign  addresses.  Would  it  not 
be  a  great  satisfaction  to  them  to  find  some  easy  mode  of  expressing  their  senti 
ments,  such  as  the  wearing  some  sign  of  mourning — for  example,  a  piece  of 
crape,  or  a  simple  black  ribbon — on  the  arm  ?  This  mourning  might  last  a  day 
or  two,  and  commence,  suppose,  on  Monday  next. 

Nobody,  it  seems  to  me,  would  think  of  doing  any  party  act,  much  less 
committing  himself  to  any  seditious  proceeding,  in  a  manifestation  common  to 
all,  the  result  of  official  manifestations,  whose  great  moral  effect  would  be  com 
pleted  by  this  demonstration. 

If  you  coincide  with  these  views,  sir,  will  you  have  the  goodness  to  submit 
them  to  your  confreres,  and  also  to  your  readers  ?     They  will  be  well  received, 
if  I  am  not  mistaken,  and  religiously  carried  out. 
Accept,  &c., 

RENE  DUBAIL, 
34  Rue  da  Chateau  d'Eau. 


GREAT   BRITAIN  AND  DEPENDENCIES, 


Earl  Russell  to  Mr.  Adams. 

FOREIGN  OFFICE,  May  1,  1865. 

SIR:  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  note  of  this  day's  date  officially 
communicating  to  me  the  melancholy  intelligence  of  the  death  by  the  hand  of 
an  assassin  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States. 

When  the  first  intelligence  of  this  sad  calamity  reached  this  country  I  con 
veyed  to  you  by  letter  and  in  person  the  deep  impression  of  horror  and  indig 
nation  which  so  atrocious  a  crime  on  the  President  of  the  United  States  had 


EXPKESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        193 

made  upon  me  and  on  the  several  members  of  her  Majesty's  government,  and 
it  only  remains  for  me  now,  in  acknowledging  your  letter,  to  acquaint  you  that, 
by  the  command  of  the  Queen,  I  have  directed  her  Majesty's  minister  at  Wash 
ington  to  convey  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  the  assurance  that  her 
Majesty  sincerely  condoles  with  the  family  of  the  late  President,  and  that  her 
Majesty's  government  and  the  British  Parliament  and  the  British  nation  are 
affected  by  a  unanimous  feeling  of  abhorrence  of  the  criminal  guilty  of  this 
cowardly  and  atrocious  assassination,  and  their  sympathy  with  the  government 
and  people  of  the  United  States  under  the  great  calamity  which  has  befallen 
them. 

I   have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the   highest  consideration,  sir,  your  most 
obedient,  humble  servant, 

RUSSELL. 

CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS,  Esq.,  $c.,  $c.,  $c. 


Earl  Russell  to  Sir  Frederick  Bruce. 

FOREIGN  OFFICE,  April  28,  1865. 

SIR  :  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  sentiments  of  horror  and  indignation 
which  have  been  inspired  by  the  sad  intelligence  from  Washington. 

Her  Majesty  has  directed  me  to  express  her  sincere  condolence  with  the 
families  of  the  late  President,  and  of  Mr.  Seward,  under  their  present  afflictions. 
It  is  my  duty  to  request  that  you  will  convey  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States  the  assurance  that  the  government,  the  Parliament,  and  the  nation 
are  affected  by  a  unanimous  feeling  of  abhorrence  of  the  criminals  guilty  of  these 
cowardly  and  atrocious  crimes,  and  sympathy  for  the  government  and  people  of 
the  United  States,  thus  deprived  of  those  to  whom  they  looked  for  authority  in 
administration  and  wisdom  in  council. 

Notice  has  been  given  in  both  houses  of  addresses,  to  be  moved  by  minis 
ters  of  the  Crown,  expressing  in  a  formal  shape  the  sentiments  of  sorrow  and 
indignation  felt  by  Parliament  on  this  sad  occasion. 
I  am,  &c., 

RUSSELL. 
Hon.  SIR  FREDERICK  BRUCE,  G.  C.  B.,  $$c.,  Sfc.,  fy. 


Earl  Russell  to  Sir  Frederick  Bruce. 

FOREIGN  OFFICE,  May  6,  1865. 

SIR  :  In  pursuance  of  the  notice  which,  as  I  informed  you  in  my  despatch 

of  the  28th  ultimo,  had  been  given  by  her  Majesty's  ministers  in  both  houses  of 

Parliament,  I  moved  in  the  House  of  Lords,  on  Monday  last,  the  address  of  the 

Queen,  of  which  I  send  you  a  copy.     The  motion  was  seconded  by  Lord  Derby 

25 


194  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

and  agreed  to,  nemine  dlssentiente.  In  the  absence  of  Viscount  Pahnerston, 
who,  to  his  great  regret,  was  prevented  by  illness  from  being  present  on  the 
occasion,  Sir  G.  Grey,  her  Majesty's  principal  secretary  of  state  for  the  home 
department,  moved  a  similar  address  to  the  -House  of  Commons,  which  motion 
was  seconded  by  Mr.  Disraeli,  and  was  likewise  unanimously  agreed  to. 

The  Queen  has  been  pleased  to  return  to  both  houses  the  most  gracious 
answer  of  which  I  enclose  a  copy. 

In  giving  a  copy  of  this  despatch  and  of  its  enclosures  to  the  Acting  Sec 
retary  of  the  United  States,  you  will  say  to  him  that  these  addresses  of  the  two 
houses  of  Parliament  express  the  sentiments  of  the  whole  British  nation  on  the 
deplorable  assassination  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States. 

I  am,  &c., 

RUSSELL. 
Hon.  SIR  F.  BRUCE,  G.  C.  B.,  §c.,  Sfc.,  §c. 


ASSASSINATION  OF  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Resolved,  nemine  contradicente,  That  an  humble  address  be  presented  to  her 
Majesty,  to  convey  to  her  Majesty  the  expression  of  the  deep  sorrow  and  indig 
nation  with  which  this  house  has  learned  the  assassination  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  to  pray  her  Majesty  that,  in  communicating 
her  own  sentiments  on  this  deplorable  event  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  her  Majesty  will  also  be  graciously  pleased  to  express  on  the  part  of  her 
faithful  Commons  their  abhorrence  of  the  crime,  and  their  sympathy  with  the 
government  and  people  of  the  United  States. 

To  be  presented  by  privy  councillors. 

The  Queen's  answer  to  address  respecting  the  assassination  of  President 
LINCOLN  : 

I  entirely  participate  in  the  sentiments  which  you  have  expressed  to  me  in 
the  address  which  I  have  received  from  you  on  the  assassination  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  I  have  given  directions  that  my  minister  at  Washington 
shall  make  known  to  the  government  of  that  country  the  feelings  which  you 
entertain,  in  common  with  myself  and  my  whole  people,  with  regard  to  this 
deplorable  event. 


[From  the  London  Times,  May  2,  1865.] 
HOUSE  OF  LORDS— MONDAY,  May  1. 

ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 


EARL  RUSSELL  (who  was  very  indistinctly  heard)  said :  My  lords,  I  rise  to 
ask  your  lordships  to  address  her  Majesty,  praying  that  in  any  communications 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        195 

which  her  Majesty  may  make  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  express 
ing  her  abhorrence  and  regret  at  the  great  crime  which  has  been  committed  in 
the  murder  of  the  President  of  that  country,  her  Majesty  will  at  the  same  time 
express  the  sorrow  and  indignation  felt  by  this  House  at  that  atrocious  deed. 
In  this  case  I  am  sure  your  lordships  will  feel  entire  sympathy  with  her  Majesty, 
who  has  instructed  me  already  to  express  to  the  government  of  the  United 
State,;  the  shock  which  she  felt  at  the  intelligence  of  the  great  crime  whicli  has 
been  committed.  [Hear,  hear.]  Her  Majesty  has  also  been  pleased  to  write  a 
private  letter  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  [cheers]  expressive  of  sympathy  with  that  lady 
in  her  misfortune.  [Cheers.]  I  think  that  your  lordships  will  agree  with  me 
that  in  modern  times  there  has  hardly  been  a  crime  committed  so  abhorrent  to 
the  feelings  of  every  civilized  person  as  the  one  I  am  now  alluding  to.  [Hear, 
hear.]  After  the  first  election  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  as  President  of  the  United 
States,  he  was  re-elected  to  the  same  high  position  by  the  large  majority  of  the 
people  remaining  faithful  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  he  was 
in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office,  having  borne  his  faculties  meekly,  at 
the  moment  when  an  assassin  attacked  him  at  the  theatre.  There  are  circum 
stances  connected  with  this  crime  which,  I  think,  aggravate  its  atrocity  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN  was  a  man  who,  though  not  conspicuous  before  his  election,  had 
since  displayed  a  character  of  so  much  integrity,  so  much  sincerity  and  straight 
forwardness,  and  at  the  same  time  of  so  much  kindness,  that  if  any  one  was  able 
to  alleviate  the  pain  and  animosities  which  prevailed  during  the  period  of  civil 
war,  I  believe  that  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  that  person.  It  was  remarked  of 
President  LINCOLN  that  he  always  felt  disinclined  to  adopt  harsh  measures,  and  I 
am  told  that  the  commanders  of  his  armies  often  complained  that  when  they  had 
passed  a  sentence  which  they  thought  no  more  than  just,  the  President  was  always 
disposed  to  temper  its  severity.  Such  a  man  this  particular  epoch  requires 
The  conduct  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States  was  intrusted  to  other  hands, 
and  on  the  commanders  fell  the  responsibility  of  leading  the  armies  in  the  field 
to  victory  They  had  been  successful  against  those  they  had  to  contend  with, 
and  the  moment  had  come  when,  undoubtedly,  the  responsibilities  of  President 
LINCOLN  were  greatly  increased  by  their  success.  But,  though  it  was  not  lor 
him  to  lead  the  armies,  it  would  have  been  his  to  temper  the  pride  of  victory, 
to  assuage  the  misfortunes  which  his  adversaries  had  experienced,  and  especially 
to  show,  as  he  was  well  qualified  to  show,  that  high  respect  for  valor  on  the 
opposite  side  which  has  been  so  conspicuously  displayed.  It  was  to  be  hoped 
that  by  such  qualities,  when  the  conflict  of  arms  was  over,  the  task  of  concilia 
tion  might  have  been  begun,  and  President  LINCOLN  would  have  an  authority 
which  no  one  else  could  have  hud  to  temper  that  exasperation  whicli  always 
arises  in  the  course  of  civil  strife.  [Hear,  hear.]  Upon  another  question  the 
United  States  and  the  confederates  will  have  a  most  difficult  task  to  perform.  I 
allude  to  the  question  of  slavery,  which  some  have;  always  maintained  to  have 


196  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

been  the  cause  of  the  civil  war.  At  the  beginning  the  House  will  remember  thai 
President  LINCOLN  declared  that  he  had  no  right  by  the  Constitution  to  interfere 
with  slavery.  At  a  later  period  he  made  a  communication  to  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  United  States  forces,  in  which  he  proposed  that  in  certain 
Stales  the  slaves  should  be  entirely  free  ;  but  at  a  later  period  he  proposed, 
what  he  had  a  constitutional  qualification  to  propose,  that  there  should  be  an 
alteration  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  by  which  compulsory  labor 
should  hereafter  be  forbidden.  I  remember  that  Lord  Macaulay  once  declared 
that  it  would  have  been  a  great  blessing  if  the  penal  laws  against  the  Catholics 
had  been  abolished  from  the  time  of  Sir  R.  Walpole,  though  Sir  R.  Walpole 
would  have  been  mad  to  propose  a  measure  for  that  purpose.  So  the  same 
may  be  said  of  slavery,  though  I  believe  that  the  United  States  were  justified 
in  delaying  the  time  when  that  great  alteration  of  the  United  States  law  should 
take  place.  But,  whatever  we  may  think  on  these  subjects,  we  must  all 
deeply  deplore  that  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN  has  deprived  the  United 
States  of  a  man,  a  leader  on  this  subject,  who  by  his  temper  was  qualified  to 
propose  such  a  measure  as  might  have  made  this  great  change  acceptable  to 
those  before  opposed  to  it,  and  might  have  preserved  the  peace  of  the  great 
republic  of  America  while  undergoing  that  entire  new  organization  which  would 
be  necessary  under  such  circumstances.  [Hear.]  I  think  we  must  all  feel 
both  sympathy  with  the  United  States  in  this  great  affliction,  and  also  a  hope 
that  he  who  is  now,  according  to  the  American  Constitution,  intrusted  with  the 
power  of  the  late  President,  may  be  able,  both  on  the  one  subject  and  on  the 
other — both  in  respect  to  mercy  and  leniency  towards  the  conquered,  and  also 
with  regard  to  the  measures  to  be  adopted  for  the  new  organization  which  the 
abolition  of  slavery  will  render  requisite — to  overcome  all  difficulties.  I  had 
some  time  ago,  at  the  commencement  of  this  contest,  occasion  to  say  that  I  did 
not  believe  that  the  great  republic  of  America  would  perish  in  this  war,  and  the 
noble  lord  at  the  head  of  the  government  had  lately  occasion  to  disclaim  on  the 
part  of  the  government  of  this  country  any  feeling  of  envy  at  the  greatness  and 
prosperity  of  the  United  States.  The  course  which  her  Majesty's  government 
have  had  to  pursue  during  this  civil  war  has  been  one  of  great  anxiety.  Diffi 
culties  have  occurred  to  us,  and  difficulties  have  also  occurred  to  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  in  maintaining  the  peaceful  relations  between  the  two 
countries ;  but  those  difficulties  have  always  been  treated  with  temper  and  mod 
eration,  both  on  this  side  and  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  I  trust  that  that 
temper  and  moderation  may  continue,  and  I  can  assure  this  House  that,  as  we 
have  always  been  guided  by  the  wish  that  the  American  government  and  the 
American  people  should  settle  for  themselves  the  conflict  of  arms  without  any 
interference  of  ours,  so  likewise,  during  the  attempt  that  has  to  be  made  to 
restore  peace  and  tranquillity  to  America,  we  shall  equally  refrain  from  any  kind 
of  interference  or  intervention,  though  we  trust  that  the  efforts  to  be  made  for 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        197 

restoring  peace  will  be  successful,  and  that  the  great  republic  of  America  will 
always  flourish  and  enjoy  the  freedom  it  has  hitherto  enjoyed.  [Hear,  hear.] 
1  have  nothing  to  say  with  regard  to  the  successor  of  Mr.  LINCOLN.  Time  must 
show  how  far  he  is  able  to  conduct  the  difficult  matters  which  will  come  under 
his  consideration  with  the  requisite  wisdom.  All  I  can  say  is  that,  in  the 
presence  of  the  great  crime  which  has  just  been  committed,  and  of  the  great 
calamity  which  has  fallen  on  the  American  nation,  the  Crown,  the  Parliament, 
and  the  people  of  this  country  do  feel  the  deepest  interest  for  the  government 
and  people  of  the  United  States ;  for,  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  relations 
between  the  two  nations,  the  misfortunes  of  the  United  States  affect  us  more 
than  the  misfortunes  of  any  other  country  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  [Hear, 
hear.]  The  noble  earl  concluded  by  moving  an  humble  address  to  her  Majesty 
to  express  the  sorrow  and  indignation  of  this  House  at  the  assassination  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  to  pray  her  Majesty  to  communicate  these 
sentiments  on  the  part  of  this  House  to  the  government  of  the  United  States. 
The  EARL  OF  DERBY.  My  lords,  when,  upon  the  last  occasion  of  our  meet 
ing,  the  noble  earl  opposite  announced  his  intention  of  bringing  forward  the 
motion  he  has  now  submitted  to  the  House,  I  ventured  to  express  my  hope  that 
the  government  had  well  considered  the  form  of  the  motion  they  were  going  to 
make,  so  that  there  might  be  nothing  in  the  form  which  would  in  the  slightest 
degree  interfere  with  the  unanimity  desirable  on  such  an  occasion.  It  would 
have  been  more  satisfactory  to  me  if  the  noble  earl  had  entered  somewhat  upon 
the  consideration  of  the  question,  and  had  informed  your  lordships  upon  whut 
grounds  he  proposed  so  unusual  a  course-»-though  arising,  I  admit,  out  of 
unusual,  if  not  unprecedented,  circumstances — as  that  of  addressing  the  Crown, 
and  praying  her  Majesty  to  convey  to  a  foreign  government  the  sentiments  of 
Parliament  with  regard  to  the  event  which  has  taken  place.  For  myself,  I 
confess  that  I  am  rather  of  the  opinion  that  the  more  convenient,  and,  I  will-not 
say  the  more  usual,  but  the  more  regular  course  would  have  been  to  have 
simply  moved  a  resolution  of  this,  in  conjunction  with  the  other  house  of  Parlia 
ment,  expressing  those  feelings  which  it  is  proposed  by  the  motion  to  place 
in  the  form  of  an  address  to  the  Crown.  [Hear.]  But  I  am  so  extremely 
desirous  that  there  should  not  appear  to  be  the  slightest  difference  of  opinion 
at  this  moment  [hear]  that  I  cannot  hesitate  to  give  my  assent  to  the  form  pro 
posed  by  the  government,  whatever  doubt  I  may  entertain  that  the  form  is  the 
most  convenient  which  might  have  been  adopted.  In  joining  in  this  address — 
that  is  to  say,  in  expressing  our  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the  atrocious  crime 
by  which  the  United  States  have  been  deprived  of  their  Chief  Magistrate — 
your  lordships  will  only  follow,  though  the  event  has  been  known  so  short  a 
time,  the  universal  feeling  of  sympathy  which  has  been  expressed  from  one  end 
of  this  kingdom  to  the  other.  [Hear,  hear.]  And  if  there  be  in  the  United 
States  any  persons  who,  misled  by  our  having  abstained  from  expressing  any 


198  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

opinion  as  to  the  conflict  now  going  on,  or  even  from  expressing  the  opinion  we 
may  have  formed  upon  the  merits  of  the  two  great  contending  parties — if  there 
be  any  persons  who  believe  that  there  is  a  generally  unfriendly  feeling  in  this 
country  toward  the  citizens  of  the  United  States — I  think  they  could  hardly 
have  had  a  more  complete  refutation  of  that  opinion,  [cheers,]  conveyed  in  what 
I  hope  will  be  the  unanimous  declaration  of  Parliament,  following  the  declara 
tions  which  her  Majesty  has  been  pleased  to  make,  both  publicly  and  privately, 
to  the  American  minister,  as  well  as  to  the  widow  of  President  LINCOLN,  and 
again  following  the  voluntary  and  spontaneous  expression  of  opinion  which  has 
already  proceeded  from  almost  all  the  great  towns  and  communities  of  this 
country.  [Hear,  hear.]  Whatever  other  misfortunes  may  have  attended  this 
atrocious  crime,  I  hope  that,  at  least,  one  good  effect  may  have  resulted  from  it, 
namely,  that  the  manner  in  which  the  news  has  been  received  in  this  country 
will  satisfy  the  people  of  the  United  States  that  her  Majesty's  subjects,  one  and 
all,  deeply  condemn  the  crime  which  has  been  committed,  and  deeply  sympa 
thize  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  their  feelings  of  horror  at  the 
assassination  of  their  Chief  Magistrate.  [Hear,  hear.]  For  the  crime  itself 
there  is  no  palliation  whatever  to  be  offered.  There  may  be  differences  of 
opinion  as  to  the  merits  of  the  two  parties  who  are  contending,  the  one  for 
empire  and  the  other  for  independence,  in  the  United  States — I  follow  the  words 
of  the  noble  earl  opposite ;  but  there  is,  there  can  be,  no  difference  of  opinion 
upon  this  point :  that  the  holiest  and  the  purest  of  all  causes  is  desecrated  and 
disgraced  when  an  attempt  is  made  to  promote  it  by  measures  so  infamous  as 
this.  [Hear,  hear.]  If  it  were  possible  to  believe  that  the  confederate  authori 
ties  encouraged,  sympathized  with,  or  even  did  not  express  their  abhorrence  of 
this  crime,  I  should  say  they  had  committed  that  which  was  worse  than  a 
crime — a  gross  blunder ;  because,  in  the  face  of  the  civilized  world,  a  cause 
which  required  or  submitted  to  be  promoted  by  the  crime  of  assassination  would 
lose  all  sympathy  and  kindly  feeling  on  the  part  of  those  who  might  otherwise 
be  well  disposed  toward  it.  But  I  am  perfectly  satisfied — I  am  as  well  satis 
fied  as  I  can  be  of  anything — that  this  detestable  act  of  assassination  is  so 
entirely  alien  to  the  whole  spirit  in  which  the  South  have  conducted  this  war, 
[cheers,]  is  so  alien  to  the  courageous,  manly,  and,  at  the  same  time,  forbearing 
course  which  they  have  adopted  in  the  struggle  for  everything  that  is  dear  to 
them,  that  I  am  convinced  that,  apart  from  the  error  of  judgment,  which  would 
be  involved  in  sanctioning  such  a  crime,  they  cannot  have  been  guilty  of  so 
great  a  blunder,  and  cannot  fail  to  express  for  it  their  detestation,  and  to  feel  at 
the  same  time  that  no  step  could  have  been  taken  which  could  have  inflicted 
so  great  an  injury  on  their  own  cause.  [Hear,  hear.]  I  will  not  venture  to 
follow  the  noble  earl  even  into  the  slight  discussion  which  he  has  originated  with 
regard  to  the  internal  politics  of  the  United  States.  I  will  not  discuss  the  diffi 
culty  which  at  the  present  moment  is  felt  in  the  United  States — the  difficulty 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY        199 

caused  by  slavery.  I  will  not  express  any  opinion  as  to  the  question  whether 
the  late  defeats,  serious  as  they  are,  and  apparently  fatal  to  the  cause  of  tin- 
South,  have  produced,  or  are  likely  to  lead  to,  an  early  termination  of  the  war. 
In  whatever  way  the  war  may  be  terminated,  it  must  be  the  desire  of  every 
friend  of  humanity  that  it  should  be  terminated  soon,  and  without  further  and 
unnecessary  effusion  of  blood  But  I  join  entirely  with  the  noble  earl  in  lament 
ing  the  loss  of  a  man  who  had  conducted  the  affairs  of  a  great  nation,  under 
circumstances  of  great  difficulty,  with  singular  moderation  and  prudence,  and 
who,  I  believe,  was  bent  upon  trying  to  the  utmost  a  system  as  conciliatory  as 
was  consistent  with  the  prosecution  of  the  war  in  which  the  country  was  engaged. 
1  agree  that  the  death  of  such  a  man,  in  such  a  manner,  and  at  such  a  time,  is 
a  subject  not  only  for  deep  regret  and  for  abhorrence  of  the  crime  by  which  he 
was  deprived  of  life,  but  that  it  is  also  a  serious  misfortune,  in  the  present  con 
dition  of  affairs,  for  the  state  over  which  he  exercised  authority,  and  for  the 
prospects  of  an  amicable  settlement.  [Hear,  hear.]  I  can  only  hope  that, 
notwithstanding  some  ominous  expressions  which  have  already  fallen  from  him, 
the  successor  who  has  so  unexpectedly  been  elevated  to  the  high  position  filled 
by  Mr.  LINCOLN  may  be  disposed  and  enabled  to  follow  the  wise  and  conciliatory 
course  which,  I  believe,  in  the  prospect  of  success,  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  decided 
upon  adopting.  [Hear.]  I  am  not  insensible  to  the  danger  that  public  exaspera 
tion  arising  out  of  this  act  may  force  upon  the  government  a  less  conciliatory 
and  more  violent  course  than  that  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  seemed  to  have  marked 
out  for  himself;  but  I  am  satisfied  that  the  adoption  of  such  a  course  can  only 
further  protract  the  horrors  of  this  civil  war,  adding  to  the  other  motives  of  the 
South  the  most  powerful  of  all  motives — the  motive  of  despair — leading  the 
South  to  fight  out  this  question  to  the  bitter  end,  so  that  while  the  one  side  is 
exasperated  into  the  desire  to  exterminate  its  opponents,  they,  in  their  despair, 
will  be  ready  to  submit  to  extermination,  rather  than  accept  the  unreasonable 
terms  of  the  North.  [Hear,  hear.]  Thus  in  the  act  itself,  in  the  circumstances 
under  which  this  crime  has  been  committed,  and  in  the  fatal  influences  which 
it  may  exercise  upon  the  returning  prospects  of  peace  in  the  United  States,  we 
must  find  reasons  for  deeply  lamenting  the  occurrence  which  has  taken  place 
and  I  am  quite  sure  that,  independently  of  all  political  motives,  but  not  saying 
that  political  motives  do  not  enter  into  our  views,  I  am  expressing  the  universal 
feeling  of  this  House  and  of  the  country  when  1  say  that  we  view  with  horror, 
with  detestation,  and  with  indignation  the  atrocious  crime  by  which  the  life  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States  has  been  ended.  [Cheers.] 

LORD  STRATFORD  DE  REDCLIFKE.  My  lords  :  in  consideration  of  my  resi 
dence  in  the  United  States  of  America — at  a  somewhat  distant  period,  it  is  Inn;, 
but  nevertheless  in  the  character  of  a  British  representative — I  hope  I  may  be 
allowed  to  offer  a  few  words  in  addition  to  those  which  have  been  so  ably  and 
justly  expressed  on  both  sides  of  the  House.  I  cannot  pretend  to  make  any 


200  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABKAHAM  LINCOLN. 

addition  of  real  importance  to  what  has  been  said  already  with  so  much  effect, 
and  it  is  therefore  only  for  the  gratification  of  a  private  feeling,  and  for  the 
discharge,  as  it  were,  of  a  personal  debt,  that  I  venture  to  claim  your  lordships' 
indulgence  for  a  few  moments.  The  crime  of  assassination  is  so  utterly  revolt 
ing  to  the  hearts  and  feelings  of  Englishmen,  that  we  cannot  wonder  at  the  cry 
of  horror  and  indignation  with  which  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN  has  been 
received  in  this  country,  throughout  the  breadth  and  length  of  the  land  The 
circumstances  under  which  that  atrocious  crime  was  perpetrated  could  not  but 
heighten  the  abhorrence  with  which  the  act  itself  is  to  be  viewed.  Whether 
we  look  to  the  private  affliction  caused  by  its  commission,  or  to  the  public  con 
sequences  which  may  flow  from  the  catastrophe,  our  compassion  on  the  one  side, 
and  our  anxiety  on  the  other,  is  naturally  roused  to  the  highest  degree.  It  is 
not  in  my  province  to  pronounce  any  kind  of  judgment  on  the  qualities,  the 
conduct,  or  the  intentions  of  the  lute  President  of  the  United  States.  It  would 
be  unkind  and  unworthy  not  to  give  him  credit  for  the  best  claims  on  our  esteem 
and  regret.  But  when  I  figure  to  myself  the  Chief  Magistrate,  the  temporary 
sovereign  of  a  great  nation,  struck  down  by  a  sudden  and  dastardly  blow  in  the 
presence  of  his  astounded  family,  in  the  first  moments  of  relaxation  from  the 
toils  and  severe  anxieties  of  a  great  civil  contest,  and  in  the  midst  of  those  who 
gave  him  their  admiring  acclamations,  every  thought  is  lost  in  one  overpowering 
sentiment  of  horror  and  disgust  [Hear,  hear.]  At  the  time  of  my  personal 
acquaintance  with  America  the  relations  between  the  different  portions  of  the 
Union  were  such  as  to  promise  a  long  series  of  peaceful  and  prosperous  years. 
The  dreadful  rupture  which  took  place  on  the  election  of  the  late  lamented 
President  could  hardly  have  been  foreseen  by  the  most  sagacious  and  far-sighted 
politician.  This  country,  as  we  all  know,  was  seized  with  unfeigned  astonish 
ment  and  deep  concern  at  the  unexpected  event ;  and  1  must  do  her  Majesty's 
government  the  justice  to  say  that  during  the  whole  course  of  the  war  the 
balance  of  a  strict  neutrality  has  been  maintained  with  the  most  even-handed 
and  resolute  sense  of  duty.  I  am  slow  to  believe  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States  entertain  towards  this  country  the  sentiments  of  mistrust  and  animosity 
which  have  been  sometimes  attributed  to  them.  Of  this  I  feel  sure,  that  no 
such  hostile  sentiments  are  entertained  by  the  people  of  this  country  towards 
them;  and,  were  it  otherwise,  I  am  persuaded  that  while  on  this  side  every 
unpleasant  feeling  unaffectedly  merges  in  sympathy  for  the  late  bereavement  at 
Washington,  so,  on  the  other,  the  expression  of  that  sympathy,  pure  and  deep 
as  it  is,  cannot  fail  to  obliterate  any  impressions  unfavorable  to  us  which  may 
have  arisen  in  any  portion  of  the  American  population.  The  expression  of  our 
sympathy  is  not  confined  to  numerous  associations  in  every  part  of  the  country. 
It  now  assumes  the  more  solemn  character  of  a  parliamentary  condolence,  con 
firmed  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  both  houses,  and  crowned  by  the  gracious 
participation  of  a  sovereign  whose  sad  acquaintance  with  sorrow  is  the  strongest 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        201 

pledge  of  her  sincerity.  It  is  not  for  me  to  hazard  any  conjecture  (TS  to  the 
cause  of  that  atrocious  crime  which  we  all  concur  in  lamenting,  or  the  quarter 
whence  it  proceeded  But  it  is  next  to  impossible  that  the  gallant  and  high- . 
minded  leaders  of  the  one  conflicting  party  could  have  descended  so  low  as  to 
support  their  imperilled  cause  by  an  assassination  as  base  as  it  is  execrable,  and 
equally  hard  to  conceive  that  those  of  the  triumphant  Union  should  entertain  a 
suspicion  at  once  so  improbable  and  so  unlike  the  magnanimity  they  are  called 
upon  to  display.  It  is  rather  to  be  hoped  and  expected  that  the  terrible  calamity 
which  has  occurred,  with  such  awful  suddenness,  will  sober  the  agitated  pas 
sions  on  both  sides,  and  render  acceptable  to  all  the  expressions  of  sympathy 
about  to  be  transmitted  from  this  country  to  our  kindred  beyond  the  Atlantic. 
[Hear,  hear.] 

The  motion,  having  been  put  by  the  lord  chancellor,  was  carried  neiidne 
contradicente. 


HOUSE  OF  COMMONS— MONDAY,  May  1,  1865. 

THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

Sir  Gr.  GREY  said :  I  very  much  regret  the  unavoidable  absence  of  my  noble 
friend  at  the  head  of  the  government,  iu  whose  name  the  notice,  was  given  of  the 
motion  which  it  now  devolves  upon  me  to  ask  the  House  to  agree  to.  1  feel, 
however,  that  it  is  comparatively  unimportant  by  whom  the  motion  is  proposed, 
because  I  am  confident  that  the  address  to  the  Crown  which  I  am  about  to  ask 
the  House  to  agree  to  is  one  which  will  meet  with  the  cordial  and  unanimous 
assent  of  all.  [Cheers  ]  When  the  news  a  few  days  ago  of  the  assassina 
tion  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  attempted  assassination— 
for  I  hope  that  we  may  now  confidently  expect  that  it  will  not  be  a  successful 
attempt — of  Mr.  Seward  reached  this  country,  the  first  impression  in  the  mind 
of  every  one  was  that  the  intelligence  could  not  be  true.  [Cheers.]  It  was  hoped 
by  every  one  that  persons  could  not  be  found  capable  of  committing  a  crime  so 
atrocious.  [Hear,  hear.)  When  the  truth  was  forced  upon  us,  when  we  could 
no  longer  entertain  any  doubt  as  to  the  correctness  of  the  intelligence,  the  feel 
ing  which  succeeded  was  one  of  universal  sorrow,  horror,  and  indignation. 
[Cheers.]  It  was  felt  as  if  some  great  calamity  had  befallen  ourselves,  [renewed 
cheering,]  for  in  the  civil  war,  the  existence  and  the  long  continuance  of  which 
we  have  so  sincerely  deplored,  it  is  well  known  that  the  government  of  this 
country,  acting,  as  I  believe,  in  accordance  with  the  almost  unanimous,  or  per 
haps  I  may  say,  in  accordance  with  the  unanimous  feeling  of  this  country,  had 
maintained  a  strict  and  impartial  neutrality.  But  it  is  notorious,  and  it  could 
not  in  a  great  country  like  this  be  otherwise,  that  different  opinions  have  been 
entertained  by  different  persons  with  regard  to  the  questions  at  issue  between 

26 


202  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

the  northern  and  southern  Slates  of  America,  but  still  I  believe  that  the  sym 
pathies  of  the,  majority  of  the  people  of  this  country  have  been  with  the  North. 
[Cries  of  4i No,  no,"  "  Hear,  hear,"  and  "Question,  question."]  I  am  desirous 
on  this  occasion  of  avoiding  everything  which  may  excite  any  difference  of 
opinion.  I  may  say,  therefore,  that  in  this  free  country  different  opinions  have 
been  entertained  and  different  sympathies  felt,  and  that  in  this  free  country  the 
freest  expression  has  been  given,  as  should  be  the  case,  to  those  differences  of 
opinion.  [Hear,  hear.]  I  am  sure  I  shall  raise  no  controversy  when  I  say  in 
the  presence  of  that  great  crime  which  has  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  through  every 
one  who  heard  of  it,  all  difference  of  opinion,  all  conflicting  sympathies,  for  a 
moment  entirely  vanished.  [Loud  cheers.]  I  am  anxious  to  say  at  once,  and 
I  desire  to  proclaim  that  belief  with  the  strongest  confidence,  that  this  atrocious 
crime  was  regarded  by  every  man  of  influence  and  power  in  the  southern  States 
with  the  same  degree  of  horror  which  it  excited  in  every  other  part  of  the  world. 
[Loud  cheers.]  We  may,  therefore — and  this  is  all  I  wish  to  say  upon  this 
subject — whatever  our  opinions  with  regard  to  the  past,  and  whatever  our  sym 
pathies  may  have  been — we  shall  all  cordially  unite  in  expressing  our  abhor 
rence  of  that  crime,  and  in  rendering  our  sympathy  to  that  nation  which  is  now 
mourning  the  loss  of  its  chosen  and  trustful  chief,  struck  to  the  ground  by  the 
hand  of  an  assassin,  and  that,  too,  at  the  most  critical  period  of  its  history. 
[Cheers.]  While  lamenting  that  war  and  the  loss  of  life  which  it  has  inevitably 
occasioned,  it  is  impossible,  whatever  our  opinions  or  our  sympathies  may  have 
been,  to  withhold  our  admiration  from  the  many  gallant  deeds  performed  and 
acts  of  heroism  displayed  by  both  parties  in  the  contest,  and  it  is  a  matter  for 
bitter  reflection  that  the  page  of  history,  recording  such  gallant  achievements 
and  such  heroic  deeds  by  men  who  so  freely  shed  their  blood  on  the  battle-field 
in  a  cause  which  each  considered  right,  should  also  be  stained  with  the  record 
of  a  crime  such  as  we  are  now  deploring.  [Cheers]  At  length  a  new  era 
appeared  to  be  dawning  on  the  contest  between  the  North  and  the  South.  The 
time  had  come  when  there  was  every  reason  to  hope  that  that  war  would 
speedily  be  brought  to  a  close.  Victory  had  crowned  the  efforts  of  the  states 
men  and  the  armies  of  the  federals,  and  most  of  us — all  I  hope — had  turned 
with  a  feeling  of  some  relief  and  hope  for  the  future  from  the  record  of  sanguin 
ary  conflicts  to  that  correspondence  which  has  but  recently  passed  between  the 
generals  commanding  the  hostile  armies.  [Cheers.]  And  when  we  turned  to 
Mr.  President  LINCOLN,  I  should  have  been  prepared  to  express  a  hope,  indeed 
an  expectation — and  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  that  expectation  would  not 
have  been  disappointed — that  in  the  hour  of  victory  and  in  the  use  of  victory 
he  would  have  shown  a  wise  forbearance,  a  generous  consideration,  which  would 
have  added  tenfold  lustre  to  the  fame  and  reputation  which  he  has  acquired 
throughout  the  misfortunes  of  this  war.  [Hear,  hear.]  Unhappily  the  foul 
deed  which  has  taken  place  has  deprived  Mr.  LINCOLN  of  the  opportunity  of 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE    AND    SYMPATHY.  203 

thus   adding  to  his  well-earned  fame  and   reputation  ;  hut  let  us  hope,  what, 
indeed,  we  may  repeat,  that  the  good  sense  and  right  feeling  of  those  upon  whom 
will  devolve  the  most  arduous  and  difficult  duties  in  this  conjuncture  will  lead 
them  to  respect  the  wishes  and  the  memory  of  him  whom  we  are  all  mourning, 
[cheers,]  and  will  lead  them  to  act  in  the  same  spirit  and  to  follow  the  same 
counsels  by  which  we  have  good  reason  to  believe  the  conduct  of  Mr.  LINCOLN 
would   have  been   marked  had  he  survived   to  complete  the  work  that  was 
intrusted  to  him.     [Cheers.]     I  am  only  speaking  the  general  opinion  when  I 
say  that  nothing  could  give  greater  satisfaction  to  this  country  than  by  means  of 
forbearance,  it  may  be  of  temperate  conciliation,  to  see  the  union  of  the  North 
and  South  again  accomplished,  especially  if  it  can  be  accomplished  by  common 
consent,  freed  from  what  hitherto  constituted  the  weakness  of  that  union — the 
curse  and  disgrace  of  slavery      [Cheers.]      I  wish  it  were  possible  for  us  to 
convey  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  an  adequate  idea  of  the  depth  and 
universality  of  the  feeling  which  this  sad  event  has  occasioned  in  this  country, 
that  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  there  has  been  but  one  feeling  entertained. 
Her  Majesty's  minister  at  Washington  will,  in  obedience  to  the  Queen's  com 
mand,  convey  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  the  expression  of  the  feel 
ings  of  her  Majesty  and  of  her  government  upon  the  deplorable  event  ;  and  her 
Majesty,  with  that  tender  consideration  which  she  has  always  evinced  for  sorrow 
and  suffering  in  others,  of  whatever  rank,  [cheers,]  has  with   her  own  hand 
written  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  [loud  cheers]  conveying  the  heartfelt  sympathy 
of  a  widow  to  a  widow  [renewed  cheers,]  suffering  under  the  calamity  of  hav 
ing  lost  one  suddenly  cut  off.     [Cheers.]     From  every  part  of  this  country, 
from  every  class,  but  one  voice  has  been  heard,  one  of  abhorrence  of  the  crime, 
and  of  sympathy  for  and  interest  in  the   country  which  has  this  great  loss  to 
mourn.     The  British  residents  in  the  United   States,  as  of  course  was  to  be 
expected,  lost  not  an  hour  in  expressing  their  sympathy  with  the  government  of 
tin:  United  States.     The  people  of  our  North  American  colonies  are  vying  with 
each  other  in  expressing  the  same  sentiments.     [Clieers.]     And  it  is  not  only 
among  men  of  the  same  race,  who  are  connected  with  the  people  of  the  United 
States  by  origin,  language,  and  blood,  that  these  feelings  prevail,  but  I  believe 
that  every  country  in  Europe  is  giving  expression  to  the  same  sentiments,  and  is 
sending  the  same  message  to  the  government  of  the  United  States.     I  am  sure, 
therefore,  that  I  am  not  wrong  in  anticipating  that  this  House  will,  in  the  name 
of  the  people  of  England,  of  Scotland,  and  of  Ireland,  be  anxious  to  record  their 
expression  of  the  same  sentiment,  and  to  have  it  conveyed  to  the  government 
of  the  United  States.      [Cheers.]     Of  this  I  am  confident,  that  this  House  could 
never  more  fully  and   more  adequately  represent  the  feelings  of  the  whole;  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  United  Kingdom  than  by  agreeing  to  the  address  which 
it  is  now  my  duty  to  move,  expressing  to  her  Majesty  our  sorrow  and  indigna 
tion  at  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  praying  her 


204  ASSASSINATION   01''   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Majesty  that,  in  communicating  her  own  sentiments  to  the  government  of  that 
country  upon  the  deplorable  event,  she  will  express  at  the  same  time,  on  the 
part  of  this  House,  their  abhorrence  of  the  crime,  and  their  sympathy  with  the 
government  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  deep  affliction  into  which 
they  have  been  thrown.  [Loud  cheers.] 

Mr.  DISRAELI  said :  There  are  rare  instances  when  the  sympathy  of  a 
nation  approaches  those  tenderer  feelings  which  are  generally  supposed  to  be 
peculiar  to  the  individual,  and  to  be  the  happy  privilege  of  private  lii'e,  and  this 
iu  one.  Under  any  circumstances  we  should  have  bewailed  the  catastrophe  at 
Washington;  under  any  circumstances  we  should  have  shuddered  at  the  means 
by  which  it  was  accomplished.  But  in  the  character  of  the  victim,  and  even 
in  the  accessories  of  his  last  moments,  there  is  something  so  homely  and  inno 
cent,  that  it  takes  the  question,  as  it  were,  out  of  all  the  pomp  of  history  and 
the  ceremonial  of  diplomacy  ;  it  touches  the  heart  of  nations,  and  appeals  to  the 
domestic  sentiment  of  mankind.  [Cheers. J  Whatever  the  various  and  vary 
ing  opinions  in  this  House,  and  in  the  country  generally,  on  the  policy  of  the 
late  President  of  the  United  States,  all  must  agree  that  in  one  of  the  severest 
trials  which  ever  tested  the  moral  qualities  of  man  he  fulfilled  his  duty  with 
simplicity  and  strength.  [Cheers.]  Nor  is  it  possible  for  the  people  of  England 
at  such  a  moment  to  forget  that  he  sprung  from  the  same  fatherland,  and  spoke 
the  same  mother  tongue.  [Cheers.j  When  such  crimes  arc  perpetrated  the 
public  mind  is  apt  to  fall  into  gloom  and  perplexity,  for  it  is  ignorant  alike  of 
the  causes  and  the  consequences  of  such  deeds.  But  it  is  one  of  our  duties  to 
reassure  them  under  unreasoning  panic  and  despondency.  Assassination  has 
never  changed  the  history  of  the  world.  1  will  not  refer  to  the  remote  past, 
though  an  accident  has  made  the  most  memorable  instance  of  antiquity  at  this 
moment  fresh  in  the  minds  and  memory  of  all  around  me  But  even  the  costly 
sacrifice  of  a  Caesar  did  not  propitiate  the  inexorable  destiny  of  his  country.  If 
we  look  to  modern  times,  to  times  at  least  with  the  feelings  of  which  we  are 
familiar,  and  the  people  of  which  were  animated  and  influenced  by  the  same 
interests  as  ourselves,  the  violent  deaths  of  two  heroic  men,  Henry  IV,  of  France, 
and  the  Prince  of  Orange,  are  conspicuous  illustrations  of  this  truth.  In 
expressing  our  unaffected  and  profound  sympathy  with  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  on  this  untimely  end  of  their  elected  chief,  let  us  not,  therefore,  sanction 
any  feeling  of  depression,  but  rather  let  us  express  a  fervent  hope  that  from  out 
of  the  awful  trials  of  the  last  four  years,  of  which  the  least  is  not  this  violent 
demise,  the  various  populations  of  North  America  may  issue  elevated  and  chast 
ened,  rich  with  the  accumulated  wisdom  and  strong  in  the  disciplined  energy 
which  a  young  nation  can  only  acquire  in  a  protracted  and  perilous  struggle; 
then  they  will  be  enabled  not  merely  to  renew  their  career  of  power  and  pros 
perity,  but  they  will  renew  it  to  contribute  to  the  general  happiness  of  man- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        205 

kind.     [Cheers.]     It  is  with  these  feelings  that  I  second  the  address  to  the 
Crown      [Loud  cheers.] 

The  motion  was  then  put  and  adopted  unanimously,  the  announcement  of 
which  fact  by  the  speaker  was  received  with  cheers. 


Mr.  Burnley  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

WASHINGTON,  April  17,  18(55. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  note  of  the  15th 
instant,  announcing  to  me  the  lamented  death  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  on  the  night  of  the  14th  instant,  from  the  effects  of  a  pistol-shot  received 
at  the  hands  of  an  assassin,  while  attending  the  performances  at  the  theatre,  and 
the  dastardly  attempt  to  assassinate,  in  like  manner,  the  Secretary  of  State  and 
his  son,  Mr.  Frederick  Seward. 

It  is  with  feelings  of  the  deepest  regret  that  I  have  heard  of  these  crimes — 
a  regret  which  will  be  shared  by  my  government  on  reception  of  the  sad  news. 
I  sincerely  trust  that  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son  may  recover  from  the  wounds 
inflicted  on  them  and  be  restored  to  health. 

I  take  this  opportunity  of  acknowledging  the  announcement  of  the  formal 
assumption  of  the  functions  of  President  by  the  late  Vice-President,  Andrew 
Johnson,  and  of  your  appointment  to  perform,  temporarily,  the  duties  of  Secre 
tary  of  State. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  high  consideration,  sir,  your  most  obedient, 
humble  servant, 

J.  HUME  BURNLEY. 

Hon.  W.  HUNTER,  Esq.,  %.,  8$c.,  Sfc. 


Resolutions  by  the  convener  court  of  the  seven  incorporated  trades  of  the  citt/  of 

Aberdeen,  North  Britain. 

At  Aberdeen,  and  within  the  Trinity  Hall  there,  the  ninth  day  of  May,  eighteen 

hundred  and  sixty-five. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  convener  court  representing  the  seven  incorporated 
trades  of  (lie  city  of  Aberdeen,  North  Britain,  the  following  resolutions  were 
unanimously  adopted  : 

1.  That  this  court  expresses  its  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the  act  of  atrocity 
lately  committed  on  President  LINCOLN,  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
its  sympathy  with  the  government  and  people  of  those  States  in  their  peculiar 
circumstances,  and  its  hope  that,  under  Providence,  the  establishment  of  peace 
there,  and  harmony  between  them  and  the  \vhole  world,  will  soon  be  promoted. 


206  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

This  court  cannot  separate  without  expressing  its  liveliest  feeling  and  sym 
pathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family,  and  prays  that  the  worthy  example  of  her 
husband  will  prove  that  a  straight-forward  and  honest  course  is  alike  honorable 
and  worthy  of  imitation. 

Signed  in  name  and  by  appointment  of  the  meeting,  and  the  seal  of  the 
court  appended  hereto  by  me,  convener  of  said  court. 

[SEAL.]  ROBERT  THOMSON. 


At  Aberdeen,  the  first  day  of  May,  in  the  year  1865,  in  presence  of  the  lord 
provost,  magistrates,  and  council  of  the  city  of  Aberdeen. 

Which  day  the  lord  provost  stated  thai,  before  proceeding  to  the  ordinary 
business,  he  would  propose  "  that  the  council  enter  on  their  minutes  an  expres 
sion  of  the  sorrow  and  indignation  which  pervaded  this  city  on  receiving  the 
intelligence  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  had  been  mur 
dered,  and  the  Hie  of  one  of  their  most  distinguished  statesmen  (Mr.  Seward) 
endangered  by  the  hands  of  assassins ;  and  also  of  the  earnest  sympathy  of  the 
council  and  community  with  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States." 
Which  proposal  was  unanimously  agreed  to ;  and  the  council  directed  a  copy 
of  this  resolution,  under  the  common  seal  of  the  city,  to  be  signed  by  the  lord 
provost,  and  transmitted  to  the  minister  in  this  country  of  the  United  States. 

[SEAL.]  ALEXANDER, 

Lord  Provost  of  Aberdeen. 


The   mayor,  aldermen,  and  common  council  of  the  borough  of  Axbridge  to  Mr. 

Adams. 

SIR  :  We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  common  council  of  the  borough  of 
Axbridge,  in  the  county  of  Somerset,  beg  through  you,  sir,  to  express  our  deep 
sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  American  nation  generally  under  the  heavy 
and  distressing  bereavement  which  she  and  they  have  been  called  on  to  sustain 
in  the  brutal  and  cowardly  assassination  of  Mr.  President  LINCOLN. 

We  earnestly  pray,  however,  that  the  all-wise  disposer  of  events  may  not 
only  support  Mrs  Lincoln  in  this  the  hour  of  her  grief,  but  that  He  may, 
according  to  the  purposes  of  His  own  gracious  will,  overrule  for  good  the  dire 
calamity  which  has  thus  befallen  the  American  nation. 

Given  under  our  corporate  seal  at  the  Town  Hall,  in  Axbridge  aforesaid, 
this  sixth  day  of  May,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-five. 

[SEAL.] 

His  Excellency  Hon.  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

United  States  of  America,  London. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       207 

Excerpt  from  minutes  of  meeting  of  the,  town  council  of  the  royal  burgh  of 
Anstruther- Easter,  in  the  county  of  Fife,  North  Britain,  May  5,  1865. 

Inter  aim,  on  the  motion  of  the  provost,  the  council  unanimously  agreed  to 
record  their  abhorrence  and  detestation  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  their  sympathy  and  condolence  with  the  Americans 
under  the  great  loss  which  they  have  sustained,  and  requested  the  provost  to 
forward  an  excerpt  from  this'  minute  to  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  minister  in 
London. 

Extracted  by — 

HAB.  F.  COXOLLY,  Clerk. 


To  his  excellency  the  honorable  Charles  Francis  Adams,  envoy  extraordinary  and 
minister  plenipotentiary  for  the  United  States  of  America  : 

We,  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  town  council  of  the  royal  burgh  of  Ayr, 
in  council  assembled,  beg  to  express  to  you,  as  the  representative  in  this  country 
of  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  of  America,  our  utter  abhor 
rence  of  the  atrocity  whereby  that  great  people  have  been  deprived  of  the 
services  of  their  Chief  Magistrate,  who,  after  years  of  a  most  terrific  struggle, 
approved  himself  to  his  countrymen  by  his  patriotism,  honesty  of  purpose,  and 
great  integrity,  who  had  the  fullest  confidence  of  that  great  nation  during  the 
most  critical  period  of  its  history,  whose  unwearied  patience  and  perseverance 
under  circumstances  of  trial,  of  difficulty,  and  of  defeat,  were  only  matched  by 
his  moderation  evinced  in  the  hour  of  success,  and  whose  magnanimity  and 
lorbearance  made  an  impression  here  that  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  a  great  and 
good  man. 

We  also  desire  to  express  our  heartfelt  sympathy  and  condolence  with  the 
government  and  people  of  the  United  States,  who  have  been  so  suddenly 
deprived  of  their  Chief  Magistrate  at  a  momentous  crisis  in  the  history  of 
their  country. 

Signed  in  name  and  by  authority  of  the  magistrates  and  council  by  me, 
provost  of  Ayr. 

J.  MAC  NEILLE. 


To  hit  excellency  the  honorable  Charles  Francis  Adams,  envoy  extraordinary  and 
minister  plenipotentiary  for  the  United  States  of  America: 

We,  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  town  council  of  the  royal  burgh  of 
Arbroath,  beg  to  convey  to  you,  as  the  representative  in  this  country  of  the 
government  and  people  of  the  United  States  of  America,  that  expression  of 
the  feelings  of  profound  sorrow  and  indignation  with  which  we  received  the 


208  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

melancholy  intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  We  deeply  sympathize  with  the  government  and  people  of  the  United 
States  in  the  loss  they  have  sustained  by  the  death,  so  much  to  be  deplored,  of 
their  late  President,  who  was  so  well  fitted  by  his  character  and  the  confidence 
reposed  in  him  to  heal  those  divisions  by  which  his  country  had  been  torn 
asunder. 

We  join  in  expressing  our  best  wishes  for  the  welfare  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  hope  that  th<;  termination  of  the  war  will  enable  them  to  make  that 
rapid  progress  for  which  their  country  presents  so  great  advantages. 

Signed  in  name  and  by  appointment  of  the  magistrates  and  town  council 
of  Arbroath,  and  the  common  seal  of  the  said  burgh  affixed  hereto,  on  Thursday, 
the  25th  day  of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five. 

[SEAL.]  'jOHN  LUMGAN, 

Provost  and  Chief  Magistrate  of  Arbroath. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Ashton-under-Lyne, 
in  the  county  of  Lancaster,  held  on  Wednesday,  the  10th  day  of  May,  1865, 
John  Gait,  esquire,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  it  was  moved  by  Mr.  Alderman  Mason, 
seconded  by  Mr.  Councillor  Wood,  and  resolved  as  follows : 

The  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Ashton-under- 
Lyne,  in  council  assembled,  having  heard  with  profound  grief  of  the  brutal  and 
cowardly  assassination  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  hereby  record  their  feelings  of  horror  and  detestation  at  the 
malignity  and  treachery  of  the  act  which  has  deprived  that  great  country  of  its 
Chief  Magistrate ;  and  express  their  heartfelt  sympathy  with  the  people  of  that 
country  in  their  time  of  all-absorbing  sorrow. 

This  council  beg  to  offer  their  tribute  of  reverence  for  the  memory  of  a 
great  American  whose  ripened  experience;  and  humane  nature  pre-eminently 
fitted  him  to  reconcile  the  animosities  of  a  divided  people,  and  heal  the  wounds 
of  a  distracted  nation. 

This  council  fervently  trust  that  the  magnanimous  policy  of  the  late  Presi 
dent  may  continue  to  guide  the  American  people,  that  war  and  bloodshed  may 
come  to  a  speedy  end,  and  that  peace,  prosperity,  and  happiness  may  again 
prevail. 

This  council  also  respectfully  offer  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  their  genuine  affection 
and  sympathy  for  her  irreparable  loss,  and  trust  she  may  find  sweet  consolation 
in  witnessing  the  grand  results  of  the  wise,  unselfish,  and  patriotic  career  of  her 
martyred  husband. 

The  corporate  seal  was  affixed  in  the  presence  of— 
rSEAL]  JOHN  GALT,  Mayor. 

WILLIAM  MARSHALL,  Town  Clerk 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE    AND    SYMPATHY.  209 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  Temperance  Society  of  Ashton-under- 

Lyne. 

ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE,  May  10,  1865. 

The  president,  vice-president,  officers,  and  members  of  the  Ashton-under- 
Lyne  Temperance  Society,  in  meeting  assembled,  have  heard  with  profound 
grief  of  the  brutal  and  cowardly  assassination  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  hereby  record  their  feelings  of 
horror  and  detestation  at  the  malignity  and  treachery  of  the  act  which  has 
deprived  that  great  country  of  its  Chief  Magistrate,  and  express  their  heartfelt 
sympathy  with  the  people  of  that  country  in  their  time  of  all-absorbing  sorrow. 

This  meeting  beg  to  offer  their  tribute  of  reverence  for  the  memory  of  a 
great  ruler,  whose  ripened  experience  and  humanity  pre-eminently  fitted  him  to 
reconcile  the  animosities  of  a  divided  people  and  heal  the  wounds  of  a  distracted 
nation.  This  meeting  feels  all  the  more  earnest  in  their  attachment  to  MI- 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  because  he  had  for  more  than  fifty  years  adopted  and  carried 
out  those  great  principles  of  temperance  and  total  abstinence  (from  all  intoxi 
cating  drinks)  for  which  \ve  arc  contending;  that,  whether  he  enjoyed  the 
privacy  of  home,  or  sustained  the  dignities  of  a  palace ;  that,  whether  he  per 
formed  the  duties  of  a  citizen,  or  the  more  difficult  duties  of  governing  a  great 
nation,  he  had  the  wisdom  to  see,  and  the  moral  courage  to  adopt,  the  great 
principles  of  temperance,  truth,  and  progress. 

This  meeting  also  respectfully  oiler  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family  their 
genuine  affection  and  sympathy  for  their  irreparable  loss,  and  trust  they  may 
find  sweet  consolation  in  witnessing  the  grand  results  of  the  wise,  unselfish,  and 
patriotic  career  of  their  martyred  husband  and  father. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  committee  and  society  by — 

MARTIN  PARKINSON,  President. 
EDWIN  WILLIAMSON,  Vice-President. 

His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 

and  through  him  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 


Address  of  (lie.  Union  and  Rmancijmtion  Society  of  Ashton-iuukr-Lyne  to  Mrs. 

Lincoln. 
ASHTON-UNDER-LYNK  UNION  AND  EMANCIPATION  SOCIETY, 

May  20,  18G5. 

The  sorrowful  intelligence  which  lias  been  recently  transmitted  to  us, 
announcing  the  death  of  your  much-beloved  husband,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  has 
filled  our  hearts  with  pain  and  sadness.  We  little  expected  that  his  valuable 
life  would  have  been  so  suddenly  destroyed  by  the  treacherous  hand  of  a 

27 


210  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

cowardly  assassin,  and  cannot  but  lament  the  irreparable  loss  which  has  deprived 
you  of  a  faithful  protector,  your  children  of  an  affectionate  father,  and  the 
American  people  of  a  thoughtful  and  sagacious  statesman. 

We  consider  the  death  of  the  late  President  a  world-wide  calamity,  because 
the  impression  made  by  it  seems  to  be  the  strongest  and  most  general  that  has 
ever  appeared  upon  the  death  of  a  fellow-man  ;  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that 
we  desire  to  convey  to  you  our  united  expressions  of  grief  in  this  severe  trial  of 
your  affliction  and  bereavement,  and  also  to  declare  our  abhorrence  of  the  brutal 
and  horrible  crime  by  which  his  life  was  sacrificed. 

In  contemplating  his  character  we  have  often  felt  a  just  admiration  which 
his  many  virtues  command ;  but  to  dwell  upon  them  here,  in  any  particular,  is 
unnecessary,  and,  upon  tin's  occasion,  would  perhaps  be  improper.  That  his 
loss  has  been  generally  lamented  cannot  be  wondered  at,  for  certainly  there 
never  was  a  more  just  cause  for  universal  sorrow.  To  lose  such  a  man  at  such 
a  critical  time,  so  unexpectedly  and  so  barbarously,  must  add  to  every  feeling  of 
regret,  and  make  the  sense  of  bereavement  more  severe  and  acute  to  all  think 
ing  minds.  He  was  snatched  away  in  the  midst  of  a  crisis  when  America 
could  spare  him  least ;  at  a  time  when  the  people  hoped  to  be  especially  bene 
fited  by  his  energy,  his  benevolence,  and  his  wisdom.  His  ardent  desire  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-men  was  conspicuously  the  animating  motive 
of  his  active  life.  His  indefatigable  labors  to  strike  off  the  fetters  which  have 
so  long  bound  the  down-trodden  negro  have  at  length  been  rewarded  by  a 
glorious  and  triumphant  victory.  Millions  of  them  are  already  free — free  as 
the  very  breath  of  heaven  ;  and  the  accursed  slave-stain,  which  has  ever  soiled 
the  American  banner,  will  now  be  eradicated,  and  the  fate  of  the  accursed 
system  forever  sealed  with  the  martyred  blood  of  a  holy  Christian  man.  Never 
was  he  known  to  shirk  the  onerous  duties  of  his  responsible  office  ;  in  every 
instance  we  have  found  him  true  to  his  sacred  oath;  even  in  the  latest  hours  of 
his  life,  kindness  to  his  enemies  was  the  uppermost  sentiment  of  his  generous 
heart,  prompting  the  most  considerate  arrangements  for  the  happiness  and 
comfort  of  a  great  and  mighty  people. 

In  conclusion,  permit  us  to  hope  that  the  humble  and  genuine  affection  so 
widely  entertained  towards  him  will  tend  to  mitigate  in  some  degree  the  heavy 
bereavement  of  his  afflicted  family,  consoling  them  with  the  knowledge  that 
the  labors  of  the  departed  are  truly  appreciated  by  thousands  of  earnest  hearts 
in  far  distant  lands. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  members  of  the  Ashton-under-Lyne  Union  and 
Emancipation  Society. 

JAMES  BROADBENT,  President. 
JOHN  HAGUE,  Vice- President. 
JOHN  GLAZEBROOK,  Treasurer. 

JOB  ARUNDALE,  Secretary. 
Mrs.  LINCOLN. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       211 

Resolution  of  the  Anglesey  Baptist  Association  of  Beaumaru. 

HOLYHEAD,  June  14,  18C5. 

At  the  above  association,  held  at  the  county  town  Beau  maps,  on  the  30th 
and  31st  ultimo,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  association  desires  to  express  the  deepest 
regret  at  the  irreparable  loss  which  has  befallen  the  people  of  the  United  States 
by  the  untimely  death  of  President  LINCOLN  ;  and  its  sincere  condolence  with 
Mrs.  Lincoln  on  the  sad  event;  also  to  congratulate  our  Christian  brethren  in 
America  on  the  triumph  of  negro  emancipation. 

JOHN  LEWIS, 
Chairman  of  the  Association. 

JOHN  PALMER, 
Secretary  of  the  Association. 
His  Excellency  Mr.  ADAMS, 

Ambassador  of  t/ie  United  States,  London. 


Motion  of  a  meeting  held  in  Bolton  on  27th  April,  18G5. 

Moved  by  Alderman  Furguson,  seconded  by  Mr.  Rigby,  and  carried  unani 
mously— 

That  this  meeting  do  hereby  express  their  strongest  feelings  of  abhorrence 
and  grief  at  the  atrocious  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  dastardly  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Sevvard. 

Also  their  deep  sorrow  and  heartfelt  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and 
family. 

That  the  chairman  be  requested  to  forward  the  same  to  the  American 
minister. 


BOROUGH  OF  BOLTON,  COUNTY  OF  LANCASTER,  ENGLAND. 

Copy  of  resolution  of  t/te,  conned  of  tlie  said  borough,  unaniinoiisli/  passed  at  a 
meeting  thereof  held  on  the  lOt/i  day  of  May,  18C5. 

Resolved,  That  this  council  regards  with  intense  horror  and  detestation  the 
diabolical  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  the  twice  elected  Chief  Magis 
trate  of  the  United  States  ;  and  hereby  records  its  heartfelt  sympathy  with  his 
widow  and  countrymen,  in  their  mourning  for  his  loss  and  untimely  end,  hoping 
that  their  sorrow  may  speedily  be  assuaged  by  the  return  of  national  peace  and 
prosperity. 


212  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolution  of  the  council  of  Brecliin. 

At  Brechin,  and  within  the  council  chambers  there,  on  the  tenth  day  of  May, 

eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five. 

In  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  said  city,  the  following  resolution,  moved  by 
Alexander  Guthrie,  esquire,  provost,  was  unanimously  agreed  to  : 

The  magistrates  and  councillors  of  the  city  of  Brechin,  in  the  county  of 
Forfar,  Scotland,  having  heard  with  feelings  of  sorrow  and  indignation  of  the 
cowardly  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  resolved  to  express  their  abhor 
rence  and  detestation  of  the  cold-blooded  and  murderous  deed,  and  their  cordial 
sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United  States,  on  being  thus  deprived  of  one 
who,  by  his  honesty  of  purpose  and  patriotism,  as  well  as  steadfast  adherence 
to  what  he  considered  the  principles  of  right  and  justice,  has  left  behind  him  a 
name  that  will  long  be  remembered  ;  and  the  council  further  resolve,  that  a 
copy  of  this  resolution,  signed  by  the  provost,  and  having  the  seal  of  the  city 
affixed,  be  transmitted  to  his  excellency  Mr.  Adams,  the  United  States  minister 
in  London. 

[SEAL.]  ALEXANDER  GUTHRIE, 

Provost. 


AVe,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Berwick-upon- 
Tweed,  in  council  assembled,  in  unison  with  all  classes  of  her  Majesty's  sub 
jects,  beg  to  add  our  expression  of  horror  and  indignation  at  the  unparalleled 
crime  which  has  deprived  the  United  States  of  America  of  their  admirable 
President,  and  of  our  deep  and  sincere  sympathy  with  the  sorrow  of  that  great 
people,  caused  by  an  ac.t  of  such  atrocity. 

Given  under  the  common  seal  of  the  borough,  at  our  quarterly  meeting,  on 
tin;  3d  day  of  May,  1865. 

r          T     Sealed  in  open  council  this  3d  day  of  May,  1865. 
LSEAL.J 


At  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Burnley,  held  at  the 
council  room,  Burnley,  on  the  3d  day  of  May,  1865 — the  mayor  presiding — 

Resolved  unanimously,  (on  motion  of  Mr.  Alderman  Coultate,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Alderman  Massey,)  That  this  meeting,  as  representing  the  inhabitants  of 
Burnley,  desires  to  express  its  profound  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the 
United  States  of  America  at  the  irreparable  loss  sustained  by  them  through 
death,  by  assassination,  of  their  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  ;  and  to  record  its 
abhorrence  of  the  infamous  crime  which  has  excited  so  much  horror,  as  well  in 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       213 

this  country  as  throughout  the  United  States  ;  and  that  a  copy  of  this  resolu 
tion,  signed  by  the  town  clerk,  be  forwarded  to  Mr.  Adams,  the  American 
minister  in  London. 

I  certify  the  above  to  be  a  true  copy. 

[SEAL.]  A-  B-  CREEKE, 

Town  Clerk. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  royal  burgh  of  Burntisland,  Scot 
land,  held  on  the  2d  day  of  May,  1865,  the  following  resolution  was  unanimously 
agreed  to,  and  the  provost  was  requested  to  forward  a  copy  of  the  same  to  his 
excellency  the  honorable  Charles  Francis  Adams,  United  States  minister: 

The  provost  magistrates  and  town  council  of  the  royal  burgh  of  Burntis- 
land,  in  their  own  name,  and  in  that  of  the  community  whose  interests  they 
represent,  beg,  most  respectfully,  to  offer  to  the  people  of  America  their 
expressions  of  deep  sympathy  and  condolence  on  the  occasion  of  the  lamented 
death  of  the  late  able,  high-minded,  and  enlightened  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  desire  at  the  same  time  to  record  their  strong  feelings  of  abhorrence 
and  detestation  of  the  crime  by  means  of  which  the  death  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States  was  accomplished. 

u     ,  n  C.  K.  SWAIRIGHT, 

I  >I'.A  Ij.  I 

Provost  of  .Burnt  island. 


BOROUGH  OF  BARNSTAPLE,  in  the  county  of  Devon,  to  wit : 

At  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  this  borough,  held  on  the 
10th  day  of  May,  1865,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  council,  in  its  corporate  capacity,  desires 
to  express  its  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the  assassination  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  to  convey  the  expression  of  its  sympathy  and  condolence 
at  the  loss  which  his  widow  and  the  American  nation  have  sustained. 

That  a  copy  of  this  resolution,  with  the  corporate  seal  attached,  be  for 
warded  to  the  representative  of  the  United  States  in  this  country. 

THOMAS  LAMBE  WILLSHIRE, 

IShAL. 

Mayor. 


BOROUGH  OF  BRECON : 

At  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  chartered  borough  of  Brecon,  held 
at  the  Guildhall  of  the  same  borough,  on  Thursday,  the  llth  day  of  May,  181)5, 
Geo.  Cansick,  esquire,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  it  was 


214  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Unanimously  resolved,  (on  motion  of  Mr.  Alderman  Thomas,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Councillor  Davis,)  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  unqualified 
abhorrence  of  the  crime  by  which  the  United  States  of  America  have  lost  their 
President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  to  record  its  sincerest  sympathy  with  his 
widow  and  family,  as  well  as  with  the  government  and  people,  on  their  irre 
trievable  loss. 

Resolved,  also,  (on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Councillor  Bright,  seconded  by  Mr. 
Councillor  Prothero,)  That  the  above  resolution  of  sympathy  be  signed  by  the 
mayor  on  behalf  of  the  meeting,  and  the  common  seal  of  the  borough  be 
affixed,  and  that  the  member  for  the  borough,  Colonel  Watkins,  be  respectfully 
requested  to  forward  the  same  to  the  American  minister  in  London  for  trans 
mission.  . 

[SEAL.]  GEO.  CANSICK,  Mayor. 


At  a  special  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Banbury,  in  the 
county  of  Oxford,  held  on  Friday,  the  5th  day  of  May,  1865,  the  mayor  in  the 
chair,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  council  has  heard  with  the  deepest  sorrow 
and  indignation  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  sincerely  sympa 
thize  with  the  parliament  and  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  great  loss 
they  have  sustained,  by  the  death  of  so  able  and  so  good  a  man,  and  this  council 
cannot  thus  express  its  feeling  without  adding  its  heartfelt  sympathy  with  Mrs. 
Lincoln. 

That  Sir  Charles  Douglas,  member  of  Parliament  for  the  borough,  be 
requested  to  forward  a  copy  of  the  above  resolution  to  the  American  minister. 

[SEAL.]  RICH.  EDMUNDS,  Mayor. 


Address  of   the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of   Bridport, 

Dorset  county. 

We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Bridport,  in 
the  county  of  Dorset,  in  council  assembled,  entertaining,  in  common  with  the 
whole  British  people,  feelings  of  just  indignation  at  the  unnatural  and  cowardly 
crime  recently  perpetrated,  beg  to  offer  to  our  American  brethren  our  deep 
sympathy  at  the  great  loss  they  have  sustained  by  the  untimely  death  of  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN,  at  a  moment  when  his  steadfast  energies  were  apparently  devoted 
to  the  pacification  of  your  powerful  country.  We  would  also  express  our  satis 
faction  at  the  escape  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward  from  the  attempt  made  upon  his 


EXPRESSIONS  OP  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       215 

life,  and  our  hopes  that  before  long  he  may  be  restored  to  his  friends  and  the 
American  nation  in  perfect  health  and  vigor. 

At  the  same  time  we  would  desire  to  unite  in  the  common  expression  from 
this  country  of  respectful  sympathy  witli  Mrs.  Lincoln  on  this  occasion  of  her 
deep  and  awful  bereavement. 

Given  under  our  common  seal  the  ninth  day  of  May,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-five. 

[SEAL.]  HERBERT  E.  HOUNSELL,  Mayor 

Hon.  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

Minister  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


GUILDHALL,  Bath,  May  2,  1865. 

SIR  :  We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  city  and  borough  of 
Bath,  in  council  assembled,  beg  to  join  our  fellow-countrymen  of  all  classes  in 
expressing  our  profound  indignation  and  sorrow  at  the  assassination  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

At  any  moment,  and  under  any  circumstances,  the  English  nation  would 
have  been  filled  with  horror  on  hearing  that  a  powerful  ruler,  trusted  and 
beloved  by  millions,  had  been  struck  down  by  the  hand  of  violence,  but  that 
this  act  of  odious  wickedness  had  been  committed  now,  when  Mr.  LINCOLN'S, 
life  was  so  precious  to  himself,  to  his  country,  and  to  the  world,  is  an  event  far 
more  than  commonly  distressing. 

We  feel,  sir,  that  we  should  very  imperfectly  discharge  our  duty  if  we 
merely  offered  you  our  sympathy,  earnest  and  heartfelt  as  it  is.  We  are  anx 
ious,  also,  to  assure  you  that  no  words  of  wisdom  and  gentleness,  concilia) ion 
and  peace,  uttered  by  your  late  lamented  President  will  be  forgotten  in  England. 
or  fail  to  secure  our  affectionate  gratitude ;  and  while  we  mourn  deeply  with 
all  and  for  all  who  suffer  from  the  event,  especially  for  her  to  whom  he  was 
bound  by  the  tenderest  ties,  we  yet  trust  that  even  this  awful  bereavement  will 
be  overruled  for  good,  and  that  your  statesmen  and  warriors  may  be  filled  with 
stronger  desire  and  greater  power  to  overcome  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
peace;  and,  not  least,  that  between  America  and  England  there  will  always  be 
the  harmony  and  the  confidence  so  natural  in  their  near  relationship,  and  so 
essential  to  their  mutual  prosperity. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  town  council  of  the  city  and  borough  of  Bath. 

JEROM  MURCH,  Mayor. 

His  Excellency  the  MINISTER 

of  t/ie  United  States  of  America. 


216  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Extract  from,  the  minutes  of  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of 
Bucking] i  a  m,  he/don  Monday,  the  first  day  of  May,  1865. 

That  this  council  desires  to  express  its  deep  feeling  of  abhorrence  at  the 
dreadful  crime  committed  in  America  by  the  assassination  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  its  sympathy  with  the  people  of  America  in  the  sad  and 
mournful  event;  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  indulge  the  hope  that  the  establish 
ment  of  a  lasting  peace  throughout  the  entire  republic  may  not  be  jeoparded 
or  delayed  by  the  awful  calamity. 

GEORGE  NELSON, 

Town  Clerk. 


Address  of  condolence  from  the  corporation  of  Bedford  to  the  gorernment  and 
people  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

The  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  ancient  borough  of  Bedford,  in 
quarterly  meeting  assembled,  desire  to  convey  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States  of  America  an  expression  of  the  horror  and  grief  with  which  they 
received  the  intelligence  of  the  atrocious  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN, 
and  the  murderous  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward,  his  Secretary  of  State.  Shocking 
and  revolting  as  is  the  crime  of  murder  at  any  time  and  under  any  circum 
stances,  it  is  the  more  especially  to  be  deplored  in  this  instance,  where  the 
ruler  of  a  great  nation  was  suddenly  cut  off  from  the  people  at  a  moment  when 
his  untiring  energies,  calm  judgment,  and  conciliating  disposition  were  most 
needed  for  the  advantage  of  his  countrymen,  and,  indeed,  for  the  interests  of  the 
civilized  world. 

Under  these  appalling  circumstances  the  municipal  body  of  this  ancient 
borough  offer  to  the  government  and  citizens  of  the  United  States  their  sincere 
and  heartfelt  condolence,  and  while  sympathizing  with  them  in  this  their  great 
hour  of  difficulty,  they  beg  to  express  their  earnest  wishes  and  ardent  hopes 
that  the  spirit  of  conciliation  and  desire  for  peace  which  so  eminently  dis 
tinguished  the  late  excellent  President  may  now  influence  the  councils  of  the 
American  nation,  that  a  secure  and  lasting  peace  may  be  insured,  and  that  a 
prosperous  and  glorious  future  may  be  in  store  for  the  people  who  have  lately 
passed  through  so  sad  and  grievous  an  ordeal. 

To  the  widow  and  family  of  the  murdered  President  the  municipal  body 
desire  to  oifer  their  sincere  condolence,  and  to  express  their  deepest  sympathy. 
They  would  rejoice  to  be  able  to  give  words  of  comfort  to  them  in  this  great 
affliction. 

Grievous  and  irreparable  as  is  the  bereavement  under  which  the  widow 
and  family  are  now  suffering,  it  is  consoling  to  reflect  that  the  best  exertions 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       217 

and  talents,  and  finally  the  life  of  the  lamented  President,  were  spent  in  the 
service  of  his  country. 

Given  under  the  common  seal  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of 
the  borough  of  Bedford,  the  llth  day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  JAMES  HOWARD,  Mayor. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Bridgenorth,  in  the  county  of 
Salop,  held  at  the  Town  Hall  on  the  12th  day  of  May,  in  the  year  1865, 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  council  desires  to  express  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States  its  abhorrence  of  the  atrocious  crime  which  has  deprived 
the  States  of  the  life  of  their  late  President,  and  at  the  same  time  sincerely  to 
record  its  deep  and  earnest  sympathy  with  the  government  and  people  of  the 
United  States  in  this  great  calamity. 

Remlced,  That  the  seal  of  the  council  be  attached,  and  that  the  same  be 
transmitted  without  delay  to  the  honorable  C.  F.  Adams,  ambassador  for  the 
United  States,  resident  in  London. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  PERRY,  Manor, 


At  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  city  of  Bristol,  held  on  the  28th 
day  of  April,  1865,  on  the  motion  of  the  mayor,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  following  address  be  signed  by  the  mayor 
and  transmitted  to  the  American  minister  in  London : 

We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  members  of  the  town  council  of  the  city  of 
Bristol,  have  heard  with  feelings  of  the  deepest  indignation  and  horror  that  the 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America  has  been  cruelly  murdered,  and  we 
express  our  heartfelt  sympathy  with  the  American  minister,  and  through  him 
with  the  American  people,  in  this  their  time  of  national  sorrow. 

We  desire  also  to  offer  our  respectful  condolence  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  under 
the  overwhelming  bereavement  which  she  has  sustained,  and  we  earnestly  hope 
that  the  sad  event  which  has  happened  may  be  overruled  by  Providence  to  the 
welfare  of  America,  and  that  the  future  of  that  great  country  may  be  one  of 

peace,  progress,  and  prosperity. 

WM.  NAIS1I,  Mayor. 


COUNCIL  HOUSE,  Bristol,  May  4,  1865. 

SIR:  1  have  the  honor  of  informing  your  excellency  that  at  a  largely 
attended  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Bristol,  over  which  I  presided,  the  following 
resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  ;  and  the  duty  having  devolved  upon  me 

28 


218  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

of  forwarding  them  to  your  excellency,  I  take  leave  to  express  my  heartfelt  con 
currence  in  the  sentiments  they  convey 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

WM.  NAlSH,-l%w  of  Bristol, 

His  Excellency  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

United  States  Minister.  London. 


Resolution  1.  That  this  meeting  desires  to  record  its  utter  abhorrence  of 
the  diabolical  crime  by  which  the  life  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  has  been  taken  away,  and  to  express  its  sincere  condolence 
with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  deepest  sympathy  with  the  American  nation  in  their 
present  time  of  national  sorrow. 

Resolution  2.  That  this  meeting  would  convey  to  the  American  people  its 
sincere  desire  that  the  disastrous  war  which  has  so  long  afflicted  their  country 
may  speedily  terminate,  that  the  system  of  slavery  may  cease,  and  that  their 
affairs  may  be  so  guided  by  Providence  as  to  insure  the  permanent  issue  of 
peace,  concord,  and  prosperity  in  their  great  country. 

Resolution  3.  That  the  right  worshipful  the  mayor  be  requested,  as  chair 
man  of  this  meeting,  to  forward  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  now  passed,  to  the 
American  minister. 


BRISTOL,  May  1,  1865. 

HONORED  SIR  :  We,  the  undersigned,  teachers  connected  with  the  Bristol 
ragged  schools,  beg  permission  to  express  through  you  our  unqualified  indigna 
tion  at  the  brutal  act  which  has  deprived  America  of  one  of  its  best  Presidents, 
and  of  the  man  especially  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  the  time. 

We  venture  to  ask  that  you  will  kindly  forward  our  condolence  to  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  who  has  been  so  barbarously  bereaved  of  her  illustrious  husband. 

We  earnestly  pray  that  God  will  speedily  restore  peace  to  your  united  and 
great  country,  and  rescue  it  from  the  effects  of  a  most  wanton  and  wicked 
rebellion. 

JAMES  SHIPPERLY,  Matter. 
MARTHA  JANE  HORWOOD, 

Infant  Mistress. 
JOHN  ALLEN. 
ELIZA  OX  BURGH 
LOUISA  COX. 
RICHARD  WEYMAN,  Tailor. 
ELIZA  PALMER. 

JOSEPH  PALMER. 

Hon.  C.  F.  ADAMS, 

United  States  Minister. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF  CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  219 

2  GREAT  GEORGE  STREET, 

Bristol,  April  29,  1865. 

SIR:  At  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Bristol  Workingmen's  Club  and 
Institute  and  others,  held  last  evening  in  the  hall  of  the  club  premises,  to  pro 
pose  a  resolution  of  condolence  with   Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  American  people 
upon  the  great  loss  which  they  have  sustained,  the  following  resolution  was 
unanimously  adopted : 

"  That  this  meeting,  consisting  of  members  of  the  Bristol  Workingmen's 
Club  and  Institute  and  others,  have  heard  with  grief  and  indignation  the  sad 
intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  ;  that  it  desires  to  express 
its  deep  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  her  bereavement,  earnestly  praying 
that  the  Almighty  Disposer  of  events  may  support  her  in  this  her  hour  of  trial, 
and  in  His  own  good  time  overrule  for  good  the  terrible  calamity  which  has 
befallen  the  American  nation." 

I  am  instructed  to  have  it  forwarded  to  Mr.  Adams,  at  the  legation  of  the 
United  States  in  London,  for  presentation  through  him  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the 
American  people.  Will  you  do  me  the  favor  to  get  this  done,  at  the  same  time 
expressing  to  him  the  mingled  feelings  of  indignation  and  sorrow  which  filled 
the  hearts  of  those  present,  and  which  led  them  to  take  this  early  opportunity 
for  the  expression  of  their  sympathy. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  yours,  very  respectfully, 

HERBERT  THOMAS, 
President  of  the  Club,  Chairman. 
ZEBINA  EASTMAN,  Esq, 

United  States  Consul,  Bristol. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  Bristol  Reform  Union 

SIR  :  We,  members  of  the  Bristol  Reform  Union,  in  meeting  assembled, 
believing  it  to  be  the  duty  of  all  public  bodies  to  put  on  record  an  expression 
of  the  feelings  of  horror  and  indignation  excited  in  every  right-minded  person 
by  the  atrocious  murder  of  a  wise,  honest,  and  patriotic  President  of  a  great 
republic,  and  regarding  with  equal  detestation  the  cowardly  assault  on  the  chief 
Secretary  of  State,  desire  to  convey  to  the  President  and  people  of  the  United 
States,  to  the  bereaved  widow  and  family  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  to  the 
honorable  Mr.  Seward  and  his  family,  the  assurance  of  our  heartfelt  sorrow  and 
sincere  sympathy  in  their  profound  affliction  and  abhorrence  of  the  treacherous 
and  cold-blooded  murder  of  their  noble  and  illustrious  President  by  a  ruthless 
assassin,  the  tool  of  a  foul  conspiracy. 


220  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Associated  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  political  rights  for  the  unenfran 
chised  millions  of  our  own  country,  we  feel  the  sudden  removal  of  such  a  man 
as  a  loss  not  only  to  you,  but  to  ourselves  and  the  world  at  large.  Sprung  from 
the  people,  and  raised  by  the  force  of  his  native  genius  and  industry  to  be  the 
Chief  Magistrate  of  a  great  and  free  people,  he  has  endeared  himself  to  all  lovers 
of  liberty  by  his  devotion  to  the  great  cause  of  negro  emancipation,  and  by  his 
earnest  desire  to  confer  the  blessings  of  equal  rights  and  privileges  on  all,  with 
out  distinction  of  party,  creed,  or  color. 

While  thus  deeply  sharing  your  grief  and  sorrow  that  just  as  the  great 
work  he  had  set  himself  to  was  approaching  its  consummation,  his  death  has 
turned  the  hour  of  triumph  into  one  of  mourning,  we  fervently  trust  that  his 
successor  may  adhere  to  the  policy  he  inaugurated  and  tread  in  his  footsteps, 
by  tempering  justice  with  mercy,  and  by  advancing  those  glorious  principles  of 
freedom  arid  progress  to  which  he  had  devoted  himself;  and  we  sincerely  hops 
that  whatever  differences  of  opinion,  imaginary  grievances,  or  animosities  may 
exist  on  either  side,  they  may  not  disturb  the  cordial  amity  and  good  feeling 
which  ought  to  prevail  between  two  nations  so  like  in  race,  language,  and 
religion,  but  that  the  common  interests  of  humanity,  the  mutual  dependence  of 
the  two  countries,  and  the  sympathy  evoked  by  this  sad  catastrophe  from  all 
classes  of  Englishmen,  may  knit  more  closely  the  bonds  of  Union  and  brother 
hood  between  England  and  America. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting: 

CHARLES  MORRIS,  Chairman. 

His  Excellency  the  MINISTER 

of  the  United  States. 


Address  of  the  inhabitants  of  the,  borough  of  Brighton. 

To  the  petrple  of  the  United  States  of  America: 

The  address  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Brighton,  in  the  county 
of  Sussex,  in  public  meeting  assembled,  on  the  2d  of  May,  1865  : 

We,  the  inhabitants  of  Brighton,  in  public  meeting  assembled,  desire  to 
express  our  utter  abhorrence  and  indignation  at  the  atrocious  murder  of  Mr. 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  by  the  hand  of  a  ruth 
less  assassin,  and  the  profound  sympathy  of  our  hearts  towards  those  who  are 
our  brethren  in  origin,  at  the  awful  calamity  which  has  thus  befallen  their 
great  nation  and  stricken  us  with  amazement  and  terror 

While  we  recognize  an  overruling  Providence  in  all  things,  it  is  beyond 
human  power  to  fathom  the  depths  of  this  mysterious  dispensation  at  so  event 
ful  a  crisis  in  your  history. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       221 

It  is  our  confident  hope  and  earnest  prayer  that  America  may  speedily 
emerge  from  this  sad  sorrow,  and  all  her  troubles,  and  continue  with  our  nation 
the  happy  relations  of  peaceful  commerce  for  generations  to  come. 
Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting: 

JOHN  LEONHANDT  BRIGDEN, 

Mayor  of  Brighton. 


BOROUGH  OF  BRIGHTON,  Mai/  2,  1865. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Brighton,  held  at 
the  Town  Hall  on  Tuesday,  the  2d  May,  1865,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing 
the  sentiments  of  the  town  on  the  diabolical  assassination  of  the  American 
President,  and  of  sympathy  with  the  American  nation  under  this  fearful  calamity, 
and  to  adopt  such  resolutions  thereon  as  to  the  said  meeting  may  appear  expe 
dient,  the  worshipful  the  mayor,  J.  L.  Brigden,  esq.,  in  the  chair,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  regards  with  feelings  of  utter  abhorrence  and 
indignation  the  atrocious  murder  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  by  the  hand  of  a  ruthless  assassin,  and  desires  to  express  its 
profound  sympathy  toward  those  who  are  our  brethren  in  origin  at  the  awful 
calamity  which  has  thus  befallen  their  great  nation  and  stricken  us  with  amaze 
ment  and  terror. 

Rexolved,  That  the  deepest  sympathy  of  this  meeting  be  presented  to  Mrs. 
Lincoln  on  this  most  calamitous  event,  which,  while  it  has  deprived  the  nation 
of  the  United  States  of  its  President,  has  rendered  her  a  sorrowing  widow  under 
circumstances  so  cruel,  lamentable,  and  distressing. 

JOHN  LEONHANDT  BRIGDEN, 

Mayor  of  Brighton. 


At  a  public  meeting  of  the  trading  and  working  classes  of  Brighton,  held 
at  the  Town  Hall  on  Friday  evening,  the  5th  of  May,  1865,  on  the  assassina 
tion  of  the  President  of  the  United  States — J.  L.  Brigden,  esq.,  mayor,  in  the 
chair — it  was  unanimously  resolved  as  follows: 

That  this  meeting  regards  with  feelings  of  utter  abhorrence  and  indigna 
tion  the  atrocious  murder  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  by  the  hand  of  a  ruthless  assassin,  and  desires  to  express  its  profound 
sympathy  with  those  who  are  our  brethren  in  origin  at  the  awful  calamity 
which  has  thus  befallen  their  great  nation,  and  stricken  us  with  amazement  and 
horror;  and  that  this  meeting  of  working  men  sympathize  the  more  deeply 
with  the  untimely  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  as  he  was  the  first  President 
elected  from  the  working  classes  to  the  high  position  of  ruler  of  one  of  the 


222  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

mightiest  nations  of  the  globe  ;  that  he  carried  successfully  the  struggle  of  free 
against  slave  labor,  and  we  confidently  hope  and  believe  that  his  successor, 
Andrew  Johnson,  who  also  sprang  from  the  same  class,  may  complete  the  work 
so  nobly  begun. 

That  the  deepest  sympathy  of  this  meeting  be  presented  to  Mrs.  Lincoln 
on  this  most  calamitous  event,  which,  while  it  has  deprived  the  nation  of  the 
United  States  of  its  President,  has  rendered  her  a  sorrowing  widow,  under  cir 
cumstances  so  cruel,  lamentable,  and  distressing. 

That  the  address  adopted  at  this  meeting,  as  well  as  the  foregoing  resolu 
tions,  be  presented  to  his  excellency  Charles  Francis  Adams,  minister  of  the 
United  States,  by  the  mayor  of  Brighton,  in  conjunction  with  the  members  for 
the  borough,  who  are  hereby  respectfully  requested  to  join  him  therein. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting: 

JOHN  LEONHANDT  BRIGDEN, 

Mayor  of  Brighton,  Sussex,  Chairman, 


BRIGHTON,  May  5,  1865. 
To  the,  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  : 

We,  the  working  men  of  Brighton,  in  public  meeting  assembled,  desire  to 
express  our  utter  abhorrence  and  indignation  at  the  atrocious  murder  of  Mr. 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  by  the  hand  of  a  ruthless 
assassin  and  the  profound  sympathy  of  our  hearts  towards  those  who  are  breth 
ren  in  origin  at  the  awful  calamity  which  has  befallen  their  great  nation,  and 
stricken  us  with  amazement  and  horror.  While  we  recognize  an  overruling 
Providence  in  all  things,  it  is  beyond  human  power  to  fathom  the  depths  of 
this  mysterious  dispensation  at  so  eventful  a  crisis  in  your  history. 

It  is  our  confident  hope  and  earnest  prayer,  that  America  may  speedily 
emerge  from  this  sad  sorrow,  and  all  her  troubles,  and  continue  with  our  nation 
the  happy  relations  of  peaceful  commerce  for  generations  to  come. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting: 

JOHN  LEONHANDT  BRIGDEN, 

Mayor  of  Brighton,  Sussex,  Chairman. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  Local  Board  of  Health  of  Balsall 

Heath. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Local  Board  of  Health  for  the  district  of  Balsall  Heath, 
near  Birmingham,  in  the  county  of  Warwick,  held  at  their  offices  in  Vincent 
street,  Balsall  Heath,  aforesaid,  on  Wednesday,  the  3d  day  of  May,  1865,  it  was 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       223 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  board  desires  to  express  its  deepest  sym 
pathy  with  the  government  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  Mrs.  Lincoln. 
in  the  bereavement  which  both  have  sustained  by  the  lamented  death  of  the 
late  President,  and  to  record  its  horror  and  detestation  of  the  crime  which  has 
caused  so  great  a  national  loss. 

SAMUEL  BRIGGS,  Chairman. 


BOURNEMOUTH,  April  28,  1805. 

We,  the  undersigned,  inhabitants  of  Bournemouth,  have  learned  with  the 
deepest  horror  and  regret  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America 
has  been  deprived  of  life  by  an  act  of  violence,  and  we  desire  to  express  our 
sympathy  on  the  sad  event  with  the  American  minister  in  London,  as  well  as 
to  declare  our  hope  and  confidence  in  the  future  of  that  great  country,  which, 
we  trust,  will  continue  to  be  associated  with  enlightened  freedom,  and  peaceful 
relations  with  this  and  every  other  country. 

A.  MORDEN  BENNETT,  Perpetual  Curate. 

R.  s.  MCDOWELL,  M.  A., 

Assistant  Citrate  of  St.  Peters. 
ALEX.  B.  ARMOUR. 
WILLOUGHBY  M.  BURSLEM,  M.  D. 
L.  UPPLEBY. 

GEORGE  J.  BARTON,  Banker. 
CHRIST'R  C.  CREKKES. 
FRED.  W.  COATES,  M.  D. 
WM.  STEWART  FALH,  M.  D. 
ROBT.  CANN  LIPPINCOTT. 

AND  OVER  ONE  HUNDRED  OTHER  NAMES. 

His  Excellency  the  Hon.  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

Minister  of  t lie  United  States  of  JVort/i,  America,  at  London. 


To  the  President  of  tlve  United  States  of  America: 

SIR:  At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  township  of  Bilston,  it 
was 

Unanimously  rewired,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  feelings  of 
grief  and  abhorrence  at  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  at  the 
horrible  attempt  to  murder  Mr.  Secretary  Seward ;  also  to  convey  to  the  gov 
ernment  and  people  of  the  United  States,  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  the  expression 
of  their  profound  sympathy  and  condolence  under  the  awful  and  lamentable 
bereavement  which  has  befallen  them. 

GEORGE  BEARD,  Chairman. 


224  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

This  address  was  adopted  at  a  banquet  held  to  congratulate  the  American 
government  on  the  suppression  of  the  slaveholders'  rebellion. 

BARKHEAD,  RENFREWSHIRE,  May  4,  1865. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We  cannot  express  the  grief  and  horror  which  filled'  our  hearts 
at  the  tidings  of  President  LINCOLN'S  death.  But  who  shall  say  that  a  crime 
less  atrocious  than  the  murder  of  that  great  and  good  man,  who,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  world,  stood,  by  character  and  position,  the  most  prominent  representative 
and  champion  in  the  history  of  this  or  any  other  age  of  the  cause  of  personal 
and  national  freedom,  would  have  befitted  the  death  desperation  of  southern 
slavery  1  In  the  light  of  this,  its  last  and  culminating  sin,  which  has  at  length 
revealed  its  infamous  depths  as  a  treason  against  all  that  is  sacred  to  humanity, 
and  shocked  the  world,  we  bless  God  for  the  men  and  the  measures  which  have 
swept  that  accursed  institution  away  forever. 

We  congratulate  your  government  and  people  on  the  suppression  of  this 
gigantic  rebellion,  and  the  successful  assertion  of  your  indissoluble  unity  as  a 
nation — results  fraught  with  incalculably  blissful  interest  to  every  other  nation, 
and  especially  to  the  sons  of  toil  everywhere  throughout  the  whole  earth. 

And  while  we  would  turn  with  tenderest  sympathy  to  the  sad,  bereaved 
ones  in  your  midst,  from  the  home  first  desolated  by  this  fearful  struggle  to  that 
of  your  lamented  President,  and  would  seek  to  mingle  our  sorrow  with  theirs, 
and  while  we  would  weep  for  the  innocent  sufferers  whose  natural  protectors 
have  fallen  in  a  bad  cause,  we  cannot  but  hail  the  dawning  of  a  future  for  your 
country  infinitely  more  glorious  than  its  past,  and  rejoice  in  it,  not  for  your 
sake  alone,  but  for  our  own,  and  for  the  cause  of  liberty  and  labor  in  all  time 
coming. 

Signed  at  a  social  meeting  assembled  for  the  purpose. 

RICHARD  LIVINGSTON,  JR. 

JOSEPH  McNAB. 

ALEXANDER  JOHNSTON. 

ROBERT  PATRICK 

JOHN  McDERMOTT. 

THOMAS  PATRICK. 

WILLIAM  PATRICK. 

MATTHEW  CRAIG. 

WILLIAM  CRAIG. 

ANDREW  CRAIG. 

JAMES  BAILEY. 

AND  FIFTY  OTHER  NAMES. 

Hon.  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       225 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Bridlington  and  the  Quay,  held 
in  the  Town  Hall,  on  Monday,  the  15th  of  May,  1865,  convened  by  the  chief 
lord  of  the  manor,  in  compliance  with  a  requisition,  numerously  and  respecta 
bly  signed,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted : 

1st.  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  emphaticalty  its  feelings  of  horror 
and  .indignation  at  the  atrocious  crime  by  which  the  life  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  has 
been  sacrificed,  and  that  of  Mr  Seward  endangered,  and  its  warm  sympathy 
with  the  American  people  in  the  loss  they  have  sustained  in  the  untimely  death 
of  their  distinguished  President. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  J.  Dickinson,  Independent  minister ;  seconded  by  Mr. 
John  Reed. 

2d.  That  this  meeting  desires  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  its  sincere  and 
earnest  expression  of  sympathy  and  condolence  in  the  heavy  bereavement  she 
has  sustained  by  the  sudden  and  untimely  death  of  her  distinguished  husband. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  J.  Hodgson,  Primitive  Methodist  minister;  seconded 
by  Mr.  P.  Mackley. 

3d.  That  the  aforesaid  resolutions  be  forwarded  by  Thomas  Cape,  esq., 
chief  lord,  the  chairman  of  this  meeting,  to  the  honorable  C.  F.  Adams,  the 
American  minister,  to  be  by  him  sent  to  the  American  government  and  to  Mrs. 
Lincoln. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Barnes,  United  Methodist  church;  seconded 
by  George  Baron,  esq ,  West  Huntow  House. 

THOMAS  CAPE,  Clwirman. 


Resolution  adopted  at  a  meeting   held  by  the  inhabitant*  of  the  borough   of 
Blackburn,  in  the  county  of  Lancaster. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  borough,  held  in  the  Town 
Hall,  on  Tuesday,  the  2d  day  of  May,  1865,  the  following  was  adopted:  That 
this  meeting  desires  to  express  the  feelings  of  horror  and  indignation  with 
which  they  have  heard  of  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  of  the  murderous  attack  made  upon  Mr. 
Seward,  Secretary  of  State. 

This  meeting  further  expresses  its  cordial  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
and  the  relatives  of  the  late  President,  believing  that  her  husband's  name  will 
remain  embalmed  in  the  future  as  a  martyr;  and  prays  that  an  all-wise  Provi 
dence  may  protect  and  cheer  the  widow,  who  has  thus  lost  her  affectionate 
partner  in  life,  in  the  service  of  his  country. 

[SEAL.]  WILLIAM  STINKS, 

Mayor  and  C/Mtnnan  of  the  Meeting. 
29 


22(j  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

BOROUGH  OF  BLACKBURN,  IN  THE  COUNTY  OP  LANCASTER. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  borough,  held  in  the  Town 
Hall,  on  Tuesday,  the  2d  day  of  May,  1865,  the  following  address  wag  adopted  : 

To  Mrs  Lincoln  and  family,  Mr.  Seward  and  family,  and  the  American 
people  generally :  We,  the  inhabitants  of  Blackburn,  in  public  meeting  assem 
bled,  desire  to  convey  the  deep  sympathy  we  feel  for  the  unfortunate  position 
in  which  you  were  placed,  through  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and 
the  attack  on  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward. 

We  deeply  lament  the  existence  of  the  civil  war  which  has  for  four  years 
devastated  your  country  and  stopped  your  progress  in  the  paths  of  peace,  but 
in  our  regret  we  recognize  the  future  greatness  and  prosperity  of  your  nation: 
in  all  your  troubles  and  afflictions,  whether  as  governors,  families,  or  people,  we 
have  sympathized. 

It  has  been  wisely  said,  that  the  exigency  of  a  nation  demands  an  able 
leader,  and  that  God,  in  his  providence,  always  sends  the  man  for  the  time. 

We  believe  that  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  the  man  raised  up  for  the  special 
work,  and  lament  his  horrible  death  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin. 

We  read  with  pleasure,  that  in  the  cabinet  council,  on  the  night  the  assas 
sination  took  place,  the  flush  of  victory  in  the  fall  of  Richmond  and  the  surrender 
of  General  Lee  did  not  inspire  your  lamented  President  with  revengeful  feel 
ings,  but  that  his  last  words  were  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  Union  on  concil 
iatory  principles,  in  which  mercy  for  his  opponents  was  the  leading  feature. 

To  the  American  people  we  send  loving  words,  and  trust  that  these  great 
afflictions  will  work  out  an  abundant  harvest  of  liberty,  whereby  free  institu 
tions  may  be  consolidated,  and  labor,  by  whomsoever  performed,  dignified. 

[SEAL]  WILLIAM  STINES, 

Mayor  and  Chairman  of  the  Meeting. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  held  at  Buntham,  Somcrnetsliire. 

HONORED  SIR  :  The  underneath  resolution  was  unanimously  passed  on 
Wednesday  last,  by  a  crowded  meeting  in  the  Union  Chapel,  Edith  Meod, 
Burnham,  Somersetshire,  at  tin;  close  of  a  lecture  delivered  by  the  Reverend  J. 
S.  Buhner,  of  Bridgewater,  on  "  the  late  President  LINCOLN  and  his  assassina 
tion,"  and  I  have  now  the  honor,  as  chairman  of  the  meeting,  to  forward  the 
same  to  your  excellency. 

RICHARD  WILLIAMS. 

Hon.  C.  F.  ADAMS. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       227 

"  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  horror  and  indignation  at  the 
assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  late  distinguished  President  of  America, 
and  to  assure  the  bereaved  widow,  and  the  American  people,  of  its  deepest  sym 
pathy  with  them  in  their  hour  of  great  trial.  It  would  further  express  the 
ardent  prayer  that  America  may  yet  come  out  of  this  struggle,  trusting  in  God, 
who  has  hitherto  been  its  helper,  and  that,  guided  by  Him,  it  may  be  led  to 
permanent  peace,  great  prosperity  and  entire  national  freedom." 


SIR  :  We  have  heard  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death  of  your  late 
distinguished  President,  and  that  he  has  fallen  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  and 
that  other  citizens  of  the  United  States  have  narrowly  escaped  a  like  fate,  and 
are  still  suffering  from  their  wounds.  We  believe  there  is  not  a  Christian 
community  who  will  not,  by  deep  and  heartfelt  sympathy,  participate  with  you, 
and  with  your  country,  in  an  expression  of  grief  and  sorrow  at  this  event,  as  well 
also  of  horror  and  execration  of  the  murderers. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  village  of  Broomfield,  in  the  county  of  Essex,  in 
England,  have  been  reminded  of  this  terrible  crime  when  assembled  for  divine 
worship  ;  and  having  prayed  with  especial  reference  to  the  calamities  of  the  war 
now  devastating  your  land,  that  Almighty  God  would  mercifully  grant  peace 
and  concord  to  all  nations,  they  desire  to  express  to  your  excellency  their  sincere 
condolence ;  and  they  further  desire  their  church  wardens  will  cause  this  docu 
ment  to  be  forwarded  to  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  minister,  for  transmission 
to  the  United  States. 

J.  B.  WHITING,  Vicar. 

G.  MAUNSELL,  Curate 

HENRY  C.  WELLS, 

Church  Warden. 

THOMAS  B.  DAY, 

Church  Warden. 

AND  THIRTY-THREE  OTHERS. 

His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


At  a  public  meeting  on  Tuesday  evening,  called  by  the  mayor,  at  the 
request  of  a  large  number  of  the  citizens  of  this  town,  for  the  purpose  of 
expressing  their  feelings  of  condolence  in  regard  to  the  assassination  of  the  late 
President  of  the  United  States,  the  mayor  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Mr.  D. 
Wylie  appointed  secretary. 


228  ASSASSINATION   OF  AJ3RAHAM    LINCOLN. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Poole  opened  the  meeting  with  prayer;  after  which  the 
following  resolutions  were  passed  : 

Moved  by  Rev.  J.  K.  Smith,  A.  M.,  seconded  by  D.  Wylie,  esq.,  and 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  inhabitants  of  Brockville,  in  public  meeting  regu 
larly  assembled,  hereby  express  unfeigned  sorrow  at  the  death,  by  assassination, 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States,  and  our  deep  abhor 
rence  of  the  crime  committed,  a  crime  at  which  humanity  shudders.  We  also 
offer  our  sympathy  with  the  citizens  of  that  nation  in  the  great  loss  which  they 
have  thereby  sustained ;  and  we  fiyther  express  our  sincere  condolence'with  the 
sorrowing  widow  and  family,  in  the  heart-rending  bereavement  with  which,  in 
the  inscrutable  providence  of  God,  they  have  been  afflicted. 

Moved  by  J.  McMullen,  esq.,  seconded  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Poole — 

That  it  being  highly  desirable  that  the  citizens  of  Brockville  should  express 
by  some  public  act,  or  acts,  their  profound  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  great  affliction  which  the  all-wise  providence  of  God  has 
permitted  them  to  be  subjected  to,  be  it,  therefore, 

Resolved  by  this  meeting,  That  all  places  of  business  in  the  town  of  Brock 
ville  shall  be  closed  on  to-morrow  (Wednesday)  from  12  to  2  o'clock,  that  being 
the  period  for  the  late  lamented  President  LINCOLN'S  public  funeral  services; 
that  the  bells  of  the  town  be  tolled,  all  flags  raised  at  half-mast,  and  every  other 
mark  of  sympathy  and  respect  be  shown  that  may  be  practicable. 

Moved  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Edmondson,  seconded  by  J.  McMullen,  esq., 
and 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  cannot  permit  itself  to  separate  without  express 
ing  a  hope  that  the  melancholy  death  of  the  late  President  will  not  complicate 
the  public  affairs  of  the  United  States,  that  peace  will  soon  happily  be  restored, 
and  that  the  good  understanding  which  now  subsists  between  the  governments 
of  the  United  States  and  of  Great  Britain  will  remain  undisturbed  for  all  time 
to  come. 

Moved  by  R.  W.  Kelly,  esq.,  seconded  by  Wellington  Landon,  esq.,  and 

Resolved,  That  the  chairman  of  this  meeting  forward  a  copy  of  the  above 
resolutions  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  at  Washington  ;  and  also  give  direction 
that  they  be  published  in  each  of  the  local  journals  of  Brockville. 

Moved  by  Rev.  Mr.  Poole,  seconded  by  W.  H.  Willson,  esq.,  and 

Resolved,  That  the  chairman  do  now  leave  the  chair,  and  that  Dr.  Edmond 
son  do  take  the  same. 

A  vote  of  thanks  was  then  passed  to  the  chairman  and  secretary,  when 
the  meeting  broke  up. 

A.  B.  DANA,  Mayor,  Chairman. 
D.  WYLIE,  Secretanj. 

Dated  at  Brockville,  Canada  West,  this  19th  day  of  April,  1865. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       229 

At  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Belfast,  held  in  trie  Music 
Hall,  on  Monday,  the  8th  day  of  May,  1865,  the  mayor  in  the  chair,  the  follow 
ing  resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  to  : 

Moved  by  Thomas  Sinclair,  esq.,  chairman  of  the  harbor  commissioners, 
seconded  by  John  Shelly,  esq.,  collector  of  her  Majesty's  customs,  and 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  have  heard  with  feelings  of  profound  sorrow 
of  the  assassination  of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  desire  to  express  their  utmost  detestation  of  that  atrocious 
crime. 

Moved  by  James  Bristow,  esq.,  director  of  the  Northern  Bank,  seconded 
by  Rev.  Henry  Cooke,  D.  D.,  LL.D.,  and 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  sincere  and  deep  sympa 
thy  with  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States,  under  the  severe  loss 
which  they  have  sustained  in  the  sudden  and  cruel  death  of  the  President. 

Moved  by  Rev.  James  McCosh,  LL.D.,  Professor  Queen's  College,  seconded 
by  John  Hind,  esq.,  and 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  express  its  deep  sympathy  with  the  lion.  W. 
H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  and  with  his  family,  and 
their  utter  abhorrence  of  the  brutal  and  murderous  attack  made  on  him  and 
his  sons,  in  his  own  house,  while  confined  to  a  sick  bed. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  John  Macnaughten,  seconded  by  Theobald  Bushell, 
esq.,  J.  P.,  and 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  humbly  offers  its  sincere  and  heartfelt  condo 
lence  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  under  the  sore  trial  that  has  bereaved  her  of  an  honored 
and  affectionate  husband,  and  while  not  wishing  to  intrude  on  the  sorrow  of  a 
stricken  heart,  fervently  commends  her  to  the  support  and  care  of  a  gracious 
God. 

Moved  by  William  Mullan,  esq.,  seconded  by  Thomas  McClure,  esq.,  D. 
L.  J.  P,  and  " 

Resohied,  That  copies  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  be  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  Hon.  C.  F.  Adams,  the  American  minister,  for  transmission  to  his  Excellency 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  the  Hon.  W.  H  Seward. 

JOHN  LYTLE,  Mayor  of  Belfast. 
[SEAL.]  JAMES  GUTHRIE,  Town  Clerk. 


Copy  of  resolutions  pawed  at  on  open -air  weefii/g  of  the  inhabitants  of  Bradford, 
on  Saturday,  the  29th  April,  1865. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  expresses  its  deep  horror  and  detestation  at  the 
deed  of 'assassination  perpetrated  on  the  person  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  of  America ;  with  like  feelings  it  also  regards  the 


230 


ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


attempt  on  the  life  of  the  foreign  minister,  Mr.  Seward,  and  shudders  with 
disgust  at  such  brutal  acts  of  low,  mean,  dark,  cowardly  atrocity,  unequalled  in 
the  annals  of  history. 

Resolved,  That  the  workingmen  and  women  of  Bradford,  in  public  meeting 
assembled,  express  their  deep  sympathy  with  the  government  and  people,  their 
brethren  and  sisters  in  America,  in  the  loss  they  have  sustained  by  the  lamented 
death  of  Mr.  President  LINCOLN. 

Resolved,  That  the  worshipful  the  mayor,  as  chairman  of  this  meeting,  be 
requested  to  sign  and  forward  a  copy  of  the  above  resolutions  to  the  representa 
tives  of  the  American  government,  its  sorrowing  people,  and  the  bereaved  wife 
and  family  of  Mr.  President  LINCOLN. 

CHARLES  SEMON,  Mayor. 


Copy  of  resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  of  inhabitants  of  Bradford,  on  the  28th 

day  of  April,  1865. 

Resolved,  That  the  inhabitants  of  Bradford,  in  public  meeting  assembled, 
do  hereby  express  their  strongest  feelings  of  abhorrence  and  grief  at  the 
atrocious  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
also  at  the  dastardly  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward,  the  Secretary  of 
State. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  do  express  their  deep  sympathy  with  the 
American  people  in  the  loss  they  have  sustained  by  the  cruel  death  of  Mr. 
President  LINCOLN. 

CHARLES  SEMON,  Mayor. 


BRADFORD  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,  April  26,  1865. 

SIR:  The  council  of  the  Bradford  Chamber  of  Commerce  beg  most  respect 
fully  to  express  to  you,  and  through  you  to  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
the  horror  and  grief  which  they,  in  common  with  the  whole  civilized  world, 
must  feel  at  the  news  which  has  reached  the  town  this  day  of  the  assassination 
of  President  LINCOLN.  Just  at  the  very  moment  when  the  arduous  struggle 
which  he  had  so  gloriously  conducted  for  the  last  four  years  was  concluded  in 
the  field,  and  when  the  world  was  admiring  the  wise  and  conciliatory  spirit 
which  he  had  shown  in  his  endeavors  to  allay  conflicting  passions  and  to  heal 
the  wounds  of  his  country,  he  was  struck  down  by  a  cowardly  assassin.  The 
horrible  event  is  too  recent  to  admit  of  anything  more  than  the  mere  expression 
of  the  most  heartfelt  sympathy  and  grief,  and  the  council  are  sure  that  in  thus 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       2«U 

addressing  you  they  only  give  expression  to  feelings  which  ;ire  common  to  their 
constituents  and  to  the  whole  community  of  Bradford. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  sir,  your  faithful  servant, 

HENRY  W.  RIPLEY,  President. 
JOHN  DARLINGTON,  Secretary. 

GEORGE  J.  ABBOT,  Esq. 


BOROUGH   OF   BIRMINGHAM. 

At  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  council  of  this  borough,  held  in  the  council 
chamber  at  the  public  office,  Moor  street,  on  the  4th  day  of  May,  1865,  Henry 
Wiggin,  esq.,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  it  was  moved  by  the  mayor,  seconded  by  Mr. 
Alderman  Ilolliday,  and 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  council  desires  to  express  to  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  its  abhorrence  and  detestation  of  the  atrocious  crime 
which  has  deprived  the  American  nation  of  its  chief;  that  while  manifesting 
its  horror  at  the  foul  deed  which  sacrified  the  life  of  the  President,  at  the 
moment  when  victory  had  crowned  his  efforts  with  success,  this  council  desires 
1o  record  its  deep  and  earnest  sympathy  with  the  government  and  people  of 
the  United  States  on  this  great  calamity. 

[SEAL.]  HENRY  WIGGIN,  Mayor. 


At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Birmingham,  convened  by  the 
mayor  and  held  in  the  Town  Hall,  on  Friday,  the  28th  day  of  April,  18Go,  the 
right  worshipful  the  mayor  (Henry  Wiggin,  esq.)  in  the  chair,  it  was  moved 
by  the  mayor,  seconded  by  John  J  affray,  esq.,  and 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  the  deepest 
regret  at  the  irreparable  loss  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America 
have  sustained  by  the  untimely  death  of  President  LINCOLN  ;  that  this  meeting 
regards  with  horror  and  detestation  the  crime  by  which  the  President's  life 
was  sacrificed,  and  that  on  behalf  and  in  the  name  of  the  inhabitants  of  Bir 
mingham  this  meeting  respectfully  offers  to  the  government  and  people  of  the 
United  States  the;  most  sincere  and  earnest  sympathy  under  I  lie  calamity  which 
has  befallen  them. 

It  was  moved  by  Rev.  R.  W.  Dale,  seconded  by  Mr.  Alderman  Hawkes,  and 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  meeting  further  desires  to  record  its  deep 
regret  at  the  attempt  to  assassinate  Mr.  Seward,  the  Secretary  of  State,  and 
expresses  an  earnest  hope  that,  by  the  blessing  of  Divine  Providence,  his  life  may 
be  spared  to  the  service  of  his  country. 

HENRY  WIGGIN. 
Mayor,  Chairman  of  the  mid  Meeting. 


232  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Address  of  '•  The  Ladies  Negroes  Friend  Society  "  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

EDGEBASTON,  BIRMINGHAM,  June  16,  1865. 

Mrs.  Edmund  Sturge,  with  deep  feelings  of  respectful  sympathy  for  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  thinks  it  may  be  of  some  interest  to  her  to  know  that  the  address  has 
been  signed  by  the  wife  and  daughter  of  John  Bright,  esq.,  M.  P.,  as  well  as 
the  daughter  of  J.  Angell  James. 


BIRMINGHAM,  May  30,  1865. 

MADAM  :  We,  the  undersigned,  members  and  friends  of  "  The  Ladies 
Negroes'  Friend  Society,"  assembled  at  our  fortieth  annunl  meeting  at  the 
residence  of  the  late  Joseph  Sturge,  cannot  refrain  from  offering  you  the 
expression  of  our  deep  and  respectful  sympathy  at  this  time  of  your  bitter 
sorrow.  We  trust  in  the  conviction  of  our  hearts  that,  though  personally 
unknown  to  you,  we  may  ask  permission  to  share  your  grief,  because  we  are 
associated  to  promote  the  same  great  cause  of  human  freedom  which  your 
honored  and  beloved  and  lamented  husband*  the  late  President  LINCOLN, 
espoused  in  early  life,  and  so  religiously  and  beautifully  enforced  in  his  last 
message  to  Congress;  that  we  earnestly  desire  the  sentiments  therein  contained 
may  be  engraven  on  the  hearts  of  all  who  read  them  the  world  over. 

We  have  placed  on  record  his  saying,  so  full  of  truth,  "  If  slavery  be  not 
wrong,  nothing  is  wrong."  Thus  may  it  be  bound  more  closely  on  our  con 
sciences  and  memory,  and  stimulate  us  to  do  all  that  is  in  our  power  towards 
realizing  the  final  triumph  of  the  great  anti-slavery  cause  to  which  President 
LINCOLN  was  honored  to  render  such  vast  services.  In  commemorating  these 
services,  we  would  tenderly  remember  how  afflicting  is  the  dispensation  that 
through  them  has  been  allotted  to  you,  even  the  surrender  of  a  life  dearer  than 
your  own. 

We  have  been  comforted  by  the  knowledge  that  in  the  representative  of 
your  departed  husband,  you  had  one  near  you,  in  the  first  hours  of  your  "agoniz 
ing  sorrow,"  who  gave  expression  to  the  reflection  that  even  from  its  depths  God 
could  bring  good  to  others.  May  our  Heavenly  Father,  "  who  doeth  all  tilings 
well,"  supply  you  with  his  richest  consolations.  May  you  be  permitted  to  see, 
with  admiring  and  reverential  wonder,  such  beneficial  results  as  may  fill  your 
smitten  heart  with  resignation  and  peace.  Even  now  we  implore  you  to  take 
comfort  from  the  fact  that  already  blessed  thoughts  of  peace  and  good  will 
between  the  British  and  American  people  have  been  'nourished  by  the  com 
munity  of  feeling  awakened  by  our  common  loss  Cherishing  this  belief,  we  also 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY. 


233 


cling  to  the  hope  that  henceforth  both  nations  will  unite  in  carrying  forward 
the  sacred  cause  now  afresh  consecrated  by  the  sacrifice  of  such  a  life. 

With  heartfelt  sympathy  and  respect,  we  are,  madam,  yours,  sincerely, 

LOUISA  J.  MORLLIET, 

MARIA  CADBURY, 

LYDIA  EDMUND  ST-URGE, 

ANNA  MARIA  HARRIS, 


Treasurers. 


Secretaries. 


ELIZABETH  BRADY,  JR. 
MARY  L.  M.  GODDARD. 
ELLEN  STUEGE. 
MARTHA  DALE. 
MARIANNE  GIBBS. 
M.  A.  PHIl'SON. 
ELIZABETH  T.  PHIPSON. 
REBECCA  PIERCY. 
ANNIE  MANTIN. 
MARY  HILL  THORNTON. 
MARIA  TUCKER. 
MERCY  STEADMAN. 
JANE  PLANT. 
HENRIETTA  W.  MORGAN. 
MARY  MIDDLEMIRE. 
HANNAH  PERRY. 
ELIZABETH  GORVE. 
S.  R.  BUCKTON. 
DOUDECIMA  CROWLEY. 
JULIA  A.  SNEPP. 
GULIELMA  A.  W.  BAKER. 
MARY  GEORGE  B.  LLOYD. 
SOPHIA  SARAH  TAYLOR. 
EMMA  WIIATRUNE. 
ANN  CADBURY. 
ANNA  H.  RICHARDSON. 
MARY  W.  POLLARD. 
RACHEL  A.  ALBRIGHT 
HESTER  S.  SPRIGGS. 
MARY  E.  MARSHALL. 
S.  H.  BUCK  MAN. 
HANNAH  FOWLER. 
M.  A.  HALL. 

HARRIET  ANN  HEATON. 
SARAH  LIGHTWOOD. 
ANN  YATES. 
M.  A.  YEOMANS. 
ELIZABETH  HOWELL. 
SARAH  SCOTTIN. 
FRANCIS  FORD. 
MARY  ANNA  AVERY. 
MARY  CLARK. 
E.  F.  TAUNTON. 
J.  B.  BULLINANT. 
M.  G.   WARREN. 
MARY  BOOTH. 
MAY  BOOTH. 
HANNAH  J.  SURGE. 
TAMERSIN  CHRISTIE. 
SARAH  SOUTHALL. 
ANNA  J.  BAKER 
30 


EMMA  J.  GIBBONS. 
ANN  MARY  GOODRICK. 
MARY  ANN  KING. 
SOPHIA  SEEKINGS 
SUSAN  KING. 
ANNA  LLOYD. 
ANN  SNOWDEN. 
MARY  H.  PEASE. 
H.  B.  BO TTOMLEY. 
H.  B.  BOTTOMLEY.JK. 
SUSANNAH  REYNOLDS. 
KEZIAH  YATES. 
CAROLINE  SARGEANT. 
JULIA  GODDARD. 
CAROLINE  DAYKEN. 
CATHARINE  W.  THORNTON. 
ESTER  M.  PARTRIDGE. 
MARY  KENT. 
EMMAHULEY. 
EMMA  WAINWRIGHT. 
HANNAH  BOLTON. 
HANNAH  B.  SMITH. 
MARGARET  A.  WATSON. 
ELEANOR  STURGE. 
•MARY  WATSON. 
ELIZABETH  HUNT. 
ANNIE  CHIPMEN. 
SARAH  J.  BARNARD. 
CATHARINE  JANE  MENE. 
MARY  BIDDLE. 
MARIA  JONES. 
HANNAH  M.  JOSEPH 

SARAH  ANN  JAMES,  daughter 

of  tin;  latu  J.  A.  James. 
II.  P.   KENWAY. 
E.  PUMPHREY. 
ELIZABETH  K.  NEELE. 
CAROLINE  LLOYD. 
FANNY  JOHNSON. 
SUSAN  H.  BURROWS. 
MARY  GREVIN. 
ELLEN  JENNERS. 
SARAH  E.  PAUSLU. 
CATHARINE  MARSH. 
ANNIE  E.  WALLER 
ALICE  BURTT. 
MARIA  BAKER. 
HANNAH  GORE. 
REBECCA  FE ARSON. 
EMMA  CROFT. 
ELIZABETH  JENKINS. 


EMMA  HUDSON. 

MARY  BIRCH. 

MARCIA  H.  CADBURY. 

HANNAH  CADBURY. 

SARAH  E.  LORD. 

SARAH  ALLEN. 

FRANCIS  JENKINS. 

ELIZA  M.  STURGE. 

BELSEY  MORRIS. 

M.  A.  S  NORTHOUSE, 

PRISCILLA  IMPREY 

SOPHIA  STURGE. 

ESTER  S.  WRIGHT. 

EMMA  WRIGHT. 

ELLEN  G.  DYMOND. 

E.  WHITE. 

MARGARET  HAUTIN. 

MARY  ANN  SMESIN. 

ELIZABETH  BRADY. 

ELIZABETH  GRECE. 

MARIAN  DAVIES. 

JANE  CATTELL. 

S.  N.  MAPPLEBECK. 

CATHARINE  KEA. 

MARTHA  GAUSLEY. 

MARY  GARLAND. 

EMMA  GREAVES. 

HAN  VAH  PARKER. 

EMMA  EAGLE. 

SARAH  HEATON. 

JANE  PYE. 

M.  F  AIRFIELD. 

ELIZABETH  MIDDLEMIRE. 

JANE  GOODMAN. 

SARAH  COLEMAN. 

FRANCIS  DAY  BLADES. 

ELIZABETH  R.  CABURY. 

LUCRETIA  CUDBURY. 

MARY  HUXLEY. 

HELLEN  HOLBECHE. 

MARY  ANN  ROSE. 

ANN  MARY  SCOTT. 

JANE  BAKER. 

ELIZA  M.  SOUTHALL. 

M.  FELTON. 

M.  STOCK  WIN. 

A.  STOCKWIN. 

E.  T.  MILES. 

HELLEN  P.  BRIGHT. 

MARGARET  E.  BRIGHT. 


234  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Address  of  the  representatives  of  the  Baptist  churches  of  England,  on  the  death 

of  President  Lincoln. 

To  his  Excellency  the  honorable  Charles  Francis  Adams,  envoy  extraordinary 
and  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  of  America  at  the  court 
of  her  Most  Gracious  Majesty,  Queen  Victoria  : 

SIE:  We,  the  representatives  of  the  general  Baptist  churches  of  England, 
at  our  annual  association  held  this  year  at  Birmingham,  most  respectfully  beg 
leave  to  express,  through  you,  our  intense  sympathy  with  your  people  on  the 
occasion  of  the  tragic  death  of  your  late  honored  President,  by  the  abhorred 
act  of  an  assassin,  and  to  pay  our  tribute  of  earnest  and  affectionate  admiration 
to  the  memory  of  that  great  and  good  man,  whose  purity  of  motive,  firmness  of 
purpose,  and  kindness  of  heart  have  endeared  him  to  all  well-wishers  of  the 
human  race.  We  would  particularly  tender  our  sincere  condolence  with  his 
widow  and  family  under  their  irreparable  loss ;  and  at  the  same  time  offer  our 
heartfelt  congratulations  to  President  Johnson,  and  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  on  the  termination  of  that  dreadful  conflict  which  has,  for  four  years, 
been  productive  of  so  much  bloodshed  and  misery,  and  very  especially  because 
in  this  instance  the  restoration  of  peace  is  associated  with  one  of  the  most  wel 
come  and  gladdening  events  in  the  history  of  the  human  race — the  abolition  of 
slavery  throughout  your  country. 

For  this  we  give  most  hearty  thanks  to  the  Almighty  Disposer  of  all  events; 
and  to  Him  we  present  our  fervent  prayers  that  your  great  nation  may,  through 
all  time,  enjoy  the  manifold  blessings  of  unity  and  liberty,  intelligence  and 
piety,  peace  and  prosperity. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  association. 

THOMAS  W.  MATHEWS,  Chairman, 

Pastor  at  Boston,  in  Lincolnshire. 
THOMAS  BARRASS,  Secretary, 

Pastor  at  Peterborough. 


Blaydon  local  board. 

The  following  resolutions  were  passed  at  a  meeting  held  May  4,  1865: 
That  this  board  desires  to  give  utterance  to  the  feelings  of  grief  and  horror 
with  which  it  has  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the 
murderous  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward,  and  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  to  President 
Johnson  and  his  colleagues,  and  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  its  profound 
sympathy  and  heartfelt  condolence. 

That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  lion- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       235 

orable  C.  F.  Adams,  the  American  minister,  for  transmission  to  his  Excellency 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  the  honorable  William 
H.  Seward. 

[L.  S.] 


BOROUGH  OF  BR1DGEWATER,  IN  THE  COUNTY  OF  SOMERSET. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  said  borough,  held  at  the  Council  House 
or  Burgess  Hall  of  the  said  borough,  this  5th  day  of  May,  1865,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  council  desires  to  record  the  expression  of  its  indigna 
tion  and  sorrow  at  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  late  President  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  its  sympathy  and  condolence  with  the  people 
of  that  country,  and  also  with  the  bereaved  widow,  at  the  severe  and  irrepara 
ble  loss  which  they  have  sustained. 

Resolved,  That  the  corporate  seal  be  affixed  to  the  foregoing  resolution, 
and  that  the  same  be  forwarded  by  the  mayor  to  Mr.  Adams  for  transmission  to 
the  United  States. 

[L.  s.]  JOHN  BROWNE, 

Mayor  of  Bridgewater. 


From  the  Bridgewater  Methodist  Free  Church. 

This  meeting  desires  to  express  its  unfeigned  regret  that  the  triumphant 
course  of  the  late  President  LINCOLN  should  have  been  cut  short  by  the  hand 
of  an  assassin. 

This  meeting  also  desires  to  express  its  deep  sympathy  for  the  American 
people  in  this  hour  of  trial  and  conflict,  Nevertheless,  they  venture  earnestly 
to  desire  that,  as  truth  is  stronger  than  ever,  the  Almighty  will  be  graciously 
pleased  to  overrule  all  things  for  good,  and  to  redound  to  his  glory. 


At  a  general  meeting  of  the  commissioners  acting  under  and  by  virtue  of 
the  Bury  improvement  act  1846,  held  on  the  3d  day  of  May,  1865,  Mr.  John 
S.  Walker  in  the  chair,  it  was  moved  by  Mr.  Thomas  Grundy,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Thomas  Roberts,  and  carried  unanimously— 

That  <he  commissioners,  as  the  governing  municipal  body  of  the  town  of 
Bury,  in  the  county  palatine  of  Lancaster,  desire  to  express  their  horror  and 
sincere  regret  at  the  assassination  of  Mr.  LIXCOLN,  the  late  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  to  convey  to  the  government  and  people  of  the 
United  States  their  profound  sympathy  in  the  great  loss  they  have  sustained, 
and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  their  heartfelt  condolence  in  her  cruel  bereavement. 

Extracted  from  the  minutes. 

WM.  HARPER,  Clerk. 


236  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  inhabitants  of  Bury. 

ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

Public  meeting  at  Bury — Fred.  Anclerton,  esq.,  in  the  chair. 
Moved  by  the  Rev.  F.  Howorth,  seconded  by  Mr.  J.  Stockdale — 
That  tins  meeting  regards  with   horror,  indignation,  and  abhorrence  the 
appalling  crime  which  has  put  an  end  to  the  life  of  the  great  and  good  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN,  and  the  attempted  assassination  of  the  chief  secretary,  Mr.  Sew- 
ard. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  W.  Roseman,  seconded  by  Mr.  William  Hoyle — 
That  this  meeting  desires  to  record  its  profound  sympathy  with  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  in  this  hour  of  national  bereavement,  and  especially  with 
the  widow  of  their  twice  elected  chief,  the  intensity  of  whose  grief  is  increased 
by  the  atrocious  nature  of  the  deed  which  has  snatched  her  husband  from  her 
side. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  W.  R.  Brown,  seconded  by  Mr.  Welsby — 
That  this  meeting  earnestly  hopes  that  the  mantle  of  the  murdered  Presi 
dent  may  fall  upon  his  successor  in  office  ;  that  he  may  be  equally  distinguished 
for  his  firmness  of  principle,  the  wisdom  of  his  decisions,  the  clemency  of  his 
actions,  and  the  general  kindness  of  his  heart. 

Moved  by  Mr.  D.  Thomas,  seconded  by  Mr.  William  Pickstone — 
That  this  meeting  sincerely  hopes  that  a  fraternal  feeling  may  pervade  the 
lately  divided  sections  of  the  great  republic,  and  that  its  future  prosperity  may 
be  guaranteed  by  the  removal  of  slavery,  the  return  of  peace,  and  the  develop 
ment  of  the  unlimited  resources  of  the  country. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  Gr.  Fletcher,  seconded  by  Mr.  Wormald — 
That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  be  sent  to  Mr.  C.  F.  Adams,  the 
American  minister  in  London,  with  a  request  that  he  will  kindly  forward  them 
to  his  government  at  Washington. 
MAY  6,  1865. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  Northern  Presbytery  of  Antrim. 

At  a  stated  quarterly  meeting  of  the  Northern  Presbytery  of  Antrim,  held 
at  Ballyclare  on  the  6th  day  of  July,  1865,  the  Rev.  William  Bruce,  A.  B., 
moderator,  in  the  chair,  it  was 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  at  this  our  first  meeting  since  the  lamented 
death  of  the  honorable  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  we  feel  called  upon  to  record  our  detestation  of  the  atrocious  crime 
by  which  he  was  suddenly  cut  off  in  the  midst  of  his  days  and  his  usefulness ; 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       237 

our  participation  in  the  sorrow  of  the  members  of  his  family  under  the  loss 
which  they  have  thus  sustained;  and  our  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  deprived  of  a  high-minded  Chief  Magistrate,  at  the  very  moment 
when  his  invincible  firmness  and  undaunted  fortitude  had  been  rewarded  with 
success  more  complete  than  usually  attends  on  the  wisest  of  human  counsels  ; 
and  when,  from  his  high  character,  there  was  every  reason  to  expect  that  mod 
eration  in  victory,  and  that  merciful  consideration  towards  a  vanquished  enemy, 
which,  accompanying  the  glorious  emancipation  of  the  slave,  would  have  for 
ever  associated  the  name  of  LINCOLN  with  that  of  Washington  as  marking  the 
introduction  of  a  new  and  happy  era  in  the  history  of  his  country. 

That  we  desire  to  express  our  earnest  hope  that  the  government  and  people 
of  the  United  States  will  employ  their  utmost  efforts  to  consummate  their  great 
victory  in  the  manner  most  consistent  with  Christian  principle,  most  accordant 
with  the  soundest  policy,  and  best  corresponding  with  the  dignity  of  a  great 
and  magnanimous  nation. 

Signed  in  the  name  and  by  order  of  the  presbytery. 

WILLIAM  BRUCE,  A.  B.,  Moderator. 
J.  SCOTT  PORTER,  Clerk. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  local  board  of  health  for  the  district  of  the  township 
of  Barnsley,  in  the  west  riding  of  the  county  of  York,  held  at  the  court-house 
in  Barnsley  aforesaid,  on  Tuesday,  the  9th  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1805 — present,  Alfred  Badger,  James  Buckley,  Thomas  Cope,  William  Day. 
William  Hopwood,  Frederick  Gervis  Jackson,  John  Ostcliffe,  Charles  Newman, 
Joseph  S.  Parkinson,  Charles  Lacey  Rogers,  James  Taylor — it  was  (inter  alia) 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  board,  although  representing  but  a  small 
community  of  Englishmen,  yet  desires  to  participate  in  the  public  expression  of 
horror  and  indignation  at  the  crime  of  assassination,  and  especially  when  directed 
against  the  chief  rulers  of  a  nation. 

The  recent  atrocious  murder  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  attempted 
assassination  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward,  call  forth  our  most  profound  sympathy 
and  heartfelt  condolence  with  the  government  and  citizens  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  deprived  as  they  are,  at  a  most  momentous  crisis  in  their  history, 
of  the  benevolent,  energeticrand  patriotic  guidance  of  their  lamented  late  Presi 
dent. 

[Signed  by  the  above  eleven  members  of  the  same  local  board.] 
[SEAL.] 


238  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolutions,  numbered  respectively  1,2,  3,  and  4,  adopted  unanimously  at  a  joint 
meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  of  Berlin  and  Waterloo,  Canada 
West,  held  at  the  court-house  at  Berlin,  on  Wednesday,  the  19th  day  of 
April,  A.  D.  1865,  in  compliance  with  the  proclamations  of  the  reeves  of 
aforesaid  corporations,  for  the  purpose  of  affording  the  citizens  an  oppor 
tunity  of  giving  expression  to  their  sympathy  with  the  American  people, 
and  the  bereaved  family  of  the  late  President,  as  well  as  to  manifest  the 
deep  sorrow  and  horror  felt  at  the  atrocious  and  appalling  crime  that  resulted 
in  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  late  lamented  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America — Ward  Hamilton  Bowlby,  esq.,  reeve  of  the  town  of 
Berlin,  presiding  as  chairman,  and  Israel  D.  Bowman,  esq.,  county  clerk, 
acting  as  secretary. 

RESOLUTION  No.  1. 

Moved  by  William  Jaffray,  esq.,  postmaster,  and  seconded  by  Dougall  Mc- 
Dougall,  esq.,  county  registrar,  and 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  of  Berlin  and 
Waterloo,  in  the  province  of  Canada,  assembled  on  the  funeral  day  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States,  desires,  with  the  deepest  sincerity, 
to  express  its  heartfelt  indignation  at  the  cowardly  and  wanton  act  by  which 
the  President  and  patriot,  the  ruler  and  friend  of  the  republic,  has  been  lost  to 
his  country,  at  the  moment  of  his  greatest  usefulness,  and  when  he  could  have 
almost  said  of  the  great  work  he  had  undertaken,  "  It  is  finished."  In  the  death 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  this  meeting  feels  that,  while  the  United  States  as  a  nation 
have  lost  a  firm  yet  merciful  and  amiable  ruler,  and  the  people  individually  a 
counsellor  and  friend,  the  world  at  large  has  been  bereft  at  the  same  time  of 
one  whose  large-hearted  humanity  and  innate  love  of  freedom  and  liberal  institu 
tions  placed  him  at  once  in  the  fore  rank  of  nature's  noblemen. 

RESOLUTION  No.  2. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Schulte,  and  seconded  by  Henry  F.  J.  Jackson, 
esq.,  superintendent  of  schools,  and 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  tender  the  American  people,  bowed  down  this 
day  in  overwhelming  sorrow  over  the  mortal  remains  of  their  late  illustrious 
Chief  Magistrate,  the  expression  of  their  heartfelt  sympathy  at  the  national 
calamity  with  which  it  has  pleased  an  all-wise  Providence  to  afflict  them.  That 
they  regard  the  dastardly  and  barbarous  murder  of  President  LINCOLN  not  only 
as  an  irreparable  loss  to  the  American  nation  in  the  present  momentous  crisis 
of  their  history,  but  as  a  common  loss  to  humanity,  liberty,  and  the  brotherhood 
of  mankind  all  the  world  over. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       239 

RESOLUTION  No.  3 

Moved  by  John  J.  Bowman,  esq .,  editor,  and.  seconded  by  the  Ilev.  F.  A. 
Kaessman,  and 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  would  desire,  most  respectfully  and  tenderly, 
to  express  their  sympathy  tor  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family,  in  the  sore  and  affecting 
bereavement  which,  in  the  inscrutable  dispensation  of  an  overruling  Providence, 
they  have  sustained,  having  at  one  fell  blow,  "  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye,"  been  robbed  of  husband,  parent,  and  friend.  May  He  who  ruleth  all 
things  well  comfort  and  sustain  them  in  this  hour  of  their  deepest  grief. 

RESOLUTION  Xo.  4. 

Moved  by  John  A.  Mackie,  esq.,  justice  of  the  peace,  and  seconded  by 
Henry  S.  Huber,  esq.,  crown  land  agent,  and 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  his 
excellency  the  governor  general  of  British  North  America,  respectfully  request 
ing  that  lie  transmit  the  same  to  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States  of 
America. 

Certified  to  be  true  copies. 

W.  H.  BOWLBY,  Chairman. 

ISRAEL  D.  BOWMAN.  Secretary. 

Dated  at  Berlin,  county  of  Waterloo,  and  province  of  Canada,  this  19th  day 
of  April,  A.  D.  1865. 


Resolution  oj  the  Birkenhead  Working  Men's  Association, 

GLASNEVEN,  BALL'S  ROADS,  BIHKENHEAD, 

May  8,  1865. 

I  beg  to  communicate  to  you  the  following  resolution,  proposed  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Downe,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Graham,  and  which  was  unanimously 
carried  at.  a  large  meeting  of  the  Birkenhead  Working  Men's  Association,  held 
in  the  Craven  Rooms  here  last  night,  and  which  I,  as  chairman,  was  requested 
to  forward  to  you  : 

"  Reso/red,  That  this  meeting  views  with  deep  concern  and  indignation  the 
late  atrocious  murder  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  the  able  and  popular  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  expresses  its  sympathy  with  ihe  great  American 
people  in  the  present  crisis  of  their  affairs." 

In  addition  to  this  unanimous  expression  of  the  feelings  of  those  present 
at  the  meeting,  I  may  be  permitted  to  add  that  I  myself  cordially  respond  to  the 
sentiments  expressed,  and  view  with  deep  grief  the  melancholy  end  and  sad  loss 
of  one  whom  I  regarded  as  a  just  and  good  man,  and  a  wise  and  merciful  ruler, 
and  that  I  hope  it  may  please  God  to  dispel  the  dark  cloud  that  this  event  has 


240  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

cast  over  the  American  nation,  and  out  of  the  present  evil  to  bring  forth  future 
and  lasting  good,  for  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  our  afflicted  kinsmen. 
I  have  the  honor  to  lie,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  GEORGE  KELLY. 
T.  H.  DUDLEY,  Esq., 

American  Consul,  Liverpool. 


GOVERNMENT  HOUSE,  NASSAU, 

May  1.  1865. 

SIR  :  I  cannot  doubt  that  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States 
will  be  gratified  at  learning  that  in  the  Bahamas,  as,  I  believe,  throughout  her 
Majesty's  dominions,  the  atrocious  act  which  has  struck  down  their  late  Presi 
dent,  at  so  critical  a  period  of  the  national  affairs,  and  at  a  moment  of  such 
intense  interest  to  himself  and  the  nation,  is  viewed  with  the  utmost  abhorrence 
and  detestation,  and  that  it  has  aroused  the  liveliest  sympathy  for  the  widow 
and  family  of  the  late  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  for  the  nation  thus  cruelly  robbed  of 
its  Chief  Magistrate,  whom  it  had  so  lately  delighted  to  honor  by  a  triumphant 
re-election  to  his  exalted  post. 

It  is,  therefore,  a  great  satisfaction  to  me  that  I  am  able  to  add  to  the 
personal  expression  of  my  own  sentiments  of  regret  and  sympathy  on  this 
mournful  occasion,  two  resolutions,  in  original,  passed  unanimously  in  the  legis 
lative  council  and  house  of  assembly  of  this  colony,  now  in  session,  which  I 
request  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  lay  before  the  new  President  in  such  a 
manner  as  you  may  think  most  fitting,  together  with  the  enclosed  copy  of  my 
message  to  the  two  houses,  which  led  to  this  hearty,  and,  I  believe,  thoroughly 
sincere  response. 

I  have,  &c.,  &c , 

RAWSON  W.  RAWSON,  Governor. 


Extract  from  tlie  speech  of  Governor  Hawson  on  tlie.  closing  of  the  Bahamas  legis 
lature.  May  3,  1865. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT,  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  LEGISLATIVE  COUNCIL  AND  OF 
THE  HOUSE  OF  ASSEMBLY  :  The  startling  and  painful  intelligence  which  has 
lately  reached  us  of  the  atrocious  crime  that  has  deprived  a  neighboring  state 
of  its  Chief  Magistrate,  has  awakened  here,  as  elsewhere  in  her  Majesty's  domin 
ions,  the  liveliest  feeling  of  detestation  of  the  act,  and  of  sympathy  with  Mr. 
LINCOLN'S  family  and  nation.  You  have  judged  it  to  be  a  fitting  occasion,  as 
the  chosen  representatives  of  the  people  of  these  islands,  to  give  expression  to 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        241 

their  sentiments.  I  shall  have  much  pleasure  in  forwarding  the  resolutions 
which  you  have  presented  to  me  to  her  Majesty's  minister  at  Washington,  for 
the  purpose  of  being  laid  before  the  new  President,  and  1  cannot  doubt  that 
they  will  be  very  acceptable  to  the  officer  and  people  to  whom  they  are 
addressed. 


Whereas,  while  the  house  considers  itself  bound,  in  general,  to  abstain  from 
the  expression  of  any  opinion  on  subjects  relating  to  foreign  nations,  yet,  view 
ing  the  lamentable  occurrence  by  which  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  a  friendly 
power  has  been  struck  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  as  constituting  an 
exceptionable  state  of  circumstances,  calling  as  well  for  an  expression  of  sym 
pathy  towards  the  bereaved  family  and  nation  of  the  victim  as  of  abhorrence  of 
the  crime — 

Resolved,  nemine  contradicente  That  this  house  has  with  deep  regret  heard 
of  the  act  of  atrocity  by  which  the  late  President  of  the  United  States  was 
suddenly  deprived  of  life,  and  the  house  hereby  tenders  to  the  family  of  the 
deceased  President  and  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  this  expression  of 
sincere  sympathy  at  the  calamitous  event. 

That  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  transmitted  to  his  excellency  the  gover 
nor,  with  a  request  that  he  will  forward  the  same  to  the  British  minister  at 
AVashington,  to  be  communicated,  as  he  may  think  proper,  to  the  authorities  of 
the  United  States. 

Extracted  from  the  minutes  of  the  house  of  the  27th  of  April,  1865. 

G.  C.  ANDERSON,  Speaker. 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  legislative  council  deeply  laments  the 
death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States,  and  sympathizes  pro 
foundly  with  his  family  and  with  a  kindred  and  friendly  nation,  deprived  of  its 
Chief  Magistrate  in  so  melancholy  a  manner  by  a  detestable  and  monstrous 
crime,  of  which  the  board  of  council  cannot  adequately  express  its  condemna 
tion  and  horror. 

By  order  of  the  board  : 

W.  H.  DOYLE,  President. 

COUNCIL  CHAMBER,  May  1,  186.5. 


Lieutenant  Governor  Hamhij  to  C.  M.  Allen,  Exq.,  U.  S.  Consul. 

MOUNT  LA.NGTON,  April  26,  1865. 

SIR:   I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  your  communication  of  yesterday, 
conveying  to  me  the  shocking  intelligence  of  the  death,  by  assassination,  of  the 


31 


242  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America.     Believe  that  I  urn  deeply  sensible 
of  the  magnitude  of  the  loss  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  sus 
tained,  and  that  I  have  read  with  interest  the  tribute  to  the  late  President's 
high  qualities  which  this  melancholy  occasion  has  drawn  from  you. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

W.  G.  HAMLEY,  Lieutenant  Governor. 


GOVERNMENT  SECRETARY'S  OFFICE, 

British  Guiana,  May  22,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  governor  directs  me  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  official 
communication  of  this  day's  date,  announcing  the  death  of  his  Excellency  ABRA 
HAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  I  am  to  con 
vey  to  you  the  expression  of  his  very  deep  regret  on  the  occasion. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient,  humble  servant, 

WALTER  HOWARD  WARE, 

Acting  Government  Secretary. 

P.    W.    FlGGELMESY,  Esq., 

United  States  Consul,  Demerara. 


Lord  Mo  nek  to  Sir  F.  Bruce. 

QUEBEC,  April  17,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  intelligence  of  the  perpetration  of  the  atrocious  outrage  by  which 
the  United  States  has  been  deprived  of  their  Chief  Magistrate  has  filled  all 
classes  of  the  community  in  this  province  with  awe  and  horror. 

Immediately  that  I  received  a  confirmation  of  the  sad  news,  I  gave  direc 
tions,  in  conjunction  with  the  lieutenant  general  commanding  her  Majesty's 
troops  in  this  province,  that  at  all  civil  and  military  stations  the  flags  should  be 
hoisted  half-mast  high. 

I  shall  feel  much  obliged  if  you  will  take  a  fitting  opportunity  of  commu 
nicating  to  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  on  the  part  of  the  gov 
ernment  and  people  of  this  province,  their  deep  feeling  of  abhorrence  of  the 
crime  which  has  been  committed,  and  their  profound  sympathy  with  the  gov 
ernment  and  citizens  of  the  United  States  at  the  loss  which  they  have  sustained. 
1  have,  &c., 

MONCK. 

Honorable  SIR  F.  BRUCE,  G.  C.  B.,  fy. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  243 

BENGAL  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE, 

Calcutta,  Jane  3,  1865. 

SIR  :  As  chairman  of  a  general  meeting  of  the  Bengal  Chamber  of  Com 
merce  held  this  day,  I  have  the  honor  to  place  in  your  hands  a  copy  of  a  resolu 
tion  unanimously  adopted  by  the  meeting,  and  to  request  you  will  have  the 
goodness  to  transmit  the  same  to  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  government  of 
the  United  States. 

The  resolution  records  the  horror  with  which  the  commercial  community 
of  this  city  view  the  assassination  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States, 
their  sympathy  in  the  calamity  which  the  American  nation  has  suffered  by  the 
lamented  death  of  their  eminent  Chief  Magistrate,  and  their  earnest  hope  that 
the  long-continued  war  may  be  happily  terminated  by  an  early  restoration  of 
peace,  lasting  and  prosperous. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  BULLEN. 
NATHANIEL  P.  JACOBS,  Esq., 

Consul  General  for  the  United  States  of  America. 


Resolution  paused  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  Bengal  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  place  on  record  the  horror  with 
which  they,  in  common  with  all  ranks  and  classes  of  her  Majesty's  subjects, 
view  the  assassination  of  the  late  Mr.  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America;  the  deep  sympathy  which  they  feel  for  the  people  of  that  country 
under  the  great  national  calamity  which  this  event  has  brought  upon  them  ; 
and  their  earnest  hope  that  the  war  from  which  they  have  suffered  so  severely 
may  soon  be  brought  to  a  close,  and  be  followed  by  peace,  lasting  and  prosper 
ous. 

A  true  copy  : 

JOHN  BULLEN. 


Meeting  of  the  American  community. 

The  American  merchants  and  ship-masters  of  Calcutta  assembled  to  the 
number  of  thirty  or  forty,  at  the  counting-house  of  Messrs.  Atkinson,  Tilton  & 
Co.,  on  Wednesday  afternoon,  June  7,  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of  their 
deceased  President,  LINCOLN.  The  meeting  was  opened  by  the  appointment 
of  the  American  consul  general  for  India,  Nathaniel  P.  Jacobs,  esq.,  to  preside, 
and  of  the  reverend  Mr.  Dall  as  secretary. 

A  committee  was  then  appointed  to  draught  resolutions  embodying  the 
sense  of  the  meeting  It  consisted  of  Messrs.  Eldridge,  Whitney,  Dall,  Hanilin, 


244  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

and  Knowles.  The  following  were,  after  a  brief  conference  in  the  committee- 
room,  presented,  and  received  unanimous  approval : 

Resolved,  That  we,  Americans  of  Calcutta,  India,  desire  to  add  our  testi 
mony  of  respect  and  of  sorrow  to  that  which  has  been,  and  is  now  being, 
expressed  in  various  parts  of  the  world  for  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  justly  hon 
ored  and  beloved  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  murdered  while 
on  duty — martyred  in  the  hour  of  triumph  of  his  arduous  and  successful  labors 
for  us  and  for  humanity.  We  mourn,  in  his  death,  the  unreturning  departure 
of  a  true  patriot,  ruler,  and  friend. 

Resolved,  That  with  our  grief  is  mingled  a  grateful  and  deep  satisfaction 
at  the  general  outburst  of  sympathy  in  this  our  national  bereavement,  and  at 
the  expression  of  fellow-feeling  which  seems  to  come  to  our  native  land  from 
every  region  in  which  Christianity  has  fount!  a  home  or  a  mission. 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  the  hand  of  the  Ruler  of  all  nations  in  the 
loss  which  we  have  sustained  ;  and  while,  to  us,  the  blow  comes  with  double 
force  at  this  particular  time,  when  his  wisdom  and  abilities  were  peculiarly 
needed,  we  bow  to  the  divine  will,  and  doubt  not  that  Grod's  protecting  hand 
will  be  extended  to  our  suffering  country,  and  that  good  will  come  out  of  what 
now  seems  to  us  an  irreparable  loss 

Resolved,  That,  in  these  expressions  of  sorrow,  we  specially  desire  to 
remember  the  widow  and  family  of  our  late  President,  and  to  convey  to  them, 
as  to  our  fellow-countrymen,  our  earnest  sympathy  at  the  calamity  which  has 
befallen  them. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  token  of  our  present  relation  to  the  deceased,  and  out 
of  respect  to  his  memory,  we  will  wear  crape  on  the  left  arm  for  the  next  thirty- 
days  ;  and  that  the  masters  of  American  ships  in  port  be  requested  to  set  their 
colors  at  half-mast  for  one  week  from  this  date. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  handed  to  the  consul  general 
of  the  United  States  of  America  for  British  India,  with  the  request  that  he  will 
have  them  transmitted  to  the  proper  authorities  at  home. 

F.  F.  Wills,  esq.,  moved  that  the  resolutions,  as  now  read,  be  accepted  and 
adopted  as  an  expression  of  American  feeling  in  Calcutta ;  and,  on  the  second 
ing  of  Mr.  H.  B.  Goodwin,  they  were  carried  unanimously,  and  the  meeting  was 
dissolved. 


Special  general  meeting  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  for  the  town  of  Calcutta,  held 

on  Tuesday,  the  13th  June,  1865. 

Present,  the  chairman  and  vice-chairman,  Hon.  W.  S.  Seton-Karr,  Colonel 
Nicolls,  R.  E.,  and  fifty-five  others. 

The  honorable  W.  S.  Seton-Karr  proposed  the  following  resolution : 
That  the  justices  for  the  town  of  Calcutta,  in  meeting,  view  with  the  utmost 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       245 

abhorrence  the  diabolical  act  which  has  deprived  the  United  States  of  America 
of  their  President. 

The  resolution  being  seconded  by  Baboo  Ramanath  Tagore,  was  carried 
unanimously. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Ferguson  then  moved  the  following  resolution : 

That  the  justices  desire  to  express  their  deep  sympathy  for  the  widow  and 
the  children  of  the  late  President,  and  for  the  American  people,  under  the  loss 
they  have  sustained. 

The  resolution  was  seconded  by  Dr.  Brougham,  and  carried  unanimously 

Mr.  Remfry  then  moved — 

That  these  resolutions  be  communicated  to  the  consul  general  for  the 
United  States  in  this  city,  with  a  request  that  he  will  transmit  the  same  to  the 
widow  of  the  late  President  and  to  the  American  government. 

The  resolution  being  seconded  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Roberts,  was  carried  unani 
mously. 

True  copy  : 

V.  H.  SCHALCH, 
Chairman  to  tlie  Justices  of  the  Peace. 


Vestry  of  the  Parish  of  Chelsea. 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  vestry  of  the  parish  of  Chelsea,  representing  about 
seventy  thousand  inhabitants,  having  heard  with  the  deepest  horror  and  indig 
nation  of  the  death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  by  the 
hand  of  a  dastardly  assassin,  desire  to  express  to  the  American  minister,  and 
through  him  to  the  American  people,  our  heartfelt  sympathy  with  them  in  this 
their  time  of  national  sorrow. 

We  further  desire  to  record  our  deep  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  under 
the  sudden  and  overwhelming  bereavement  which  she  has  sustained,  and  we 
earnestly  hope  that  this  sad  and  appalling  event  may  be  overruled  by  Provi 
dence  to  the  welfare  of  America,  and  that  the  future  of  that  great  country  may 
be  one  of  peace  and  prosperity. 


Resolutions  at  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Camden  (own. 

1.  That  this  meeting  desires  to  give  utterance  to  the  feelings  of  grief  and 
horror  wiih  which  it  has  heard  of  the  assassination  of  the  late  President 
LINCOLN  and  the  murderous  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward,  and  to  convey  to  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  the  United  States  government  and  people,  an  expression  of  its  pro 
found  sympathy  and  heartfelt  condolence. 


246  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

2.  That  this  meeting  hails  with  delight  the  prospect  of  returning  peace  in 
America  and  the  total  abolition  of  slavery. 

3.  That  copies  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
honorable  C.  F.  Adams,  the  American  minister,  for  transmission  to  his  Excel 
lency  the  President  of  the  United  States,  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  the  honorable 
W.  H.  Seward. 

On  behalf  of  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Camden  town,  held  in 
Camden  Hall,  Friday  evening,  May  5,  1865  : 

DUGALD  CAMERON, 

Chairman. 
RAYMOND  JAVENY,  Secretary. 


Resolutions  at  a  meeting  held  by  tlie  inhabitants  of  Chatham. 

At  a  large  and  influential  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Chatham,  held  in 
the  lecture  hall,  on  Tuesday,  the  16th  of  May,  at  the  close  of  an  earnest  and 
eloquent  address  by  Henry  Vincent,  esq.,  of  London,  "  On  the  rise  and  fall  of 
the  slaveholders'  rebellion  against  moral  obligations  and  human  freedom,  to  the 
culminating  crime,  the  murder  of  honest  President  LINCOLN,"  Henry  Everest, 
esq.,  justice  of  the  peace,  in  the  chair,  the  following  resolution  was  moved  by 
the  reverend  Gr.  L.  Herman,  and  seconded  by  S.  Steele,  esq.,  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  carried  unanimously  : 

That  this  meeting  expresses  its  affectionate  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
the  American  people  and  their  government,  under  the  sad  loss  they  have 
sustained  by  the  atrocious  murder  of  the  late  illustrious  President  LINCOLN,  but 
at  the  same  time  offers  its  warm  congratulations  that  the  crime  of  a  vile  assas 
sin  has  not  arrested  the  progress  of  the  republic  towards  a  complete  and  full 
victory  over  all  its  opponents,  and  it  most  earnestly  rejoices  in  prospect  of  the 
speedy  restoration  of  the  Union  and  the  complete  destruction  of  negro  slavery. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting : 

HENRY  EVEREST, 

Chairman. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  at    West  Cramlington,  Northumberland, 

Saturday,  May  20,  1865. 

That  this  meeting  desires  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Licnoln,  President  Johnson, 
Mr.  Seward,  and  the  people  of  the  United  States,  the  expression  of  its  utter 
abhorrence  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  its  condolence  for  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       247 

loss  sustained,  and  its  heartfelt  hope  that  peace  and  freedom  may  bless  forever 
the  land  of  promise  in  the  west.  * 

That  the  Hon.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  United  States  ambassador  in 
London,  be  respectfully  requested  to  transmit  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  President 
Johnson,  and  the  Hon.  William  H.  Sevvard,  copies  of  the  foregoing  resolutions. 


E.rccrpt  from  minutes  of  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  royal  burgh  of  Crail, 
in  the  county  of  Fife,  Scotland,  dated  eighth  day  of  May.  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-jice. 

Inter  alia,  the  council  expressed  their  detestation  and  abhorrence  of  the 
atrocious  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  attempts 
to  assassinate  the  Secretary,  and  also  their  sympathy  with  the  American 
government  and  people  under  the  calamity  which  has  befallen  them ;  and  the 
provost  was  requested  to  communicate  this  expression  of  the  feelings  of  the 
council  in  the  proper  quarter. 

Extracted  from  the  minutes  by — 

MAT.  F.  CONOLLY,  Clerk, 


At  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  city  of  Chester,  held  the  third 
day  of  May,  1865,  it  was  moved  by  the  right  worshipful  the  mayor,  Robert 
Frost,  esquire,  seconded  by  Mr.  Councillor  Henry  Ford,  and 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  council  desires,  before  proceeding  to  the 
business  of  the  day,  to  express  its  horror  and  indignation  at  the  assassination 
of  President  LINCOLN,  and  at  the  atrocious  attempt  made  on  the  life  of  the  Hon. 
VVTilliam  H.  Seward,  and  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  people  of  the  United 
States  its  deep  sympathy  and  condolence  with  them  in  their  bereavement. 

It  was  moved  by  the  right  worshipful  the  mayor,  Robert  Frost,  esquire, 
seconded  by  Mr.  Alderman  John  Trevor,  and 

Resolved  unanimously.  That  copies  of  the  foregoing  resolution,  under  the 
common  seal  of  the  city,  be  forwarded  to  the  United  States  minister,  in  London, 
for  transmission  to  his  Excellency  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Mrs 
Lincoln,  and  the  Hon.  William  H  Seward. 

Given  under  the  common  seal  of  the  city  of  Chester,  this  fifth  day  of  May, 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-five. 

[SEAL.]  R.  FROST,  Mayor. 


248  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

To  his  Excellency  the  Minister  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

Sm:  We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  councillors  of  the  borough  of  Chip- 
pcnhatn,  in  the  county  of  Wilts,  in  council  assembled,  beg  to  join  our  fellow- 
countrymen  in  expressing  our  profound  indignation  and  sorrow  at  the  assassina 
tion  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

At  any  moment  and  under  any  circumstances  the  English  nation  would 
have  been  tilled  with  horror  on  hearing  that  a  powerful  ruler,  trusted  and 
beloved  by  millions,  had  been  struck  down  by  the  hand  of  violence ;  but  that 
this  act  of  odious  wickedness  has  been  committed  now,  when  Mr.  LINCOLN'S 
life  was  so  precious  to  himself,  to  his  country,  and  to  the  world,  is  an  event  far 
more  than  commonly  distressing. 

We  feel  anxious,  sir,  to  assure  you,  not  only  of  our  earnest  and  heartfelt 
sympathy,  but  that  every  sentiment  of  wisdom  and  gentleness,  conciliation  and 
peace,  uttered  by  your  late  lamented  President,  will  be  deeply  treasured  in 
England,  and  will  not  fail  to  secure  our  affectionate  gratitude.  And  while  we 
mourn  with  all  and  for  all  who  suffer  from  the  event,  especially  for  her  to 
whom  he  was  bound  by  the  tenderest  ties,  we  yet  trust  that  even  this  awful 
bereavement  will  be  overruled  for  good — that  your  statesmen  and  warriors  may 
be  filled  with  stronger  desire  and  with  greater  power  to  overcome  the  difficul 
ties  in  the  way  of  peace;  and,  not  least,  that  between  America  and  England 
there  will  always  be  the  harmony  and  the  confidence  so  natural  in  their  near 
relationship,  and  so  essential  to  their  mutual  prosperity. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Chippenham  : 
[SEAL.]  JOHN  WILSON,  M.  A,  Mayor. 

CHIPPENHAM,  WILTS,  May  9,  1865. 


At  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  common  councillors  of 
the  borough  of  Cardigan,  held  the  9th  day  of  May,  1865,  it  was — 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  we,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  councillors  of 
the  borough  of  Cardigan,  in  council  assembled,  desire  to  give  expression  to  the 
feelings  of  horror  and  indignation  with  which  we  have  heard  of  the  atrocious 
assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  the  murderous  attack  upon  Mr.  Secre 
tary  Seward  and  his  sons,  and  beg  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  American 
people  an  expression  of  our  profound  sympathy  and  heartfelt  condolence  at  the 
irreparable  loss  which  they  have  sustained. 

Signed  in  behalf  of  the  members  of  the  corporation  of  Cardigan  by — 

RICH.  W.  JENKINS,  Mayor. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       249 

That  the  corporation  of  Carnarvon  desires  to  record  its  detestation  of  the 
atrocious  crime  perpetrated  by  the  cruel  murder  of  the  President  of  America, 
and  to  express  its  deep  sympathy  with  the  people  who  have  been  suddenly 
deprived  of  their  Chief  Magistrate  by  the  hand  of  a  cowardly  assassin. 

That  copies  of  this  resolution,  signed  by  the  mayor,  be  forwarded  to  his 
excellency  the  American  minister. 

[SEAL.]  LLEWELYN  TURNER,  Mayor. 


CITY  AND  BOROUGH  OF  CANTERBURY  AND  COUNTY  OF  THE  SAME, 

April  27,  1865. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  council  held  at  the  Guildhall,  on  Thursday,  the 
27th  day  of  April,  1865,  present  the  mayor  in  the  chair,  the  following  resolution 
was  unanimously  adopted  by  acclamation  : 

We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  councillors  of  the  metropolitical  city  of  Can 
terbury,  have  learned  with  startling  surprise  and  deep  regret  of  the  death  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States  by  the  hand  of  a  cowardly  assassin ;  and  we 
desire  to  express  our  sympathy  with  the  American  minister  in  London,  and 
through  him  with  his  country  at  large,  at  this  mournful  event  which  deprives 
them  of  their  Chief  Magistrate,  and  the  world  of  one  of  the  greatest  friends  to 
humanity. 

By  order: 

[SEAL.]  WILLIAM  FLINT,  Town  Clerk. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Cork. 

At  an  assembly  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Cork,  held  on  Mon 
day,  the  1st  of  May,  1X65,  the  right  worshipful  Charles  J.  Cantillon,  mayor,  in 
the  chair,  on  motion  of  Councillor  Lyons,  seconded  by  Alderman  Casey,  it 
was — 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  council  desire  to  express  the  deepest  regret 
at  the  great,  loss  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  sustained  by  the 
untimely  death  of  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  ;  that  this  council  view  with 
feelings  of  horror  the  atrocious  crime  by  which  the  President's  life  was  sacri 
ficed,  and  desire  respectfully  to  offer  to  the  government  and  people  of  the  United 
States  the  sincerest  expression  of  profound  sympathy. 

That  copies  of  this  resolution,  signed  by  the  mayor  and  countersigned  by 
32 


250  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

the  town  clerk,  be  sent  to  the  American  minister  in  London,  with  a  request 
that  lie  will  transmit  one  to  the  Secretary  of  State  at  Washington,  and  the 
other  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

CHARLES  J.  CANTILLON, 

Mayor  of  Cork. 

ANDREW  CASEY,  JR.,  Town  Clerk. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Congleton,  in  the 
county  of  Chester,  held  on  Wednesday,  the  3d  day  of  May,  1 865,  the  following 
resolution  was  unanimously  passed,  on  motion  of  the  mayor,  seconded  by  Mr. 
Alderman  Hadh'eld : 

That  this  council  hereby  expresses  its  feelings  of  extreme  sorrow  and  indig 
nation  at  the  dastardly  and  cruel  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  desires 
hereby  to  show  its  sympathy  with  our  kindred  people,  who  have  been  so  sud 
denly  deprived  of  the  head  of  their  government,  at  a  time  so  critical  and  in  a 
manner  so  atrocious. 

BENJ.  RADLEY,  Mayor. 

CHRIS.  MOORHOUSE,  Town  Clerk. 


At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Congleton,  in 
the  county  of  Chester,  held  on  Wednesday,  the  3d  day  of  May,  1865,  Benjamin 
Radley,  esq.,  the  mayor  of  the  borough,  in  the  chair,  the  following  resolutions 
were  unanimously  passed : 

1.  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  heartfelt  sympathy  with  the 
government  and  people  of  the  United  States  in  their  present  calamity,  and  its 
abhorrence  of  the  atrocious   crimes  by  which  the  late   President  has   been 
deprived  of  life  and  the  republic  has  been  bereft  of  a  ruler  of  patriotic  integrity 
and  large-hearted  beneficence,  and  by  which  his  principal  minister  has  almost 
fallen  under  a  dastardly  assassin  while  lying  on  the  bed  of  sickness ;  and  that  it 
is  the  earnest  desire  of  the  meeting  that  these  cruel  and  disastrous  events  may 
be  overruled  by  Providence  for  good  in  drawing  together,  in  stricter  accord  than 
ever  before,  the  sympathies  and  affections  of  the  great  Anglo-Saxon  race. 

2.  That  this  meeting  wishes  most  respectfully  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  her  family  the  deepest  sympathy  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  borough  in  their 
affliction,  which  they  trust  may  be  in  some  degree  alleviated  by  the  knowledge 
that  it  is  shared  by  the  princes  and  peoples  of  the  whole  civilized  world,  and 
especially  by  the  Queen  and  people  of  this  kindred  nation. 

BENJ.  RADLEY,  Cfuiirman 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  251 

Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  held  at  Cardiff. 

The  following  resolution  was  passed  unanimously  at  a  public  meeting  in 
Cardiff,  on  the  12th  of  June,  1865,  after  a  lecture  delivered  by  the  Rev.  J.  B. 
Balmer,  of  Bridgewatcr,  on  the  late  President  LINCOLN  and  his  assassination  : 

"  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  horror  and  indignation  at  the 
assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  late  distinguished  President  of  America, 
and  to  assure  the  bereaved  widow  and  the  American  people  of  its  deepest 
sympathy  with  them  in  this  hour  of  great  trial.  It  would  further  express  the 
ardent  prayer  that  America  may  yet  come  out  of  this  struggle  trusting  in  God, 
who  has  hitherto  been  its  helper,  and  that,  guided  by  Him,  it  may  be  led  to 
permanent  peace,  great  prosperity,  and  entire  national  freedom  " 


APRIL  29,  1865. 

We,  the  undersigned,  the  merchants,  brokers,  and  others  at  this  port,  beg 
to  convey  to  you  our  sympathy,  indignation,  and  horror  at  the  assassination  of 
Mr.  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United  States.  We  feel  that  his  loss  will 
be  deplored  not  only  by  the  British  nation,  but  throughout  the  civilized  world, 
and  we  sincerely  trust  and  believe  that  the  great  nation  you  represent  will  be 
able  to  bear  with  dignity,  and  that  its  future  progress  will  in  no  way  be  impeded 
by,  the  great  arid  irreparable  loss  it  has  sustained. 

JOHN  PRIDE,  Mayor. 
WILLIAM  ALEXANDER, 
Alderman  and  Justice  of  tJie  Peace. 
D.  HOWELL, 

Treasurer  of  St.  John's,  Cardiff. 
SAMUEL  NASH. 
SYDNEY  D.  JENKINS. 
THOS.  HODGE. 
JOHN  WILLIAMS. 
JOSEPH  ELLIOTT. 
J.  II.  WILSON. 

AND  SOME  FIFTY  OTHERS. 
CHARLES  EDWARD  BURCH, 

Consul  for  the  United  States  of  America  at  Cardiff'. 


Resolution  jta.wd  at  a  meeting  held  hi/  the  council  of  tlie  city  of  Coventry. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  city  of  Coventry  held  at  the  justice 
room,  St.  Mary's  Hall,  in  the  said  city,  on  Tuesday,  the  9th  day  of  May,  1865, 
Robert  Harvey  Minster,  esq.,  mayor,  presiding,  it  was — 


252  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  council,  on  this  first  occasion  of  its  meet 
ing  since  the  receipt  of  the  intelligence  from  America  of  the  deplorable  assassi 
nation  of  President  LINCOLN,  desires  to  express  its  cordial  sympathy  with  the 
government  and  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  under  that  great 
calamity,  and  its  horror  at  the  detestable  crime. 

That  this  council  also  desires  to  express  its  feelings  of  deep  and  respect 
ful  sympathy  with  Mrs.  LINCOLN  in  her  loss  of  a  husband  whose  rare  virtues 
under  the  most  trying  circumstances  the  civilized  world  had  learned  to  recognize 
and  admire. 

That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions,  under  the  common  seal,  be 
presented  to  the  American  minister  in  London. * 

In  testimony  whereof,  the  common  seal  of  the  said  city  of  Coventry  is 
hereunto  affixed  this  9th  day  of  May.  1865. 

[SEAL.]  R.  HARVEY  MINSTER, 

Mayor  of  Coventry. 


At  a  public  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Coventry  held  at  St.  Mary's  Hall, 
in  the  said  city,  on  Thursday,  the  4th  day  of  May,  1865,  Robert  Harvey  Minster, 
esquire,  mayor,  presiding,  it  was— 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  citizens  of  Coventry,  in  public  meeting 
assembled,  do  hereby  wish  to  convey  to  the  American  people  their  grief  and 
horror  at  the  atrocious  and  cowardly  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  their 
single-minded,  kind-hearted,  and  noble  President,  and  their  deep  sympathy  with 
the  government  under  the  loss  of  one  whose  firm,  mild,  and  conciliatory  character 
had  won  the  respect  and  admiration  of  both  friends  and  enemies. 

That  the  mayor  be  requested  to  transmit  to  the  American  minister  the 
resolution  just  passed. 

R.  HARVEY  MINSTER, 

Mayor  of  Coventry. 


BOROUGH   OF   CAMBRIDGE. 


At  a  council  holden  at  the  Guildhall  there  on  Tuesday,  the  2d  day  of  May, 
1865,  Swann  Hurrell,  esq.,  mayor,  it  was— 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  council  takes  the  earliest  opportunity  of 
declaring  that  it  participates  in  the  general  feeling  of  horror  and  indignation  at 
the  murder  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  desires  to 
convey  to  the  government  and  people  of  that  country  its  sympathy  on  this  sad 
occasion,  and  to  tender  to  the  afflicted  widow  an  assurance  of  most  respectful 
and  heartfelt  condolence. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        253 

Ordered,  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  transmitted  to  the 
honorable  Charles  Francis  Adams,  minister  of  the  United  States  in  London. 

C.  H.  COOPER,  Town  Clerk. 


The  Chancellor  of  Cambridge  to  Mr.  Adams. 

DEVONSHIRE  HOUSE,  May  12,  1865 

SIR  :  It  is  my  agreeable  duty,  as  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Cambridge, 
to  transmit  to  your  excellency  the  enclosed  letter,  expressing  the  indignation  of 
the  university  at  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  its  sympathy  with 
your  countrymen  on  the  loss  they  have  sustained. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  excellency's  most  obedient  servant, 

DEVONSHIRE. 


Address  to  his  excellency  the  Hon.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  minister  of  the  United 
States  of  America  at  the  court  of  her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland. 

SIR  :  We,  the  chancellor,  masters,  and  scholars  of  the  University  of  Cam 
bridge,  desire  to  assure  you,  as  the  representative  in  this  country  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  that  we  cordially  share  those  sentiments  of  indignation  and 
abhorrence  which  have  been  called  forth  throughout  England  by  the  intelligence 
of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN.  Removed,  as  we  are,  from  the  arena 
of  political  discussion,  we  still  cannot  forbear  to  say  that  crimes  of  this  nature 
are  essentially  opposed  to  the  interests  of  peace  and  civilization.  The  circum 
stances  of  peculiar  atrocity  which  characterized  the  murder  of  President  LIN 
COLN  must  ever  stigmatize  it  as  a  most  foul  blot  on  the  history  of  our  times. 

We  beg  leave  to  request  your  excellency  to  make  known  in  some  suitable 
manner  to  your  countrymen  this  respectful  tribute  of  our  sympathy  and  condo 
lence  with  them  on  the  great  loss  which  they  have  sustained. 

Given  under  our  common  seal,  in  our  senate  house  at  Cambridge,  this  llth 
day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  18G5. 

[SEAL.] 


BOROUGH    OF   COLCHESTER 


At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  said  borough,  held  on  the  3d  day  of 
May,  1865,  the  following  resolution  was  unanimously  passed  : 

"That  the  council  of  this  ancient  borough  desire  to  unite  with  all  classes  of 
British  subjects  in  expressing  their  utter  detestation  of  the  atrocious  crime  by 


254  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

which  the  United  States  have  been  deprived  of  the  life  and  services  of  their 
true-hearted  and  able  President  and  citizen,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  ;  and  the  coun 
cil,  on  behalf  of  themselves  and  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Colchester 
at  large,  would  respectfully  offer  their  most  sincere  and  heartfelt  sympathy  and 
condolence  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  her  deep  personal  desolation  and  sorrow,  and  also 
to  the  whole  of  the  American  people  and  their  government  under  their  over 
whelming  national  bereavement." 
[SEAL.] 


To  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON,  President  of  tlie  United  States : 

SIR:  At  a  public  meeting  held  in  the  public  hall,  Colchester,  Essex,  Eng 
land,  on  Thursday  evening,  May  4th,  1865,  it  was — 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  has  heard  with  the  profoundest  regret  the  sad 
and  mournful  news  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  a  man  whose  life 
was  of  such  great  value,  not  only  to  the  American  people,  but  to  all  free  peoples 
everywhere,  and  desires  to  express  its  sincerest  sympathy  and  condolence  with 
the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  distressing  bereavement 
they  have  sustained,  and  their  deep  abhorrence  of  the  diabolical  deed  by  which 
so  precious  a  life  has  been  sacrificed. 

It  nevertheless  desires  to  express  its  firm  conviction  that  the  work  begun 
and  so  nobly  carried  on  by  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  in  connection  with  slavery,  can 
never  be  undone,  and  it  trusts  that  you,  his  successor,  will  effect  the  work,  both 
of  the  extinction  of  slavery  and  the  reconstruction  of  the  Union. 

That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  gratitude  to  Divine  Providence 
that  the  attempted  assassination  of  Mr.  Seward  has  not  been  successful,  and 
hopes  that  he  will  be  spared  to  render  valuable  service  in  the  utter  extinction 
of  slavery  and  the  complete  reconstruction  of  the  Union. 

That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  heartfelt  sympathy  and  condolence 
with  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  the  distressing  bereavement  she  has  sustained,  and  also 
its  deep  abhorrence  of  the  deed  which  has  so  suddenly  removed  her  lamented 
husband. 

Signed,  on  behalf  of  the  meeting,  by  the  chairman : 

THOMAS  CATCHPOOL, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  council  of  tlie  city  of  Carlisle. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  city  of  Carlisle,  held  at  the  Town  Hall, 
on  Tuesday  the  9th  of  May,  1865,  Thomas  Nansom,  esq.,  mayor,  in  the  chair— 

Resolved,  That  this  council  views  with  feelings  of  the  utmost  horror  the 
atrocious  crime  by  the  commission  of  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  of 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       255 

America  have  been  deprived  of  their  Chief  Magistrate,  and  it  desires  to  tender 
to  the  government  and  people  of  the  said  States,  and  also  to  the  afflicted  widow 
and  family  of  the  late  President,  its  sincere  sympathy  and  condolence,  under 
the  great  calamity  which  has  befallen  them  and  the  grievous  loss  they  have 
sustained. 

By  order  :  JOHN  RANCON,  Town  Clerk. 


At  a  meeting  called  by  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  Carlisle,  to  express  sympa 
thy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  American  people,  held  in  the  Athemmim,  on 
Monday,  the  15th  day  of  May,  1865,  Caleb  Hodgson,  esq.,  deputy  mayor,  in  the 
chair — 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  regards  with  feelings  of  detestation  and  horror 
the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LIXCOLX,  President  of  the  United  States  ;  the 
attempted  murder  of  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  and  of  his  two  sons;  and 
desires  to  express  its  profound  sympathy  for  Mrs.  Lincoln,  who  has  been  cruelly 
bereft  of  a  devoted  husband,  for  her  children,  who  have  lost  an  honored  father, 
and  for  the  people  of  the  United  States,  who  have  been  deprived,  at  a  critical 
moment  of  their  career,  of  a  wise,  humane  and  noble  ruler. 

Moved  by  Robert  Ferguson,  esq. ;  seconded  by  the  Dean  of  Carlisle  ; 
supported  by  Rev.  J.  E.  Hargraves. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  tenders  its  best  wishes  to  Andrew  Johnson, 
the  new  President,  and  earnestly  hopes  that,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  he  may 
be  enabled  to  carry  out  the  enlightened  policy  of  his  predecessor,  and  lead  the 
great  country  over  whose  destinies  he  has  been  unexpectedly  called  upon  to 
preside,  on  the  way  of  peace,  prosperity  and  freedom. 

Moved  by  Rev.  W.  A.  Wrigley;  seconded  by  Mr.  Cowin;  supported  by  Mr. 
John  Hargraves. 

CALEB  HODGSON, 
Deputy  Mayor,  Chairman. 


Extract  from  the  minutes  of  tie  Grand  Division  of  tlic,  order  of  tlie  Sons  of 
Temperance  of  the  province  of  Canada,  (incorporated  hi/  act  of  prorincial 
Parliament,)  at  its  semi-annual  session,  field  at  Cobourg,  Canada  Went,  on 
the  29M  day  of  June,  1865. 

Resolved,  That  this  Grand  Division  has  watched  with  much  interest  the 
struggle  just  brought  to  a  close  and  successful  issue  in  the  United  States,  and 
that  although  party  strife  ran  high,  and  the  blood  of  thousands  of  her  noble 
sons  have  stained  the  soil,  yet  we  conceive  that  one  of  the  mightiest  achieve 
ments  in  the  world's  history  has  occurred,  namely,  the  liberty  of  her  slaves. 


256  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

And  while  we  rejoice  at  the  general  results  to  this  end,  we  feel  that  we  would 
fail  in  our  duty  did  we  not  express  the  deepest  sorrow  and  commiseralion  in 
the  calamitous  event  and  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  a  gentleman  in  whom  we 
discovered  virtues  of  the  highest  order,  under  whose  government  the  most 
disastrous  civil  war  the  world  ever  witnessed  was  brought  almost  to  a  successful 
issue,  when  his  valuable  life  was  taken  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin. 

Therefore,  we,  this  Grand  Division,  do  deeply  sympathize  with  the  execu 
tive  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  in  their  great  loss ;  but  more 
particularly  would  we  sympathize  and  condole  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family  in 
their  irreparable  loss  and  bereavement.  The  nation  may  lament  over  and 
deplore  the  loss  of  their  much  loved  President,  but  the  sorrow  of  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  family  under  the  unhappy  occurrence  must  be  such  as  to  demand  the  con 
dolence  of  the  civilized  world. 

We  furthermore  record  our  unanimous  detestation  of  the  merciless  villain 
and  associates  who  either  directly  or  indirectly  plotted  and  carried  into  execu 
tion  this  abominable  act  of  assassination. 

Resolved  furthermore,  That  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  forwarded  to  the 
executive  government  of  the  United  States  at  Washington,  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  the  family  of  the  lamented  President. 

Attest : 

[SEAL.]  EDWARD  STACY. 

Grand  Scribe. 


The  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  passed  at  the  semi-annual 
meeting  of  the  Grand  Division  Sons  of  Temperance  of  Canada  East,  on  the  6th 
day  of  July,  1865: 

Resolved,  That,  while  rejoicing  over  the  happy  termination  of  the  late 
destructive  war,  we  desire  to  record  our  horror  and  detestation  for  the  assassi 
nation  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States,  and  do  hereby  tender  to  his 
bereaved  widow  and  family  our  profound  sympathy  in  their  sorrow. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  deeply  regret  the  loss  of  life  and  treasure  occa 
sioned  by  the  late  war,  we  yet  rejoice  in  the  conviction  that  the  blood  shed  and 
the  treasure  expended  have  not  been  in  vain,  but,  under  Providence,  have  resulted 
in  the  overthrow  of  that  sum  of  all  villany,  slavery,  and  the  establishment  of 
freedom  to  a  hitherto  oppressed  race. 

Resolved,  That  we  express  our  earnest  hope  that  the  bands  of  union  may 
be  drawn  closer  than  ever,  and  that,  as  the  result  of  peace,  the  blessings  of 
temperance,  prosperity,  and  religion  may  be  universally  diffused  throughout  the 
United  States 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  S.  HALL, 

Grand  Scribe. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       257 

Resolu tions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  municipal  commissioners  of  Cape  Town, 

Wednesday,  June  7,  1865. 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  board  desire  to  convey  to  Walter  Graham, 
esq.,  United  States  consul  residing  in  this  city,  an  expression  of  the  deep  sorrow 
which  the  painful  intelligence  from  Washington  has  inspired,  of  profound 
sympathy  with  the  great  people  who  have  lost  their  Chief  Magistrate,  and 
abhorrence  of  the  dastardly  acts  which  deprived  President  LINCOLN  of  life,  and 
imperilled  the  lives  of  other  high  officers  of  state. 

Further  resolved,  That  a  deputation,  consisting  of  the  chairman  and  vice- 
chairman  of  the  board,  be  appointed  to  wait  upon  Mr.  Graham  and  present  him 
with  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  field  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Cape  Town. 

CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,  EXCHANGE  BUILDINGS, 

June  13,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  forward  the  following  resolution,  passed  at  a 
special  meeting  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  this  city,  held  this  day,  and 
to  request  that  you  will  be  good  enough  to  convey  the  terms  thereof  to  your 
government  by  the  out-going  mail: 

"The  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Cape  Town  desire  to  convey  to  Walter 
Graham,  esq.,  consul  for  the  United  States  in  this  colony,  the  profound  regret 
with  which  they  have  heard  of  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  esq., 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  beg  to  offer  their  sincere  condolence  on  the 
sad  calamity,  and  to  express  their  deep  detestation  of  the  atrocious  nature  of  the 
crime  which  has  so  suddenly  deprived  the  American  nation  of  its  ruler." 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

THOMAS  WATSON, 

Vice-President. 
WALTER  GRAHAM,  Esq., 

United  States  Consul,  Cape  of  Good  Ho])e. 


To  his  Excellency  C.  F.  Adams,  American  minister  in  London  : 

The  memorial  and  address  of  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  town  council  of 
Cupar,  Fife,  in  Scotland,  showeth  that  your  memorialists,  forming  the  corpora 
tion  of'Cupar,  the  head  burgh  of  the  county  town  of  Fife,  in  common  with  the 

33 


258  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

entire  body  of  their  fellow-citizens,  and  of  the  people  generally  throughout  the 
British  nation,  desire  to  express,  as  they  hereby  do,  their  utter  abhorrence  of 
the  atrocious  crime  by  which  the  United  States  of  America  have  been  so  sud 
denly  and  cruelly  deprived  of  so  able  and  upright  and  (especially  to  the  British 
nation)  so  friendly  a  Chief  Magistrate  and  President  as  the  late  President 
LINCOLN,  and  their  sincere  sympathy  with  the  government  and  people  of  that 
great  country  on  so  sad  and  trying  an  occasion. 

Signed,  in  name  and  by  appointment  of  the  memorialists,  by 

WILLIAM  CAGAN, 

Provost  of  Cupar,  Fife. 
CUPAK,  FIFE,  May  4. 


Address  of  the  commissioners  of  supply  of  tJie  county  of  Fife,  Scotland. 

CUPAR,  FIFE,  May  1,  1865. 

SIR:  We,  the  commissioners  of  supply  of  the  county  of  Fife,  Scotland,  in 
annual  general  meeting  assembled,  desire  very  respectfully  to  convey,  through 
your  excellency,  to  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
the  horror,  indignation,  and  sorrow  with  which  we  have  heard  of  the  atrocious 
acts  of  assassination  of  which  the  city  of  Washington  has  recently  been  the 
scene,  and  particularly  our  grief  at  the  lamented  death  of  President  LINCOLN, 
by  the  hands  of  an  assassin. 

In  the  extremely  painful  and  trying  circumstances  into  which  the  govern 
ment  and  people  of  the  United  States  have,  by  such  a  sudden  and  unexpected 
calamity,  been  brought,  we  beg,  in  common  with  the  people  of  this  country, 
most  warmly  to  tender  them  our  profound  sympathy  and  regard. 

We  beg  also  respectfully  to  request  your  excellency  to  accept,  on  behalf 
of  Mrs  Lincoln  and  the  family  of  the  late  lamented  President,  our  heartfelt 
sympathy  for  her  and  them  in  the  midst  of  their  deep  sufferings,  and  to  express 
our  earnest  prayer  that  Divine  help  and  consolation  may  be  abundantly  granted 
to  them. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be  your  excellency's  most  obedient  servants. 

Signed  in  name  and  by  appointment  of  the  meeting : 

WHYTE  MELVILLE, 

Convener  of  the  County  of  Fife. 

His  Excellency  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS,  Esq., 

Minister  of  the  United  States  of  America,  London. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  259 

CAPE  COAST  CASTLE, 
Salt  Pond  Road,  No.  3,  July  12,  1865. 

SIR:  I  am  convinced  that  you  will  not  refuse  to  accept  the  expression  of 
African  feeling  to  which  the  enclosed  letter  bears  witness,  and  which  I  am 
charged  to  convey  to  you  in  behalf  of  my  countrymen. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  M.  GOOD. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SKWAED, 

Secretary  of  State. 


To  Mr.  Seward. — Letter  from  Africa. 

CAPE  COAST,  GOLD  COAST  OP  AFHICA, 

July  10,  1865. 

Sm :  We,  the  undersigned,  representing  the  natives  of  this  part  of  Africa, 
as  well  as  persons  of  African  race  resident  here,  desire  to  show,  by  the  expres 
sion  of  our  t  sorrow  for  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN  and  our  hearty 
abhorrence  of  the  manner  in  which  that  death  was  brought  about,  that  we 
are  able  to  appreciate  the  benefits  that  our  race  has  derived  from  the  results 
of  events  that  have  occurred  during  the  administration  of  that  great  and  good 
man. 

During  this  administration  it  has  pleased  God  to  bring  about  the  emanci 
pation  of  millions  of  unfortunate  persons  of  our  race  and  color  held  in  bondage. 
We  rejoice  in  this;  we  are  thankful  to  Providence;  we  bless  those  who  achieved 
such  a  result,  and  we  hope  for  better  days  for  Africa. 

We  beg  to  assure  the  American  people  that  all  true  sons  of  Africa  will 
mourn  for  the  cruel  and  untimely  fate  of  President  LINCOLN,  whose  destiny  it 
was  to  be  ruler  over  your  mighty  nation  at  a  time  when  events  took  place 
having  such  immense  importance  for  the  children  of  our  country. 

We  most  respectfully  and  sincerely  sympathize  with  the  bereaved 
widow  of  the  late  President,  and  we  cannot  sufficiently  express  our  detesta 
tion  of  those  cowardly  and  atrocious  attempts  which  had  nearly  deprived 
America  of  the  service  of  the  eminent  statesman  whom  we  now  have  the 
honor  to  address,  and  in  whose  return  to  health  and  strength  all  Africans  are 
deeply  interested,  as  being  essentially  necessary  to  the  final  accomplishment 


260  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

of  that  great  work  which  has,  under  God's  providence,  been  hitherto  so  suc 
cessfully  carried  on. 

We  are,  sir,  your  obedient  servants  and  well  wishers, 

JOHN  AGGERY, 

King  of  Cape  Coast. 
QUOW  ATTAH, 

Chief  of  Donasie. 
CHIEF  MAYAN. 
SAMUEL  WOOD,  SB., 

Interpreter  to  the  Governor. 
CHAS.  BANNESMAN, 
On  behalf  of  the  People  of  the  Eastern  Districts  of  the 

Gold  Coast,  of  Africa. 
GEORGE  SLANKSON. 
GEO.  SLANKSON,  JR., 
On  behalf  of  the  People  of  Anamaboe  District. 
KOFFEE  AFFADIE, 

King  of  Anamaboe. 
HENRY  ARQUAH, 

King  of  Winnebah. 
CHAS.  H.  GARDNER, 

Colonial  Schoolmaster  of  Massachusetts,  U.  S.  of  America. 

JOSIAH  M.  ABADOO, 

On  behalf  of  the  People. 


DEAL,  KENT,  May  6,  1865. 

SIR:  At  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  for  this  borough  held  on  Wednes 
day,  the  3d  instant,  the  resolution  hereunder  written  was  unanimously  carried, 
and  that  the  same  be  presented  through  your  good  self  to  the  government  of 
the  United  States. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

EDWARD  DREW,  Town  Clerk. 
Hon.  C.  F.  ADAMS,  Sfc.,  Sfc.,  8jc. 

'  That  this  council  hereby  express  their  sincere  regret  at  the  severe  loss 
which  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  sustained  by  the  untimely  death 
of  President  LINCOLN  ;  that  they  regard  with  the  utmost  horror  the  crime  by 
which  the  President's  life  was  taken  and  sacrificed,  and  that  on  behalf  and  in 
the  name  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  borough  (Deal)  they  most  respectfully  offer 
the  government  of  the  United  States  their  sincere  and  earnest  sympathy  under 
the  dreadful  calamity  that  has  befallen  them." 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  261 

Hon.  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

United  States  Minister  at  tlie  Court  of  St.  James: 

SIR  :  We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Dorchester, 
in  the  county  of  Dorset,  in  council  assembled,  beg  to  approach  your  excellency 
with  an  expression  of  our  deepest  indignation  and  horror  at  the  recent  murder 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  the  attempted  assassina 
tion  of  Mr.  Secretary  Sevvard  under  circumstances  of  unheard  of  atrocity,  and 
we  desire  through  you  to  offer  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  our  respectful  and  heartfelt 
condolence  under  her  sad  and  awful  bereavement;  to  Mr.  Seward  our  sincere 
congratulations  at  his  providential  escape ;  and  to  him  and  the  American  people 
our  genuine  sympathy  with  them  at  the  loss  of  a  ruler  of  whom  Americans 
were  so  justly  proud. 

Given  under  the  common  seal  of  the  borough  of  Dorchester  the  2d  day  of 
May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  PETTY  ALDRIDGE,  Mayor. 


We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Dover,  in  the 
county  of  Kent,  in  council  assembled,  desire  to  record  our  deep  regret  at  the 
melancholy  and  untimely  end  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  We  regard  with  horror  and  detestation  the  dia 
bolical  crime  by  which  his  life  was  sacrificed  to  the  remorseless  weapon  of  a 
dastardly  assassin,  at  a  time,  too,  when  the  position  of  the  great  republic  over 
which  the  President  ruled  seemed  especially  to  require  the  guiding  hand  of 
one  who  had  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  circumstances  of  the 
nation. 

We  have  marked  with  much  pleasure  the  profound  wisdom,  unwearying 
assiduity,  and  temperate  zeal  which  have  characterized  the  career  of  the  late 
President  during  his  term  of  office,  and  through  all  the  trying  circumstances  in 
which  he  has  been  placed ;  and  we  have  greatly  admired  the  manner  in  which 
he  has  used  the  successes  of  his  victorious  armies  for  the  advancement  of  the 
cause  of  peace. 

We  beg,  therefore,  respectfully  to  offer  our  most  sincere  and  earnest  sym 
pathy  to  his  bereaved  and  sorrowing  widow,  to  his  family,  and  to  the  President, 
government,  and  people  of  the  United  States,  under  the  great  calamity  which 
has  befallen  them. 

Given  under  our  corporate  seal  in  our  council  chamber  this  3d  day  of 
May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  W.  R.  MURRAY,  Mayor. 


262  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

To  his  excellency  the  ambassador  of  the  United  States  of  America  at  the  court 

of  London : 

The  humble  address  of  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  town  council  of  the 
royal  burgh  of  Dumbarton,  in  council  assembled : 

That  this  council,  in  common  with  all  classes  of  their  fellow-citizens,  have 
heard  with  horror  and  indignation  of  the  foul  and  execrable  murder  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

That  this  council  deeply  sympathize  with  the  great  American  republic 
under  the  heavy  loss  which  it  has  sustained  by  the  unexpected  and  untimely 
decease,  under  such  revolting  circumstances,  of  a  ruler  whose  personal  excel 
lence  and  high  endowments  have  rendered  him  an  object  of  honest  pride  to  his 
own  countrymen,  and  of  just  admiration  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  whose 
earnest  endeavor  to  cultivate  and  maintain  friendly  relations  with  Great  Britain 
must  ever  endear  his  name  and  memory  to  the  people  of  this  country. 

That  this  council  also  deeply  sympathize  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family 
under  their  heavy  bereavement,  and  earnestly  pray  that  they  may  be  sustained 
and  supported  by  Him  who  is  "the  husband  of  the  widow  and  the  father  of  the 
fatherless." 

And  this  council  requests  that  your  excellency  will  kindly  forward  these 
their  sentiments  to  your  government. 

Signed  in  name  and  by  authority  of  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  town 
council  of  the  royal  burgh  of  Dumbarton  this  10th  day  of  May,  1865. 

JOHN  McAUSLAND, 

Provost  and  Chief  Magistrate. 


Excerpt  from  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  royal  burgh  of  Dum 
fries,  held  May  5,  18fi5. 

Before  proceeding  to  business,  Provost  Turner  moved  that  this  council 
record  an  expression  of  the  deep  regret  and  sorrow  with  which  they  and  the 
whole  inhabitants  of  the  burgh  have  learned  of  the  death,  by  assassination,  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America ;  that,  in  common  with  the 
entire  community,  the  council  regard  with  feelings  of  horror  and  indignation  the 
cruel  and  atrocious  deed,  and  desire  to  express  their  participation  in  the  feel 
ings  of  profound  sympathy  entertained  by  the  people  of  this  country  towards 
the  people  of  the  United  States  under  the  painful  and  trying  circumstances  in 
which  they  are  placed. 

That  the  council  also  express  their  deepest  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       263 

and  the  family  of  the  late  President  on  account  of  the  severe  affliction  with 
which  they  have  been  visited. 

This  motion  was  seconded  by  Bailie  Newbigging,  and  unanimously  agreed 
to,  and  the  clerk  was  directed  to  send  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  Ameri 
can  minister  in  London. 

Extracted  by — 

WM.  MARTIN,  Town  Clerk. 


COUNCIL  CHAMBER,  GUILDHALL, 

Doncaster,  May  9,  1865. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough 
of  Doncaster,  in  the  West  Riding  of  the  county  of  York,  it  was  proposed  by 
Alderman  Shirley,  seconded  by  Councillor  Wright,  and 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  council  desires,  in  its  corporate  capacity, 
to  unite  in  the  universal  expression  of  indignation  and  sorrow  at  the  assassina 
tion  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  solemnly  to 
record  its  horror  and  detestation  of  the  treasonable  and  wicked  act  which  has 
deprived  that  country  of  its  chief  at  a  time  when  his  services  were  so  important. 
This  council  desires,  also,  in  its  corporate  capacity,  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  her  family  the  expression  of  its  deepest  sympathy,  and  sincerely  to  condole 
with  them  in  their  heavy  bereavement. 

[SEAL.]     Given  under  our  corporate  common  seal  in  council  assembled. 


Extract  fiom  the  minutes  of  a  special  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  city  of 

Dunfermlixe,  held  on  May  4,  1865. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  transaction  of  the  special  business  for  which  the 
present  meeting  had  been  called,  the  provost  took  this  the  earliest  opportunity 
of  moving  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolutions,  expressing  condolence  and 
sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  on  the  assassination 
of  President  LINCOLN,  viz  : 

Resolved,  That  this  council  do  record  a  unanimous  expression  of  the 
feelings  of  profound  sorrow  and  indignation  with  which  they  and  the  whole 
community  of  the  city  of  Dunfermline  have  heard  of  the  foul  assassination  of 
Presdient  LINCOLN  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  of  the  attempted  assas 
sination  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward  and  his  son — acts  the  atrocity  of  which  is 
scarcely  paralleled  in  the  annals  of  political  crime. 

That  they  sincerely  sympathize  with  the  government  and  people  of  the 


264  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

United  States  under  this  great  national  calamity,  and  the  peculiar  and  trying 
circumstances  in  which  they  have  been  placed  by  the  untimely  and  unexpected 
removal  of  such  an  able  administration ;  but  they  earnestly  hope  that  matters 
may  be  so  ordered  by  Divine  Providence  that  peace  and  tranquillity  shall  soon 
be  restored  to  the  United  States,  and  that  the  feelings  of  brotherhood,  amity, 
and  good  will  which  it  is  the  earnest  desire  of  this  council  should  ever  subsist 
between  that  great  country  and  England  may  be  strengthened. 

That  the  council  also  sympathize  most  deeply  with  the  widow  and  family 
of  the  late  President  in  their  afflicting  bereavement. 

That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  to  his  excellency  the  min 
ister  of  the  United  States  in  London,  with  a  request  that  he  will  take  the  ear 
liest  opportunity  of  communicating  the  same  to  his  government,  and  also  to  Mrs. 
Lincoln. 

Which,  being  seconded  by  Bailie  Alston,  were  unanimously  adopted. 

Extracted  from  council  minutes  by — 

JOHN  LANDALE,  Town  Clerk. 


Resolution  passed  by  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Dews- 
bury,  in  council  assembled,  on  the  2d  day  of  May,  1865. 

That  this  council  desires  to  give  expressions  to  the  feelings  of  horror  and 
indignation  with  which  it  has  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN, 
and  the  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward;  and  it  also  desires  to  convey  to 
Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  an  expression  of  its  heartfelt 
sympathy  and  condolence ;  and  that  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  forwarded  to 
the  honorable  Charles  Francis  Adams,  the  American  minister,  for  presentation. 

Extracted  from  the  minutes  : 

CHARLES  WALKER,  Town  Clerk. 


Resolution  passed  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Dcwsbury. 

Resolved,  That  this  council  expresses  its  utter  abhorrence  and  detestation 
of  the  foul  crime  which  has  deprived  a  kindred  nation  of  its  President  at  such  a 
momentous  crisis  in  its  history ;  and  that  such  expression  of  the  indignation  of 
the  council,  together  with  its  sympathy,  be  conveyed  to  the  American  consul  at 
Leeds. 

The  AMERICAN  CONSUL,  'Leeds. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  265 

DARWEN. 

At  a  public   meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Darwen,  Lancashire,  held  on 
Saturday,  April  29,  18G5,  the  following  resolutions  were  passed: 

1.  That  this  meeting  desire  to  express  the  feelings  which  they,  as  English 
men,  entertain  in  regard  to  the  assassination  of  the  late  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America.     They  profoundly  sympathize  with 
the  people  of  those  States  in  the  heavy  calamity  which  has  befallen  them  by 
his  sudden  and  lamented  death,  while  they  view  with   the  utmost  horror  and 
detestation   the  atrocious  crime  which   has  so  cruelly  deprived  his  family,  his 
country,  and  the  world  of  his  valuable  life. 

2.  That  copies  of  the  foregoing  resolution   be  sent  to  the  United  States 
minister  in  London,  with  a  request  that  he  will  convey  one  to  his  government 
at  Washington,  and  one  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

RALPH  SHORROCK  ASHTON, 

Justice  of  the  Peace,  Chairman. 


BOROUGH    OF  DERBY. 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  inhabitants  of  Derby. 

At  a  public  meeting  convened  by  the  mayor,  in  the  Guildhall,  Derby,  on 
Monday,  the  eighth  day  of  May,  1865,  upon  the  requisition  of  a  large  number 
of  the  inhabitants,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  indignation  at  the  assassination 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States,  and  of  condolence 
with  his  bereaved  widow  and  family,  as  well  as  of  sympathy  with  the  American 
people  in  their  present  trying  position,  the  following  resolutions  were  passed 
unanimously — Thomas  Roe,  esq.,  mayor,  in  the  chair  : 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  W.  F.  Wilkinson,  M.  A.,  seconded  by  Herbert  Holmes, 
esq.,  and  supported  by  Josiah  Lewis,  esq. : 

Resolution  1.  That  the  inhabitants  of  Derby  have  heard  with  horror  and 
indignation  of  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  whose  genuineness  of  character,  whose  desire  for  peace,  and 
whose  iaithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  high  position  must  endear  his 
memory  to  all  Americans;  and  whose  friendly  feelings  towards  this  country 
will  ever  be  recalled  in  England  with  melancholy  interest  and  satisfaction. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  E.  W.  Foley,  M.  A.,  seconded  by  the  Rev.  J.  Merwood, 
and  supported  by  the  Rev.  William  Griffith  : 

Resolution  2.  That  we,  the  inhabitants  of  Derby,  desire  especially  to  express 
our  deep  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  the  bereavement  which  this  atrocious 
crime  has  inflicted  upon  her,  and  humbly  hope  that  the  veneration  of  her  coiin- 
34 


266  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

trymen,  the  pitying  love  of  her  countrywomen,  the  respectful  commiseration  of 
the  whole  civilized  world,  and  the  remembrance  of  her  husband's  great  career, 
in  which  he  was  never  unmerciful,  even  to  an  enemy,  may  help  to  sustain  her 
in  her  sore  distress. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  John  Hyde,  seconded  by  the  Rev.  William  Jones,  and 
supported  by  Frederick  Longdon,  esq. : 

Resolution  3.  That  this  meeting  earnestly  hopes  that  the  eminently  concili 
atory  policy  of  the  late  President  may  not  be  without  its  due  effect  upon  his 
countrymen,  but  may  be  carried  forward  by  his  successor  to  the  speedy  re-estab- 
lishment  of  peace,  and  the  securing  of  prosperity  to  the  great  American  nation. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  H.  Crassweller,  and  seconded  by  the  Rev.  J.  Baxen- 
dale  : 

Resolution  4.  That  two  copies  of  the  resolutions  passed  at  this  meeting  be 
made,  and  that  his  worship  the  mayor  do  forward  them  to  his  excellency  the 
American  minister  in  London,  with  the  request  that  one  copy  shall  be  sent  to 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  the  other  to  the  government  of  the  United  States. 

THOMAS  ROE.  Mayor. 

Moved  by  John  Flewker,  esq.,  and  seconded  by  Benjamin  Wilson,  esq. . 
Resolution  5.  That  the  thanks  of  this  meeting  be  given  to  his  worship  the 
mayor,  for  his  kind  compliance  with  the  request  of  his  fellow-townsmen  in 
granting  the  use  of  the  Guildhall ;  also  for  consenting  to  preside  over  the  meet 
ing,  and  for  the  able  and  impartial  manner  in  which  he  has  discharged  the 
duties  of  chairman  on  this  occasion. 

JOSEPH  JONES, 

Honorary  Secretary. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  at  the  Town  Hall,  Devizes. 

At  a  public  meeting  held  at  the  Town  Hall,  Devizes,  on  Tuesday,  the  9th 
May,  1865,  the  mayor  in  the  chair — 

It  was  moved  by  the  Rev.  S.  S.  Pugh,  seconded  by  W.  Brown,  esq.,  and 
Resolved,  That  this  meeting  takes  the  earliest  convenient  opportunity  of 
following  the  example  of  the  two  houses  of  Parliament,  and  of  the  representa 
tive  councils  of  certain  larger  towns,  in  expressing  a  deep-felt  sorrow  at  the 
assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  ;  regarding  it  as  a  crime  of 
astounding  magnitude,  fraught  with  manifest  evil,  not  only  to  the  great  common 
wealth  with  which  we  have  long  held  friendly  relations,  but  in  all  ils  attendant 
features,  especially  in  the  dastardly  mode  of  its  consummation,  as  quite  unpar 
alleled  in  modern  times ;  and  that  as  Englishmen,  possessing  an  instinctive 
abhorrence  of  assassination,  our  sympathies  are  in  the  present  case  peculiarly 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        267 

called  forth  by  the  circumstances  that  the  victim  of  this  pitiless  murder  was  one 
whose  honest  boast  it  was  that  his  origin,  language,  and  blood  were  British, 
and  whose  avowed  sentiments  as  towards  this  country  were  cordially  pacific. 

It  was  moved  by  R.  W.  Biggs,  esq.,  LL.D.,  seconded  by  S.  Wittey,  esq., 
and 

Resolved,  That  we  warmly  sympathize  with  the  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
who  are  thus  at  a  critical  juncture  deprived  of  their  Chief  Magistrate,  and  in  an 
especial  manner  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  other  members  of  the  late  Presi 
dent's  family,  on  the  blow  that  has  so  suddenly  and  appallingly  fallen  upon  them. 

It  was  moved  by  the  Rev.  R.  Dawson,  and 

Revolved,  That  our  abhorrence  at  the  attempted  assassination  of  the  Ameri 
can  Secretary  of  State  and  his  attendants,  in  all  its  atrocious  arid  frightful 
incidents,  is  scarcely  less  than  at  its  fellow  outrage ;  the  higher  rank  of  the 
latter  in  the  scale  of  crime  being  derived  from  its  combining  treason  with  foul 
murder,  and  that  we  hereby  tender  our  kindliest  sympathies  to  the  honorable  Mr. 
Seward,  and  the  afflicted  members  of  his  household. 

Moved  by  Edward  Waylen,  esq.,  seconded  by  the  Rev.  S.  S.  Pugh,  and 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  our  best 
wishes  for  their  prosperity  and  happiness  as  a  nation,  sprung  from  the  same 
stock  as  ourselves  and  following  the  mother  country  in  removing  from  Iheir 
midst  the  dark  stain  of  slavery  ;  while  in  the  enlightened  sentiments  so  promptly 
and  frankly  expressed  by  their  present  President,  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson,  to  her 
Majesty's  minister  plenipotentiary  at  Washington,  viz.,  "that  the  friendship  of 
the  United  States  towards  Great  Britain  is  enjoined  by  every  consideration  of 
interest  and  sentiment,"  we  are  pleased  to  recognize  a  guarantee  of  that  pacific 
and  mutually  advantageous  relationship  which  has  for  so  long  a  period  marked 
the  intercourse  of  the  two  countries. 

It  was  proposed  by  Mr.  Hart,  seconded  by  Mr.  H.  Knight,  and 

Resolved,  That  the  worshipful  the  mayor  be  requested  to  send  a  copy  of 
the  foregoing  resolutions  to  Mr.  Adams,  to  be  forwarded  to  his  government  and 
to  Mrs  Lincoln. 


Resolutions  of  the  inhabitants  of  Darlington. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  the  Central  Hall,  Darlington,  on  the  2d  of  May,  18(5.r), 
and  at  which  a  large  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  were  present,  the 
Rev  Henry  Kendall  in  the  chair — 

It  was  moved  by  John  Forster  Clapham,  esq.,  seconded  by  .John  Henry 
Backhouse,  esq.,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  meeting  express  to  the  President  and 
people  of  the  United  States  of  America  its  horror  and  detestation  of  the  crime 


268  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

by  which  the  late  illustrious  President  LINCOLN  has  been  deprived  of  life ;  and 
earnestly  prays  that  this  awful  event  may  strengthen  their  determination  to 
uproot  and  utterly  destroy  the  slave  institution,  and  to  reconstruct  and  consoli 
date  their  union  upon  the  basis  of  free  labor  and  political  liberty 

It  was  moved  by  Henry  Fell  Pease,  esq.,  seconded  by  William  Fothergill, 
esq.,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  meeting  respectfully  and  affectionately 
offers  to  the  honorable  Mrs.  Lincoln  its  profound  sympathy  under  her  terrible 
affliction,  and  prays  God  to  cover  her  with  the  mantle  of  His  love,  and  to 
console  her  by  His  all-prevailing  grace. 

HENRY  KENDALL,  Chairman. 


DARLINGTON,  May  12,  1865. 

The  following  resolutions  were  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  15th  Durham 
rifle  volunteers  on  the  above  date : 

At  a  special  parade  of  the  15th  Durham  rifle  volunteers  (Darlington)  it 
was  unanimously  resolved — 

1st.  That  the  officers  and  members  have  heard  with  horror  and  regret  of 
the  foul  murder  which  has  been  perpetrated  on  Mr.  LINCOLN,  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  they  beg  leave  to  tender  their  sympathies  to  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

2d.  That  Lieutenant  Colonel  Scurfield  be  requested  to  forward  this 
expression  of  the  feelings  of  the  15th  Durham  rifle  volunteers  to  Mr.  Adams, 
the  representative  of  the  United  States  of  America  in  London. 

GEORGE  JOHN  SCURFIELD, 
Lieut.  Colonel  commanding  ±th  Art.  Baft.  D.  R.  V., 

and  Captain  commanding  15th  Durham  R.  V. 


CITY  HALL,  TOWN  CLERK'S  OFFICE, 

Dublin,  May  13,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  you  the  accompanying  resolutions 
unanimously  adopted  by  the  municipal  council  of  this  city,  and  to  request  that 
you  will  submit  the  same  to  the  President  and  Congress  of  the  United  States 
at  your  earliest  convenience. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  J.  HENRY,  Town  Clerk. 
SECRETARY  OF  STATE,  Washington. 


EXPBESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND   SYMPATHY.  269 

At  a  meeting  of  the  municipal  council  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  ncld  in  the 
council  chamber,  City  Hall,  Cork  Hill,  on  Monday,  the  1st  day  of  May,  1865— 
the  right  honorable  the  lord  mayor  in  the  chair — 

It  was  moved  by  Alderman  Atkinson,  justice  of  the  peace,  seconded  by 
Alderman  Carroll,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  we  regard  with  abhorrence  the  dreadful  deed 
which  has  deprived  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  their  Chief  Magistrate. 

Moved  by  Councillor  Devitt,  seconded  by  Councillor  Byrne,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States  our  profound  sympathy  with  them  under  so  great  and  terrible  a  calamity 
as  the  loss  of  their  President. 

Moved  by  Councillor  Sullivan,  seconded  by  Alderman  Durdin,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  while  we  abstain  from  the  expression  of  any 
opinion  whatever  upon  the  fratricidal  strife  in  which  the  States  of  America  are 
unfortunately  engaged,  we  desire  to  offer  the  tribute  of  our  sincere  respect  for 
and  appreciation  of  the  character  of  the  lamented  deceased,  President  LINCOLN. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  HARRINGTON,  Lord  Mayor. 

W.  J.  HENRY,  Town  Clerk. 


CITY  HALL,  TOWN  CLERK'S  OFFICE, 

Dublin,  May  13,  1865. 

MADAM  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  you  herewith  a  resolution  unani 
mously  adopted  by  the  municipal  council  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  expressive  of 
their  condolence  and  sympathy  in  the  sad  bereavement  you  have  sustained  in 
the  loss  of  your  lamented  and  esteemed  husband,  the  late  President  LINCOLN. 
I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  madam,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  J.  HENRY,   Town  Clerk. 
Mrs.  LINCOLN,  Washington. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  municipal  council  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  held  in  the 

council  chamber,  City  Hall,  Cork  Hill,  on  Monday,  the  1st  day  of  May,  1865, 

the  right  honorable  the  lord  mayor  in  the  chair- 
It  was  moved  by  Councillor  Warren,  seconded  by  Councillor  Draper,  and 
Unanimously  resolved,  That  we  offer  the  expression  of  our  condolence  and 

sympathy  to  the  widow  and  family  of  the  lamented  President  LINCOLN,  in  their 

sad  bereavement. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  HARRINGTON,  Lord  Mayor. 

W.  J.  HENRY,  Town.  Clerk. 


270  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

35  MOLESWORTH  STREET,  April  28,  1865. 
To  the  Right  Honorable  the  Lord  Mayor : 

We,  the  undersigned,  citizens  of  Dublin,  request  your  lordship  to  convene 
a  public  meeting,  at  your  very  earliest  convenience,  to  express  our  indignation 
and  sorrow  at  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  our  sympathy  with 
the  people  of  the  United  States. 

The  above  was  signed  by  Joseph  Wilson,  D.  L.,  and  426  other  names  and 
firms. 

MANSION  HOUSE,  April  28,  1865. 

In  compliance  with  the  above  influentially-signed  request  I  hereby  convene 
a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Dublin,  to  be  held  in  Oak  Room,  Mansion  House, 
on  to-morrow,  Saturday,  April  29,  at  2  o'clock. 

JOHN  HARRINGTON,  Lord  Mayor. 


DUBLIN,  April  29,  1865. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Dublin,  convened  and  presided  over  by  the 
right  honorable  the  lord  mayor,  in  pursuance  of  a  requisition  signed  by  a  large 
number  of  the  citizens  of  Dublin,  and  held  at  the  Mansion  House  on  Saturday, 
the  29th  of  April,  1865,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  their  indignation  and 
sorrow  at  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  their  sympathy  with  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  to : 

It  was  proposed  by  the  right  honorable  the  attorney  general  for  Ireland, 
seconded  by  the  right  honorable  Joseph  Napier,  ex-lord  chancellor  of  Ireland, 
and 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  citizens  of  Dublin,  view  the  atrocious  assassination 
of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
attack  on  the  life  of  the  Hon.  William  Henry  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  with 
feelings  of  indignation  and  sincere  sorrow.  We  feel  assured  that  throughout 
the  civilized  world  there  can  be  but  the  one  sentiment  of  horror  at  so  revolting 
a  crime,  and,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  our  fellow-countrymen,  we  desire  to 
express  our  deep  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  under  this 
great  national  calamity. 

It  was  proposed  by  Alexander  Parker,  esq.,  J.  P.,  seconded  by  Professor 
John  Elliot  Cairns,  and 

Resolved,  That  while  we  scarcely  venture  to  hope  that  any  words  of  ours 
can  avail  to  alleviate  grief  so  profound,  yet  we  cannot  forbear  expressing  our 
heartfelt  condolence  with  the  widow  and  family  of  the  late  President,  and  our 
trust  that  they  may  be  sustained  by  a  merciful  Providence  under  their  sad  and 
awful  bereavement. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       271 

It  was  proposed  by  Sir  Robert  Kane,  seconded  by  Alderman  J.  B.  Dillon, 
and 

Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  resolutions  be  signed  by  the  right  honorable 
the  lord  mayor  and  the  secretaries  of  this  meeting,  on  behalf  of  the  citizens  of 
Dublin,  and  that  they  be  this  day  forwarded  to  Washington  for  presentation, 
and  that  copies  of  the  same  be  sent  to  the  United  States  minister  in  London, 
informing  him  that  we  have  sent  them  direct  in  order  to  go  forward  by  the 
present  mail. 

The  right  honorable  the  lord  mayor  having  left  the  chair,  and  the  Earl  of 
Howth  being  called  thereto, 

It  was  moved  by  the  archdeacon  of  Dublin,  seconded  by  A.  M.  Sullivan, 
J.  C.,  and  supported  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Urwick — 

That  the  marked  thanks  of  this  meeting  are  due  and  hereby  given  to  the 
right  honorable  the  lord  mayor  for  his  dignified  conduct  in  the  chair 
[SEAL.]  JOHN  BARRINGTON, 

Lord  Mayor  of  City  of  Dublin. 
THOMAS  PIM,  JR., 
ALFRED  WEBB, 

Secretaries. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  democratic  classes  of  Dublin. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  democratic  classes  of  Dublin,  held  in  the  Mechanics' 
Institute,  on  Friday  evening,  the  28th  day  of  April,  1865,  it  was,  by  a  large 
and  enthusiastic  meeting,  unanimously  resolved — 

1.  That  the  scheme  of  assassination  concocted  by  a  gang  of  dastardly 
conspirators  in  the  name  of  the  southern  cause,  and  partially  carried  into  execu 
tion  on  the  evening  of  the  14th  instant  by  the  treacherous  murder  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  America's  best  and  greatest  President  since  the  days  of  Washington, 
excites    our    horror    and    indignation,  and    calls    aloud  for  the  execration  of 
mankind. 

2.  That,  while  expressing  our  abhorrence  of  the  foul  deed  by  which  the 
cause  of  human  liberty  has  lost  one  of  its  purest  and  best  defenders,  we  con 
fidently  cherish  the  belief  that  the  perpetration  of  a  crime  so  horrible  can  have; 
no  other  effect  than  to  hasten  the  completion  of  LINCOLN'S  glorious  work,  the 
restoration  of  the  Union,  the  extinction  of  slavery,  and  the  establishment  of  a 
solid  and  durable  peace. 

[SEAL.]  ISAAC  S    VARIAN,  Chairman. 

WILLIAM  M.  STACK,  Secretary. 


272  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

MAY  4,  1865. 

At  the  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ireland,  held  at 
Freemasons'  Hall,  Dublin,  on  Thursday,  4th  of  May,  1865,  the  following  address 
was  unanimously  adopted : 

The  Grand  Lodge  of  Freemasons  of  Ireland  desire  to  convey  to  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  unanimous  feeling  of  execration  and 
horror  with  which  they  have  learnt  the  assassination  of  the  late  President 
LINCOLN,  and  they  beg  to  convey  to  the  citizens  of  that  great  republic  the  senti 
ment  of  their  sincere  condolence  on  this  most  deplorable  occurrence,  as  well  as 
to  the  bereaved  widow  and  family  of  the  departed  statesman  the  expression  of 
their  heartfelt  sympathy  for  the  grievous  loss  they  have  sustained. 

[SEAL]  LEINSTER,  Grand  Master. 

CHAKLES  WALMISLEY,  Deputy  Grand  Secretary. 


8  LOWER  ABBEY  STREET,  DUBLIN,  May  13,  1865. 

May  it  please  your  excellency,  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  to  your  excel 
lency  a  copy  of  the  resolution  of  sympathy  adopted  at  our  late  district  meeting, 
and  acquiesced  in  by  the  Wesleyan  church  in  this  country. 

Humbly  praying  that  "He  by  whom  kings  reign  and  princes  decree  jus 
tice"  may  be  your  excellency's  refuge  and  strength  and  bless  your  great  country 
witli  peace  and  prosperity, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  excellency's  most  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  G.  JONES. 
His  Excellency  the  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Washington. 

P.  S. — Enclosed  is  also  the  chairman's  letter  to  your  excellency 


94  STEPHEN'S  GREEN,  DUBLIN,  May  10,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  you  the  accompanying  resolutions, 
passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  Wesleyan  ministers  and  stewards  of  the  Dublin 
district,  and  concurred  in  by  the  other  districts  in  Ireland,  which  met  at  the 
same  time. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  excellency's  very  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  WALLACE, 

Wesleyan  Minister. 
His  Excellency  the  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        273 

Resolutions  passed  at,  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Wes/eyaii  ministers  and  stewards 

of  the  Dublin  district. 

It  was  moved  by  the  Rev.  Robinson  Scott,  D.  D.,  and  seconded  by  John 
Jamison,  esq.,  steward  of  the  Dublin  Centenary  Chapel  circuit,  supported  by 
the  Rev.  John  F.  Mathews,  ex-secretary  of  the  Irish  conference,  and  passed 
unanimously  : 

1st.  Resolved,  That  we  avail  ourselves  of  this  opportunity  to  express  our 
utmost  abhorrence  of  the  atrocious  and  diabolical  assassination  of  his  Excellency 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  cowardly  and 
wicked  attempt  upon  the  life  of  the  honorable  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of 
State.  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  President,  Congress,  and  the  people 
of  America  in  the  dire  calamity  by  which,  in  a  manner  that  scandalizes  all  civil 
ized  nations,  they  have  been  deprived  of  the  great  ability  of  him  who,  under 
God,  succeeded  in  guiding  the  republic  through  a  period  of  unprecedented 
difficulty  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  the  admiration  of  the  world. 

That  we  fervently  pray  not  only  that  peace  may  be  speedily  and  completely 
restored,  but  that  the  noble  aims  of  the  late  and  present  President,  and  the 
illustrious  statesmen  by  whom  they  have  been  surrounded,  may  be  fully  realized 
in  the  utter  extinction  of  the  last  vestige  of  slavery,  without  impairing  the  ability 
of  the  country  to  fulfil  her  high  mission  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

And  that  along  with  this  prayer,  we  shall  offer  our  fervent  supplication  on 
behalf  of  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family,  who  have  sustained  such  sudden  and  irrep 
arable  loss. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  T.  N.  Hull,  seconded  by  Samuel  McComas, 
esq.,  steward  of  the  Dublin  Abbey  Street  circuit,  and  supported  by  the  Rev. 
Gibson  McMillen,  secretary  of  the  Hibernian  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society,  and 
passed  unanimously : 

2d.  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  be  engrossed  and 
transmitted,  as  speedily  as  possible,  to  his  Excellency  the  President  of  the 
United  States. 

Signed  on  behalf  and  by  order  of  the  meeting  : 

ROBERT  WALLACE,  Chairman. 
ROBERT  G.  JONES,  Secretary. 

CENTENARY  CHAPEL,  Dublin,  May  2,  1865. 

We,  the  ministers  and  stewards  of  the  Waterford  district,  concur  in  the 
above  resolution. 

Signed  by  order : 

HENRY  J.  GILES,  Chairman. 

ROBT.  HUSTON,  Secretary. 
35 


274  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Signed  on  behalf  and  by  order  of  the  Londonderry  district: 

HUGH  MOORE,  Chairman. 
JOHN  OLIVER,  Secretary. 

Signed  on  behalf  and  by  order  of  the  Belfast  district: 

HENRY  PRICE,  Chairman. 
WILLIAM  GATHER,  Secretary. 

Signed  on  behalf  and  by  order  of  the  Portadown  district: 

WILLIAM  P.  APPLBE,  LL.D.,  Chairman. 
JOHN  GILCHRIST,  Secretary. 
Signed  on  behalf  and  by  order  of  the  Enniskillen  district: 

THOMAS  MEREDITH,  Chairman. 
EDW'D  M.  BANKS,  Secretary. 
His  Excellency  the  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Washington. 


Excerpt  from  minutes  of  meeting  of  the  magistrates  and  toivn  council  of  Dundee, 
held  on  the  28th  day  of  April,  1865. 

ASSASSINATION   OF   THE   PRESIDENT   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES    OF    NORTH   AMERICA. 

To  hi*  excellency  the  ambassador  to  the  court  of  Great  Britain  for  the  United 

States  of  America: 

The  provost  called  the  attention  of  the  council  to  the  intelligence  recently 
received  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  and  of  the  attempt  to  murder  Mr.  Seward. 

On  the  motion  of  the  provost,  seconded  by  Bailie  Ower,  the  council  unani 
mously  resolved — 

1.  That  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  town  council  have  heard  of  the  horrible 
acts  of  assassination  in  the  city  of  Washington  with  sorrow  and  indignation,  and 
unite  in  desiring  humbly  and  respectfully,  but  in  the  kindest  spirit,  to  represent 
to  the  government  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  the  whole  people,  their 
sincere  sympathy,  and  the  sympathy  of  every  class  of  the  people  of  this  town, 
young  and  old,  rich  and  poor,  in  feelings  of  abhorrence  towards  the  miserable 
actors  and  their  adherents,  wherever  and  whomsoever  they  be. 

2.  When  such  events  happen  the  good  part  of  human  nature  asserts  its 
sway.     The  people  of  the  United  States  are  part  of  ourselves,  sharers  with  us 
in  a  common  ancestry ;  cross  interests,  and  chance  events,  and  the  evil  part  of 
our  nature  may  create  temporary  estrangement  and  distrust,  but  when  trouble 
comes  we  are  all  one — brethren  in  origin  and  in  progress;   and  it  is  in  this 
spirit  we  seek  to  approach  the  people  of  North  America,  in  sincere  affection 
and  good  will  and  sympathy. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       275 

3.  That  the  provost  do  transmit,  in  the  name  of  the  magistrate  and  council 
and  whole  people  of  Dundee,  and  under  the  seal  of  the  burgh,  to  the  represent 
ative  of  the  United  States  in  Britain,  through  the  United  States  consul  in  this 
town,  an  official  declaration  of  these  feelings  of  sympathy  and  love  entertained 
by  this  large  community  towards  our  brethren  in  North  America,  in  this  the 
hour  of  their  affliction. 

4.  That  the  provost  do  cause  a  special  communication  to  be  made  to  his 
excellency  the  ambassador  of  the  desire  of  the  council  to  tender,  in  the  way 
which  the  ambassador  shall  consider  to  be  best  suited  to  the  circumstances,  to 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  the  widow  of  the   President,  the  respectful  sympathy  of  this 
corporation  and  community,  and  their  earnest  prayer  that  the  Almighty  will  be 
pleased  to  lighten  her  affliction  in  the  way  accordant  with  His  infinite  goodness 
and  mercy. 

5.  That  there  be  a  like  communication  to  Mr.  Seward. 

Extracted  from  the  records  of  the  magistrates  and  town  council  of  Dundee. 
[SEAL.]  CHAS.  OWEN,  Town  Clerk. 


DCNDEE,  COUNCIL  CHAMBER,  May  12,  1865. 

To  his  excellency  the  ambassador  to  the  court  of  Great  Britain  for  the  United 

States  of  America: 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  magistrates,  merchants,  bankers,  manufacturers, 
and  other  inhabitants  of  the  royal  burgh  of  Dundee,  in  Scotland,  held  in  the 
Town  Hall,  on  Tuesday,  the  2d  day  of  May,  in  the  year  1865,  called  by  due 
public  notice,  the  provost  of  the  burgh  in  the  chair,  it  was  moved  and  resolved, 
without  a  dissenting  voice,  as  follows : 

That  the  meeting  unite  in  declaring  the  profound  sorrow  and  indignation 
with  which  they  have  heard  of  the  atrocious  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN, 
and  of  the  attempted  assassination  of  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son ;  further,  they 
desire  to  express  their  sincere  respect  for  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  personal  character, 
and  in  particular  their  admiration  of  the  forbearance  and  moderation  which  he 
evinced  in  the  hour  of  success;  and  they  would  respectfully  express  their  deep 
sympathy  with  the  American  people  and  with  the  afflicted  families  of  the 
sufferers. 

It  was  then  moved  and 

Unanimously  re.wfi-ed,  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  trans 
mitted  to  the  United  States  embassy  in  London,  through  their  consul  in 
Dundee. 

Signed  in  the  name  and  by  appointment  of  the  meeting : 

CHARLES  PARKER, 
Provost  and  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Royal  Btirgli  of  Dundee. 


276  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Meeting  of  American  citizens  in  Dundee. 

At  a  meeting  of  American  citizens  held  at  the  United  States  consulate, 
Dundee,  on  the  3d  of  May,  1865,  Dr.  Smith,  consul  at  Dundee,  having  been 
called  to  the  chair,  spoke  as  follows  : 

The  object  of  our  present  meeting,  as  you  are  aware,  is  to  express  our 
sorrow  at  the  appalling  calamity  which  has  befallen  our  people  and  nation  in  the 
sudden  removal,  by  cowardly  assassination,  of  our  excellent  and  beloved  Chief 
Magistrate,  and  at  a  time  when  that  great  and  good  man  had,  under  God,  by 
his  fortitude,  consistency,  prudence,  and  sagacity,  brought  the  nation  safely  and 
triumphantly  through  one  of  the  most  dreadful  conflicts  ever  witnessed  upon 
the  earth;  also  to  express  our  detestation  and  abhorrence  of  the  conduct  of 
those  who  devised,  and  the  tools  who  carried  into  effect,  but  too  successfully  in 
the  case  of  our  beloved  President,  the  diabolical  purpose,  while  we  trust  the 
attempt  upon  the  worthy  Secretary  of  State,  and  his  son  Frederick,  has  proved 
abortive.  Another  object  we  have  in  view  is  to  convey  to  the  bereaved  widow 
and  orphans  our  sentiments  of  deep  sympathy  and  condolence  under  the  heavy 
affliction  which  God,  in  His  inscrutable  wisdom,  has  permitted  to  befall  them  ; 
also,  to  convey  to  Secretary  Seward  and  his  family  our  sentiments  of  sorrow 
and  sympathy  with  them  under  the  great  calamity  which  has  befallen  them, 
and  to  express  our  earnest  desire  that  they  may  be  restored  to  health,  and  their 
lives  be  long  spared  as  a  blessing  to  our  beloved  nation.  In  the  circumstances, 
it  will  be  also  becoming  to  express  our  high  confidence  in  the  ability  and 
integrity  of  our  present  Chief  Magistrate,  Andrew  Johnson,  whose  antecedents 
are  our  guarantee  for  the  future,  and  our  assurance  that,  by  his  energetic, 
judicious,  and  Christian  course,  he  will  live  down  the  vile  slanders  heaped  upon 
him  by  the  enemies  of  our  great  republic. 

Mr.  Mackenzie  having  been  chosen  secretary,  the  following  resolutions 
were  unanimously  adopted : 

"1.  Whereas  we  have  heard  with  deep  and  heartfelt  sorrow,  and  at  the 
same  time  with  a  just  indignation,  of  the  cowardly  and  brutal  assassination  of 
our  excellent  and  illustrious  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  of  the  dastardly 
attempt  on  the  lives  of  Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretary  Seward,  &c.,  we 
hereby  tender  to  our  sorrowing  countrymen  and  fellow-citizens  our  heartfelt 
sympathy,  and  would  desire  to  mingle  our  tears  with  theirs  over  the  grave  of  the 
best  and  greatest  citizen  of  our  country,  whose  death  at  this  critical  period  of 
our  nation's  history  we  feel  to  be  a  most  fearful  calamity.  We  mourn  with 
them  the  loss  of  the  sagacious  statesman,  the  true  patriot,  and  the  pious 
Christian,  whose  name  and  fame  will  be  a  sweet  savor  in  the  memory  of  his 
countrymen  in  the  ages  to  come. 

"2.  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  afllicted  family 
in  the  heavy  blow  which  has  so  unexpectedly  deprived  them  of  the  kind  husband 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       277 

and  the  fond  and  affectionate  father,  and  trust  that  He  who  has  heretofore  by 
His  heavenly  grace  sustained  her  in  previous  trials  will  continue  to  support 
her  in  this  her  greatest  sorrow;  and  that  the  affectionate  remembrances  of 
a  great  nation  tor  him  who  died  a  martyr's  death  for  the  cause  of  liberty  and 
justice  may  prove  a  solace  to  her  in  her  widowhood. 

"  3.  That  while  we  deeply  sympathize  with  Mr.  Seward  and  his  family  in 
their  heavy  affliction,  we  congratulate  the  nation  that  the  life  of  him  whose  wise 
councils  and  prudent  action  have  done  so  much  for  his  country  at  home  and 
abroad  is  likely  to  be  yet  spared;  and  we  would  fervently  pray  that  his  invalua 
ble  services  may  long  be  continued  to  guide  his  country  in  her  path  of  progress 
and  civilization. 

"  4.  That  we  trust  speedy  and  condign  punishment  may  soon  overtake  the 
villanous  and  cowardly  wretches  that  devised,  planned,  and  carried  out  these 
nefarious  and  diabolical  deeds,  from  which  universal  humanity  has  recoiled  with 
horror. 

"  5.  That  we  have  perfect  confidence  in  the  integrity  and  ability  of  our 
present  Chief  Magistrate,  Andrew  Johnson,  believing  that  his  antecedents  are 
sufficient  guarantee  of  his  energy,  wisdom,  and  prudence  in  the  future,  and  that 
under  his  leadership  the  nation  may  soon  arrive  at  a  righteous  and  lasting 
peace. 

"  C.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  through  our  minister, 
Mr.  Adams,  signed  by  the  chairman  and  secretary  of  this  meeting." 

The  meeting  then  terminated. 

JAS.  SMITH,  Chairman. 

JAMES  M.  MACKENZIE,  Secretary. 


At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Welsh  Baptist  Association,  in  the  county  of 
Glamorgan,  South  Wales,  assembled  in  Dowlais,  in  the  borough  of  Mrrthyr 
Tydfil,  on  Tuesday  and  Wednesday,  June  20  and  21,  1865,  representing  131 
separate;  congregations,  92  ordained  ministers,  96  assistant  preachers,  15,163 
members  in  full  communion,  17,000  hearers  not  being  communicants,  1,990 
Sabbath-school  teachers,  with  14,745  .Sunday-school  scholars — 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  ministers  and  the  messengers  in  this  con 
ference  express  their  deep  and  heartfelt  sympathy  with  the  bereaved  widow 
and  fatherless  children  of  the  late  lamented  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  together  with 
the  whole  loyal  people  of  the  American  continent,  on  the  occasion  of  the  tragical 
death  of  the  able,  honest,  and  upright  man  who  had  been  twice  chosen  by  his 
fellow-men  to  preside  over  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  We  further  view  with 
intense  abhorrence  the  foul  manner  by  which  the  death  of  so  good  a  man  and 
so  just  a  ruler  was  encompassed  ;  but  while  we  deeply  lament  the  death  of 


278  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  at  so  important  a  moment  in  the  history  of  America,  we 
beg  to  express  our  sincere  regard  for  and  unflinching  faith  in  Andrew  Johnson, 
his  successor  in  the  presidential  chair,  believing  that  his  long  practical  experi 
ence,  his  honesty  of  purpose,  and  his  firm  determination  to  do  what  is  right  and 
just,  will  enable  him  to  do  more  than  carry  out  the  great  purposes  of  the  late 
able  ruler,  and  that  through  the  instrumentality  of  Andrew  Johnson,  as  Chief 
Magistrate,  assisted  by  the  wise  and  good  around  him,  under  the  blessing  and 
guidance  of  the  Most  High  God,  we  shall  again,  and  soon,  see  the  States  of 
America  united,  peaceful,  happy,  and  prosperous,  the  fetters  of  slavery  being 
forever  broken,  and  all  men  declared  free  in  name  and  in  fact. 

Resolved  secondly,  That  the  foregoing  resolution  be  signed  by  the  three 
officers  of  the  association,  in  the  name  and  on  behalf  of  this  conference,  and 
that  the  moderator  be  respectfully  requested  to  forward  the  same  to  the  Hon. 
Charles  Francis  Adams,  the  American  minister  in  Great  Britain,  for  trans 
mission  to  Washington,  United  States  of  America, 

NATHANIEL  THOMAS,  Moderator. 

PHILIP  JOHN,   Treasurer. 

BENJAMIN  EVANS,  Secretary. 


To  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

SIR:  We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  city  of  Exeter,  in  the 
Kingdom  of  England,  feeling  the  deepest  abhorrence  at  the  atrocious  crime 
which  has  deprived  America  of  her  late  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  by  a 
cruel  murder,  desire  to  express  that  feeling  to  the  President  and  people  of 
America,  and  our  sorrow  that  such  a  crime  should  have  been  perpetrated. 

The  sentiments  which  animate  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of 
Exeter,  influence  also  the  government  and  people  of  England  generally,  and  call 
forth  our  sympathy  with  a  nation  which  has  suffered  such  a  calamity. 

We  regret  that  the  murderer  should  have  met  his  fate  otherwise  than  by 
the  hand  of  justice 

Given  under  our  common  seal  at  the  city  of  Exeter,  the  10th 
[SEAL.]     day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-five. 


BOROUGH  OF  EVESHAM,  IN  THE  COUNTY  OF  WORCESTER. 

At  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Evesham, 
held  at  the  Guildhall,  the  3d  day  of  May,  1865,  present:  Thomas  White,  esq., 
mayor;  Aldermen  Edge,  Burlingham,  and  New;  Councillors  Martin,  Perry, 
Rodd,  Collins,  Allard,  Bicknell,  Field,  Hunt,  New,  and  Smith. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       279 

Proposed  by  Mr.  Mayor,  seconded   by  Mr.  Alderman    Burlingharu,  and 

carried  unanimously  :  That  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  councillors  of  this  borough 
share  the  public  sorrow  and  indignation  of  this  country  at  the  assassination  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  desire  that  an  expression  of  their  feel 
ings  should  be  conveyed  to  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States, 
and  an  assurance  of  sympathy  to  the  family  of  the  late  President;  and  that  our 
town  clerk  do  cause  a  copy  of  this  resolution  to  be  engrossed  and  forwarded  to 
the  minister  of  the  -United  States  in  London. 

THOMAS  WHITE,  Mayor. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  tJie  provost,  magistrates,  and  council  of 

Edinburgh. 


— ' 


At  Edinburgh,  the  second  day  of  May,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-five,  which  day  the  right  honorable  the  lord  provost,  magistrates,  and 
council  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh  being  in  special  meeting  assembled,  on  motion 
of  the  lord  provost,  it  was  unanimously 

Resolved,  That  this  council  do  record  an  expression  of  the  sorrow  with 
which  they  and  the  entire  community  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh  have  learned  of 
the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN — an  act  the  foul  atrocity  of  which  has 
excited  the  horror  and  indignation  of  the  whole  civilized  world.  That,  warmly 
participating  in  the  feeling  of  profound  sympathy  entertained  by  the  people  of 
this  country  towards  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America,  under  the 
circumstances  of  unprecedented  trial  and  difficulty  in  which  they  are  placed, 
the  council  desire  very  respectfully  to  offer  them  the  expression  of  that  sympathy, 
the  spontaneity  and  universality  of  which  the  council  trust  will  be  accepted 
by  the  great  people  to  whom  it  is  addressed  as  the  best  evidence  of  the 
existence  in  this  country  of  that  feeling  of  brotherhood  which  should  ever 
hallow  the  relations  between  the  two  great  branches  of  the  same  race.  That 
the  council  also  sympathize  most  deeply  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  family  of 
the  late  President,  and  earnestly  pray  that  the  terrible  event  which  has  caused 
them  so  much  suffering  may,  in  the  hands  of  Him  who  in  His  inscrutable 
providence  often  "  causes  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him,"  be  so  ordered  as  to 
facilitate  the  re-establishment  of  peace  and  order  in  the  United  States,  and  to 
strengthen  feelings  of  amity  and  good  will  towards  them  all  over  the  world. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  to  his  excellency 
the  minister  of  the  United  States,  with  a  request  that  he  will  take  the  earliest 
opportunity  of  communicating  them  to  his  government,  and  to  the  widow  of 
the  late  President. 

Extracted  from  the  council  record  upon  this  and  the  two  preceding  pages 
by- 

[SEAL.]  J.  D    WARWICK,  City  Clerk. 


280  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

EDINBURGH,  May  3,  1865. 

MADAM  :  When  the  sad  intelligence  of  the  death  of  your  great  and  beloved 
husband  reached  this  city,  a  large  and  influential  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was 
held,  at  which  I  had  the  honor  of  presiding,  to  express  the  great  and  universal 
sympathy  with  yourself  and  the  people  of  America  which  pervaded  the  whole 
community  here. 

One  of  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  meeting  was  thus  expressed  : 
"  That  an  address  prepared  in  accordance  with  these  resolutions  be  transmitted 
by  the  lord  provost  of  Edinburgh  to  the  American  minister  in  London,  and  that 
his  lordship  be  also  requested  specially  to  transmit,  along  with  the  expression 
of  the  warmest  sympathy  of  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh,  a  copy  of  the  fore 
going  resolutions  to  Mrs.  Lincoln." 

On  the  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  city,  therefore,  I  have  now  the  honor 
to  transmit  to  you  a  copy  of  the  resolutions  referred  to,  and  to  convey  to  you 
an  expression  of  the  deep  and  universal  sympathy  which  is  felt  for  you  in  the 
sudden  and  heartrending  trial  which  Providence  has  lately  permitted  to  over 
whelm  you,  your  family,  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Your  late  husband,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  was  as  much 
respected  and  admired  here  as  he  was  beloved  in  his  home  and  his  country, 
and  if,  in  such  a  severe  affliction  as  yours  has  been,  it  is  any  consolation  to 
possess  heartfelt  and  widely  spread  sympathy,  this  consolation  must  be  yours 
in  great  abundance,  and  from  none  more  sincerely  or  warmly  than  from  the 
people  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  madam,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

CHARLES  LAW  SON, 
Lord  Provost  and  Chi  el  Magistrate  of  Edinburgh. 


Copy  of  resolutions  unanimously  adopted  by  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  city  of  Edinburgh,  held  Wednesday,  3d  May,  1865,  the  Right  Honor 
able.  Charles  Lawson,  lord  provost  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  in  the  chair. 

1  Moved  by  John  Thomson  Gordon,  esq.,  sheriff  of  the  county  of  Edin 
burgh,  seconded  by  Duncan  McLaren,  esq.,  chairman  of  the  Chamber  of  Com 
merce — 

That  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh  have  learned  with  the  deepest  sorrow 
and  indignation  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America. 

2.  Moved  by  the  Very  Reverend  Doctor  Candlish,  principal  of  the  Free 
Church  College  at  Edinburgh,  seconded  by  Sir  John  McNeills,  G.  C.  B. — 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       281 

That  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh  desire  <o  express  their  most  sincere 
sympathy  with  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  under  their 
terrible  national  calamity. 

3.  Moved  by  the  Right  Reverend  Doctor  Merrill,  bishop  coadjutor,  seconded 
by  the  Reverend  William  Arnot,  one  of  the  ministers  of  Free  Church,  Edin 
burgh — 

That  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh  having  heard  with  similar  feelings  of 
the  infamous  attempt  on  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  warmly 
congratulate  the  people  of  the  United  States  on  the  failure  of  that  attempt,  and 
pray  that  his  life  may  long  be  spared  for  the  benefit  of  his  country. 

4.  Moved  by  James  Y.  Simpson,  esq.,  M.  D ,  one  of  the  professors  of  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  seconded  by  the  Reverend  W.  H.  Gray,  one  of  the 
ministers  of  Edinburgh — 

That  an  address  prepared  in  accordance  with  these  resolutions  be  trans 
mitted  by  the  lord  provost  of  Edinburgh  to  the  American  minister  in  London, 
and  that  his  lordship  be  also  requested  specially  to  transmit  along  with  the 
expression  of  the  warmest  sympathies  of  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh  a  copy 
of  the  foregoing  resolutions  to  Mrs.  Lincoln 

5.  Moved  by  James  Richardson,  esq.,  seconded  by  Admiral  Sir  William 
Hope  Johnston,  K.  C.  B  — 

That  a  vote  of  thanks  be  given  to  the  lord  provost  for  calling  the  meeting 
and  for  his  conduct  in  the  chair. 


EDINBURGH,  May  3,  1865. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Edinburgh  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  Manu 
factures  held  this  day,  it  was  moved  by  James  Richardson,  esq.,  merchant,  sec 
onded  by  George  Harrison,  esq.,  merchant,  both  of  Edinburgh,  and  unanimously 
adopted — 

That  this  chamber  have  learned  with  the  deepest  grief  and  indignation  of 
the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  of  the  attempt  on  the  life  of  Secre 
tary  Seward,  and  desire  to  record  their  admiration  of  the  ability,  honesty,  and 
patriotism  of  the  late  President,  and  their  warmest  sympathy  with  the  govern 
ment  and  people  of  the  United  States  on  account  of  the  sad  affliction  under 
which  they  are  now  suffering. 

It  was  moved  by  William  Law,  esq.,  merchant,  and  seconded  by  Josiah 
Livingston,  esq.,  merchant,  both  of  Edinburgh,  and  unanimously  adopted— 

That  an  address  in  accordance  with  the  above  resolution  be  forwarded  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States  through  their  ambassador. 

JAMES  GREIG,  Secretary. 
36 


282  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

At  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Edinburgh  Ladies'  Emancipation  Society, 
held  on  Thursday,  May  4, 1865,  the  following  minute  was  adopted  and  recorded  : 

It  is  with  sentiments  of  profound  grief  and  indignation  that  we  have  received 
the  tidings  of  the  death,  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the 
noble  President  of  the  United  States. 

We  desire  to  record  an  expression  of  our  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  the  American  people  in  the  terrible  calamity  they  have  sustained.  We 
feel  as  if  a  great  personal  loss  had  befallen  ourselves,  for  we  have  long  believed 
that  the  interests  of  the  slave  were  safe  iu  the  hands  of  President  LINCOLN,  and 
had  fondly  hoped  that  the  cause  we  have  so  long  had  at  heart  was  about  to  be 
brought  to  a  triumphant  issue  by  him  who  has  thus  suddenly  been  laid  low. 

We  the  more  deeply  deplore  this  mysterious  event  from  its  occurring  at  a 
crisis  of  the  nation's  history  when  the  wise,  magnanimous,  and  merciful  policy 
of  President  LINCOLN  was  so  peculiarly  needed  to  readjust  the  sorely  troubled 
elements  of  the  republic,  and  to  effect  a  reconciliation  between  the  North  and 
the  South,  with  freedom  for  its  basis. 

We  can  only  bow  before  this  awful  dispensation,  knowing  that  the  Most 
High  still  ruleth  in  the  kingdoms  of  men,  and  that  He  who  raised  up  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN  can  raise  up  other  instruments  for  his  work. 

We  earnestly  desire  that  the  just  and  generous  policy  initiated  by  the  late 
President  may  be  pursued  by  his  successor,  and  that  the  great  republic  may  be 
again  united  in  the  bonds  of  peace,  the  plague-spot  of  slavery  (the  true  secret 
of  its  past  weakness)  forever  wiped  from  its  escutcheon. 

Then,  in  connection  with  this  glorious  consummation,  the  name  of  ABRA 
HAM  LINCOLN  will  be  held  in  grateful  and  loving  remembrance  by  generations 
yet  unborn. 

AGNES  LILLIK,  ELIZABETH  P.  NICIIOL,  President. 

ELIZA  WIG i r AM, 

Secretaries. 


His  Excellency  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  for  the 

United  States  of  America  at  the  Court  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland: 

SIR  :  We,  John  Whyte  Melville,  esq ,  of  Bennochy  and  Strathkinness, 
most  worshipful  Grand  Master  Mason,  the  right  worshipful  the  office-bearer, 
and  the  worshipful  the  members  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons  of  Scotland,  beg  leave  to  assure  your  excellency  that  the  very  sudden 
and  atrocious  crime  which  has  plunged  the  American  nation  into  grief  and 
mourning  has  produced  a  feeling  of  the  utmost  horror  and  indignation,  not  only 
in  the  masonic  craft  of  Scotland,  and  the  great  mystic  family  of  the  world,  but 
also,  we  doubt  not,  throughout  the  enlightened  portion  of  the  civilized  globe. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  283 

We  seize  the  earliest  opportunity  afforded  to  us  of  expressing  these  our 
sentiments  and  the  sorrow  we  so  deeply  feel  at  the  loss  sustained  by  the  Ameri 
can  people  in  the  cowardly  assassination  of  their  late  President  LINCOLN. 

While  we  offer  our  fraternal  sympathies  with  the  distress  occasioned  to 
our  brethren  of  the  United  States  and  the  people  in  general  by  this  melancholy 
event,  we  would  request  your  excellency  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her 
family  our  sincere  and  heartfelt  condolences  on  their  afflicting  bereavement, 
assuring  that  lady  how  deeply  she  has  become,  in  her  sudden  misfortune,  the 
object  of  our  earnest  and  warmest  sympathy. 

Trusting  it  may  graciously  please  the  Great  Architect  of  the  Universe  to 
take  her  and  her  family  into  His  sure  keeping,  and  bestow  upon  them  every 
consolation,  and  strengthen  them  to  bear  up  against  their  present  affliction,  is 
the  united  prayer  of  the  Freemasons  of  Scotland. 

Given  at  Freemasons'  Hall,  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  in  full  Grand  Lodge 
assembled,  the  eighth  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1865,  and  of  light 
5865. 

[SEAL.]  J.  WHYTE  MELVILLE, 

Grand  blaster  Mason  of  Scotland. 

WM.  H.  LAURIE, 
Grand  Secretary  Grand  Lodge  of  Scotland. 


Excerpt  from  the  minutes  of  the  annual  generai  meeting  of  the  commissioners  of 
supply  for  the  county  of  Elgin,  North  Britain,  on.  the  \st  day  of  May,  18G5. 

Sir  Alexander  Gordon  Gumming,  of  Altyre  and  Gordonstown,  baronet, 
acting  convener  of  the  county,  in  the  chair. 

On  motion  of  Sir  Alexander  Gordon  Gumming,  seconded  by  Sir  George 
MacPherson  Grant,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  commissioners  of  supply  of  the  county  of 
Elgin,  North  Britain,  assembled  at  their  annual  general  meeting,  desire  to  take 
the  opportunity  of  expressing  their  sympathy  with  the  American  nation,  and 
their  horror  and  detestation  of  the  atrocious  acts  to  which  the  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America  has  fallen  a  victim,  which  is  rendered  the  more 
lamentable  by  the  high  integrity  and  ability  of  his  career,  by  the  important 
and  eventful  crisis  at  which  it  occurred,  and  by  the  consideration  and  clemency 
which  he  had  evinced  towards  the  vanquished  in  the  hour  of  triumph. 

Resolved  further,  That  this  resolution,  signed  by  the  chairman,  be  trans 
mitted  to  his  excellency  the  American  ambassador  in  London,  with  the  view  of 
its  being  forwarded  to  the  American  government. 

ALEX.  P.  GORDON  GUMMING,  Barondt, 
Convener  of  County  of  Elgin.  North  Britain,  Cluiinnan. 


284  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

BOROUGH  COUNCIL  CHAMBER, 

Emerald  Hill,  August  4,  1865. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor,  by  desire  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Emerald 
Hill,  to  forward  herewith  a  copy  of  a  resolution  unanimously  passed  by  the 
council  at  the  last  meeting,  being  an  expression  of  the  council's  sympathy  with 
the  widow  of  the  late  and  lamented  President  of  the  United  States  of  America 
in  her  sore  bereavement ;  and  also  the  council's  deep  abhorrence  of  the  dast 
ardly  act  which  has  removed  from  the  sphere  of  his  usefulness  one  of  the 
greatest  men  of  modern  times,  and  one  who  no  doubt,  had  he  lived,  would  have 
restored  America  to  her  original  tranquillity  and  prosperity.  I  am  further 
desired  to  request  the  favor  of  your  kindly  forwarding  the  enclosed  to  Mrs. 
Lincoln  by  the  first  opportunity. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  WHITEMAN,  J.  P.,  Mayor. 
WILLIAM  BLANCHARD,  Esq., 

Consul  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


Resolution  unanimously  passed  by  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Emerald  Hill,  in 
the  colony  of  Victoria,  on  the  3d  day  of  August,  1865. 

Resolved,  That  this  council  place  upon  record  an  expression  of  its  abhor 
rence  of  the  cruel  and  dastardly  assassination  of  the  late  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  its  deep  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  her  bereave 
ment  ;  and  that  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  conveyed  to  that  lady  through  the 
American  consul. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  WHITEMAN,  J.  P.,  Mayor. 

JAMES  EVILLE,  Town  Clerk.  ' 


Excerpt  from  the  minutes  of  a  meeting  of  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  council 
of  the  burgh  of  Falkirk,  held  on  the  3d  day  of  May,  1865. 

Provost  Kier  in  the  chair.     It  was  moved  by  Provost  Kier — 

That  tliis  meeting  agrees  to  enter  on  its  records  an  expression  of  deep 
sympathy  with  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  of  America 
under  the  calamity  which  has  befallen  them  through  the  assassination  of  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN,  and  its  entire  concurrence  in  the  universal  detestation  with  which 
that  crime  is  looked  on  in  Great  Britain. 

The  motion  was  seconded  by  Bailie  Wyse,  and  unanimously  carried. 

Excerpted  from  the  minutes  of  council  by — 

ROBERT  HENDERSON,  Town  Clerk. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       285 

Unto  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  of  America — the  address 
of  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  town  council  of  the  royal  burgh  of  Forfar,  in 
Scotland. 

We  beg  to  approach  you  with  heartfelt  regret  upon  the  atrocious  deed 
recently  perpetrated,  through  which  you  have  been  so  suddenly  and  cruelly 
bereaved  of  the  wise  and  patriotic  counsels  of  your  honored  chief.  We  have 
watched  his  career  since  he  was  first  elected  President  of  your  great  country, 
and  he  has  more  and  more  proved  that  his  subdued  firmness  and  energy,  stead 
fastness  to  truth  and  morality,  calm  and  farseeing  practical  wisdom,  and  kindly 
and  forgiving  nature,  fitted  him  for  his  high  office,  and  specially  qualified  him 
for  rightly  steering  the  vessel  of  the  state  in  its  present  perilous  trials.  It  is 
therefor  that  we,  in  common  with  our  countrymen,  mourn  his  loss.  We  hope 
and  trust  that,  chastened  by  the  sad  event,  and  guided  by  and  following  his 
noble  example,  you  will,  in  this  time  of  affliction,  treat  tenderly  all  who 
have  departed  from  the  path  of  loyalty,  and  through  your  clemency  command 
the  admiration  of  the  civilized  world,  heal  shattered  and  embittered  feelings, 
and  engender  kindly  intercourse,  so  long  rudely  dislocated. 

Signed  in  name  and  behalf  of  the  council,  in  council  assembled,  by  me, 
provost  and  chief  magistrate  of  Forfar,  and  the  seal  of  the  burgh  attached,  this 
first  day  of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five. 

[SEAL.]  JAMES  CRAIK,  JR., 

Provost  and  Chief  Magistrate. 


At  Forfar,  and  within  the  County  Hall  there,  the  1st  day  of  May,  1865,  in  the 
statutory  general  meeting  of  the  commissioners  of  supply  and  justices  of 
the  peace  of  the  county  of  Forfar,  of  which  meeting  the  right  honorable 
the  Earl  of  Dalhousie,  K.  T.,  Gr.  C.  B.,  &c.,  &c.,  lord  lieutenant  of  Forfar- 
shire,  was  chairman — 

Before  proceeding  to  the  ordinary  business  of  the  meeting,  the  lord  lieu 
tenant  submitted  the  following  resolution,  which  was  unanimously  agreed  to  : 

The  justices  of  the  peace  and  commissioners  of  supply  of  the  county  of 
Forfar,  having  read  with  horror  of  the  tragical  event  which  has  recently  occurred 
in  the  United  States  of  America,  by  the  cold-blooded  and  cowardly  assassina 
tion  of  President  LINCOLN,  desire  to  express  their  cordial  sympathy  with  the 
people  and  government  of  the  United  States  in  this  most  grievous  calamity. 

Whatever  opinion  may  be  held  by  individuals  of  their  body,  there  is  not 
one  of  them  who  does  not  bear  a  willing  tribute  to  the  honesty  of  purpose  and 
the  patriotism  of  the  late  President,  and  his  deep  sense  of  the  responsibility 
which  lay  upon  him  of  maintaining  the  Constitution  of  his  country  unimpaired. 


286  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

The  meeting  desire  that  a  copy  of  this  resolution,  signed  by  the  lord  lieu 
tenant  of  the  county,  may  be  transmitted  to  his  excellency  Charles  Francis 
Adams,  the  United  States  minister  in  London. 

By  desire  of  the  meeting  : 

DALHOUSIE,  Lord  Lieut. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  inhabitants  of  Friockheim,  Scotland. 

At  a  largely  attended  meeting  held  on  the  4th  day  of  May,  1865,  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Friockheim,  county  of  Forfar,  Scotland,  called  for  the  purpose  of 
consideration  of  the  recent  tragedy  in  the  United  States  of  America,  resulting 
in  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  serious  disablement  of  Secretary 
William  H.  Seward,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  passed : 

Doctor  John  Todd  was  called  to  the  chair. 

1.  Moved  by  Mr.  Francis  Patterson,  quarry-master,  and  seconded  by  Mr. 
A.  R.  Laing,  manure  merchant,  "  That  this  meeting  desire  sincerely  to  sympa 
thize  with  their  brethren  in  the  United  States  of  America  in  the  great  loss 
which  they  have  sustained  by  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  to  express 
their  deep  abhorrence  at  his  atrocious  murder." 

2.  Moved  by  Mr.  W.  G.  Oliver,  saddler,  and  seconded    by  Mr.  James 
Christie,  laborer,  "  That  this  meeting  wish  to  express  their  heartfelt  condolence 
with  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  the  irreparable  loss  which  she  and  her  family  have  sustained 
in  the  death  of  her  illustrious  and  worthy  husband." 

3.  Moved  by  Mr.  John  Glass,  shoemaker,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  John  Scott, 
gas-manager,  "  That  this  meeting  likewise  desire  to  express  their  feelings  of 
detestation  at  the  murderous  attack  upon  Secretary  Seward,  their  sympathy 
with  the  American  government  and  people  on  this  most  deplorable  event,  and 
their  heartfelt  hope  that  he  will  be  so  far  recovered  at  an  early  date  as  to  resume 
the  reins  of  office." 

It  was  agreed  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  through  Mr. 
Adams,  the  United  States  representative  in  London,  for  being  forwarded  to  the 
proper  quarter. 

JOHN  TODD,  Chairman. 


At  a  special  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  burgh  of  Greenock,  called  by 
order  of  the  provost,  and  held  within  the  Council  Hall  there,  on  Friday, 
the  5th  day  of  May,  1865,  the  honorable  the  provost  in  the  chair — 
The  provost  having  stated  the  object  of  the  meeting,  it  was  unanimously 

resolved — 

That  this  council,  in  common  with  all  classes  of  their  fellow-citizens,  have 

heard  with  horror,  indignation,  and  profound  regret,  of  the  foul  and  execrable 

murder  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        287 

That  this  council  deeply  sympathize  with  the  great  American  republic  under 
the  heavy  loss  which  it  has  sustained  by  the  unexpected  and  untimely  decease, 
under  such  revolting  circumstances,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  illustrious  career,  of 
a  ruler  whose  personal  excellence  and  kingly  endowments  have  rendered  him 
an  object  of  honest  pride  to  his  own  countrymen,  and  of  just  admiration  to  the 
rest  of  the  world,  and  whose  earnest  endeavors  to  cultivate  and  maintain  friendly 
relations  with  Great  Britain  must  ever  endear  his  name  and  memory  to  the 
people  of  this  country. 

That  this  council  also  deeply  sympathize  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family 
under  their  heavy  bereavement,  and  earnestly  pray  that  they  may  be  sustained 
and  supported  by  Him  "  who  is  the  husband  of  the  widow  and  the  father  of  the 
tatherless  " 

That  the  provost  be  authorized  to  sign  the  resolutions  now  unanimously 
approved  of  by  this  council,  and  that  the  provost,  Treasurer  Fleming,  and 
Councillor  Morton,  be  requested  to  present  the  same  to  the  American  min 
ister  in  London,  with  a  request  that  he  will  kindly  forward  the  same  to  his 
government. 

[SEAL.]  JAMES  I.  GRIERS,  Provost  of  Greenock. 


BOROUGH    OF   GRANTHAM. 
Resolutions  parsed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Grantham. 

Extract  from  the  minutes  of  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  said 

borough  held  at  the  Guildhall  there,  on  Thursday,  the   llth  day  of  May, 

18G5 — present,  Richard  John  Boyall,  esq,  mayor,  and  others: 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  we,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the 

borough  of  Grantham,  in  council  assembled,  desire  to  give  expression  to  the 

feelings  of  horror  and  indignation  with  which  we  have  heard  of  the  assassination 

of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  murderous  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward,  and  beg  to 

convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  the  government  and  the  people  of  the  United  States, 

our  sincere  and  profound  sympathy  and  heartfelt  condolence  at  the  sad  events. 

[SEAL.]  RICH'D  JOHN  BOYALL,  Mayor. 


To  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President,  of  t/ie  United  States  of  America  : 

SIR  :  We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  citizens  of  the  city  of  Gloucester,  in 
England,  desire  to  convey  to  the  people  of  your  great  country  the  feelings  of 
sorrow  and  abhorrence  with  which  we,  in  common  with  all  classes  of  this  king 
dom,  received  the  lamentable  intelligence  of  the  death,  by  the  hands  of  an 


288  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

assassin,  of  your  late  distinguished  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  of  the 
dastardly  attack  upon  the  life  of  another  officer  of  your  government,  Mr. 
Secretary  Seward. 

While  deploring  with  all  civilized  nations  the  commission  of  these  heinous 
and  detestable  crimes,  we  would  offer  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  an 
expression  of  our  sympathy  and  good  will;  and  we  would  also  add  our  sincerest 
condolence  with  the  widow  and  family  of  the  late  eminent  statesman. 

Given  under  our  common  seal,  the  1st  day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  W.  C.  TUN  STALL,  Mayor. 


TOWN  HALL,  GEELONG,  August  22,  1865. 

MADAM  :  I  have  the  honor,  on  behalf  of  the  town  council  of  Geelong,  in 
the  colony  of  Victoria,  Australia,  to  forward  (through  William  Blanchard,  esq., 
the  American  consul)  the  accompanying  address  from  that  body,  of  sympathy 
and  condolence  with  you  in  your  deep  affliction  on  the  lamented  death  of  your 
husband,  the  late  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  madam,  with  the  most  profound  respect,  your 
most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

[SEAL.]  CHARLES  KEENOT,  Mayor. 

WILLIAM  WEIRE,  Town  Clerk. 

Mrs.  LINCOLN,  Washington,  America. 


Address  of  sympathy  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  on  the.  death  of  her  husband,  the  late 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  from  the  mayor,  aldermen, 
council,  and  burgesses  of  the  town  of  Geelong,  in  the  colony  of  Victoria, 
Australia. 

We,  the  town  council  of  Geelong,  in  council  assembled,  hereby  desire  to 
place  on  record  our  abhorrence  and  detestation  of  the  atrocious  murder  of 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

We  desire  also  to  offer  our  unfeigned  and  sincere  sympathy  and  condolence 
to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  in  her  deep  affliction  and  great  bereavement, 

Given  under  my  hand,  and  the  seal  of  the  corporation  of  Geelong,  this 
22d  day  of  August,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1865. 

[SEAL.]  CHARLES  KEENOT,  Mayor. 

WILLIAM  WEIRE,  Town  Clerk. 
TOWN  HALL,  Geelong. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       289 

[Handbill.] 
SYMPATHY    WITH    AMERICA. 

Base  assassination  of  tlie  President,  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  attempted  murder  of 

Mr.  Seicard. 

A  public  meeting  will  be  held  at  the  Town  Hall,  Great  Bardfield,  on 
Wednesday  evening,  May  3,  1865,  to  express  its  utter  abhorrence  of  the  above 
foul  crimes,  and  to  pass  a  resolution  of  condolence  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the 
people  of  the  United  States  in  their  present  painful  position. 

Chair  to  be  taken  at  eight  o'clock  by  Francis  J.  FYeelove. 

All  classes  are  earnestly  invited  to  attend.     Admission  free. 


Resolutions  unanimously  adopted  at  the  above  meeting : 

1st.  That  this  meeting  deeply  sympathizes  with  the  people  of  the  United 
States  in  the  great  loss  they  have  sustained  in  the  sad  death  of  their  worthy 
President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  expresses  its  horror  and  indignation  both  at 
the  foul  crime  which  was  the  cause  of  his  decease  and  of  that  which  meditated 
the  murder  of  Mr.  Seward. 

2d  That  this  meeting  records  its  heartfelt  condolence  with  Mrs.  Lincoln 
in  her  irreparable  loss,  and  fervently  hopes  that  she  may  be  supported  in  her 
overwhelming  trouble. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  above  meeting : 

FRANCIS  J.  FREELOVE,  C/uiirman. 

GREAT  BARUFIELD,  May  3,  1865. 


Honorable  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  the  United  States  of  America,  Washington  : 

We,  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Gait,  Canada  West,  being  British  sub 
jects,  on  hearing  of  the  base  assassination  of  the  late  honored  President  of  thu 
United  States,  and  also  of  the  foul  attempt  made  upon  your  own  life  and  that 
of  your  sous,  have,  through  our  properly  constituted  authorities,  called  a  public 
meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  place,  to  give  expression  to  our  sense  of  horror 
at  these  acts,  and  to  express  deep  sympathy  with  the  bereaved  widow  and  family 
yourself  and  family,  and  your  nation  at  large,  at  which  this  address  and  the 
following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted,  and  we  have  instructed  our 
chairman  and  secretary  to  sign  the  same,  and  to  affix  to  them  the  seal  of  our 
corporation,  respectfully  soliciting  you  to  present  the  same  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and 
family,  and  also  to  your  nation,  as  expressive  of  our  deep  sympathy  with  them 
37 


290  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

in  this  their  great  affliction;  and  most  earnestly  would  we  pray  that  the  day  may 
never  come  when  such  scenes  shall  be  repeated;  that  peace  to  your  nation  may 
soon  be  restored,  and  that  the  bonds  of  national  and  Christian  brotherhood 
which  now  unite  us  so  closely  into  one  may  never  be  dissolved;  that  your 
health  may  soon  be  restored,  and  that  you  may  long  live  to  fill  the  high  station 
you  occupy,  to  assist  in  maintaining  the  unity  of  the  nations  in  the  bonds  of 
peace. 

The  foregoing  address  was  moved  by  the  Rev.  J.  A.  Miller,  and  seconded 
by  William  McLaughlin,  esq. 

1st.  Moved  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Acheson,  seconded  by  James  Young,  esq ,  and 

Resolved,  That  we  hereby  express  our  heartfelt  indignation  and  horror 
towards  the  spirit  that  planned,  and  the  monster  in  human  form  that  perpe 
trated,  the  foul  act  of  assassinating  the  late  honored  President  of  the  United 
States.  We  cannot  but  regard  it  as  a  base  violation  of  every  principle  of  right, 
both  human  and  divine,  and  as  such  at  variance  with  the  spirit  and  law  of  all 
civilized  nations. 

2d.  Moved  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  M'Grhee,  seconded  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  M'Rae,  and 

Resolved,  That  in  accordance  with  the  common  sympathies  of  our  nature, 
and  in  the  spirit  of  our  holy  Christianity,  we  hereby  beg  to  present  our  deep 
sympathy  for,  and  condolence  with,  the  bereaved  widow  and  her  afflicted  family 
in  the  loss  they  have  sustained  by  the  removal,  especially  in  such  a  manner,  of 
an  affectionate  husband  and  a  kind  father. 

3d.  Moved  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Campbell,  seconded  by  James  Cowan,  esq.,  M 
P.  P ,  and 

Resolved,  That  we  also  hereby  beg  to  express  our  earnest  sympathy  with 
with  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  being  thus  deprived,  at  a  critical  period 
of  their  history,  of  the  services  of  one  whom  they  called  to  fill  the  office  of  Chief 
Magistrate  at  a  time  when  that  position  was  beset  with  most  unparalleled  diffi 
culties,  and  yet  who  so  conducted  himself  as  to  secure  not  only  the  confidence 
and  love  of  his  own  people,  but  also  the  admiration  and  esteem  of  foreign  nations, 
who,  from  his  consistent  character,  were  led  to  regard  him  as  a  sagacious,  con 
ciliatory,  honest,  yet  firm  chief  ruler. 

4th.  Moved  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Murdoch,  seconded  by  William  Osborne, 
esq ,  and 

Resolved,  That  we  mourn  the  untimely  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  as  one 
honestly  desirous  of  maintaining  peace  with  the  British  nation,  a  firm  friend  of 
what  is  dear  to  us  as  Britons  and  as  Christians,  the  cause  of  emancipation,  and 
it  is  our  confident  hope,  while  it  will  ever  be  our  prayer,  that  Divine  Providence 
may  grant  to  his  successor  the  same  wise  and  Christian  policy. 

Dated  at  Gait,  in  the  county  of  Waterloo,  this  17th  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1865. 

MORRIS  C    LUTZ,  Mayor,  Chairman. 

THOMAS  SPARROW,  Town   Clerk,  Secretary, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       291 

Resolutions  paused  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  inhabitants  of  Galway. 

Public  meeting  in  Galway,  May,  1865. 

At  a  public  meeting  held  in  the  town  court-house  on  Thursday,  4th  instant, 
the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted- 
Thomas  M.  Persse,  esq.,  chairman  of  town  commissioners,  in  the  chair: 
Proposed  by  Rev.  Peter  Baly,  P.  P.,  seconded  by  A.  O'Flaherty,  esq.,  D.  L. : 
Resolved,  That  we,  the  citizens  of  Galway,  have  heard  with  feelings   of 
horror  and  indignation  of  the  atrocious  murder  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  the  attempted  assassination  of  Mr.  Secretary 
Seward,  and  we  hereby  join  our  fellow-countrymen  in  offering  our  sincere  sym 
pathy  to  the  American  people  on  the  national  bereavement  they  have  sustained. 
Proposed  by  Professor  Moffett,  LL.D.,  seconded  by  R.  N.  Somerville,  esq. : 
Resolved,  That  although  we  cannot  believe  our  good  words  will  have  much 
effect  in  soothing  the  sorrow  of  Mrs.  Lincoln,  yet  we  cannot  separate  without 
expressing  our  condolence  with  her  on  the  great  calamity  that  has  befallen 
herself  and  family  in  the  untimely  end  of  her  illustrious  husband,  and  our  hope 
that  the  universal  sympathy  of  the  world  may  in  some  measure  assuage  their 
great  grief. 

Proposed  by  James  Campbell,  esq.,  seconded  by  Rev.  J.  D'Arcy,  rector 
of  Galway : 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  the  foregoing  resolutions,  signed  by  the  chairman 
and  secretaries  of  this  meeting,  on  behalf  of  the  people  of  Galway,  be  sent  to 
the  American  minister  in  London  for  transmission  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the 
United  States  government. 

THOMAS  M.  PERSSE,  J.  P.,  Chairman. 
JAMES  CAMPBELL, 
THOMAS  W.  MOFFETT,  LL.D., 

Honorary  Secretaries. 


At  Glasgow,  on  Tuesday,  the  2d  day  of  May,  1865,  and  within  the  Trades' 
Hall,  there  was  held  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  called  by  the  chief  magistrate. 

The  hall  was  filled. 

Andrew  Galbraith,  esq.,  merchant  in  Glasgow,  moved  that  the  acting  chief 
magistrate  be  requested  to  take  the  chair,  and  that  the  city  chamberlain  be 
requested  to  act  as  secretary. 

The  motion  was  carried  by  acclamation. 

Thereafter  the  secretary  read  the  following  requisition  addressed  to  the 
honorable  the  lord  provost  of  the  city,  and  signed  by  a  large  number  of  the 
leading  citizens : 


292  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  hereby  request  your  lordship  to  call  a  meeting,  upon 
an  early  day,  of  the  inhabitants  of  Glasgow,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  their 
abhorrence  of  the  crime  by  which  America  has  been  deprived  of  her  President 
and  their  sympathy  with  the  American  people."  Together  with  the  following 
reply  by  the  acting  chief  magistrate,  in  the  necessary  absence  of  the  lord  pro 
vost,  who  is  in  London: 

"  In  compliance  with  the  foregoing  requisition,  I  hereby  call  a  public 
meeting  to  be  held  in  the  Trades'  Hall,  Glasgow,  upon  Tuesday,  the  2d  of  May, 
at  one  o'clock. 

"ROBERT  GILKISON, 

"Acting  Chief  Magistrate" 

The  secretary  then  read  the  following  telegram,  addressed  to  him  by  the 
lord  provost : 

"GLASGOW,  May  1,  1865. 

"  Be  good  enough  to  deliver  the  following  message  to  the  chairman  of  the 
American  meeting  in  the  Trades'  Hall.  Please  to  inform  the  meeting  that  I 
much  regret  not  being  able  to  be  present,  and  as  lord  provost  of  the  city  to  join 
with  the  citizens  in  the  expression  of  their  feelings  of  abhorrence  at  the  barbar 
ous  crime  which  has  been  committed  in  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN 
and  the  attack  on  Mr.  Seward,  grief  at  the  national  loss  sustained  by  the 
United  States  of  America  from  the  death  of  so  great  and  honest  a  President, 
and  sympathy  with  his  bereaved  widow." 

The  Very  Reverend  Thomas  Barclay,  D.  D.,  principal  of  the  University  of 
Glasgow,  moved  the  first  resolution,  which  was  seconded  by  Charles  Gairdner, 
esq.,  manager  of  the  Union  Bank  of  Scotland,  as  follows  : 

"  We,  the  citizens  of  Glasgow,  in  public  meeting  assembled;  have  heard 
with  grief,  and  do  hereby  express  our  unmitigated  horror  of  the  crime  which 
has  suddenly  deprived  the  United  States  of  America  of  an  upright  and  honored 
ruler." 

The  resolution  was  carried  by  acclamation. 

Henry  Glassford  Bell,  esq ,  one  of  the  sheriff  substitutes  of  the  county  of 
Lanark,  moved  the  second  resolution,  which  was  seconded  by  Sir  Andrew  Orr, 
of  Harvieston  and  Castle  Campbell,  as  follows  : 

'  We  embrace  this  opportunity  of  assuring  the  citizens  of  the  United  States 
of  our  deep  and  earnest  sympathy  with  them  under  this  grievous  dispensation." 

The  resolution  was  carried  by  acclamation. 

James  Lumsden,  esq.,  merchant,  Glasgow,  moved  the  third  resolution, 
which  was  seconded  by  Walter  Paterson,  esq.,  merchant,  as  follows : 

'  That  the  chairman  be  authorized  to  subscribe  these  resolutions  in  the 
name  of  this  numerous  and  influential  meeting ;  and  that  the  secretary  be 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        293 

requested  to  transmit  them  to  the  lord  provost  for  presentation  at  the  American 
embassy  in  London." 

The  resolution  was  carried  by  acclamation. 

Signed  by  me,  in  name  and  by  appointment  of  the  meeting,  and  I  have 
caused  the  common  seal  of  the  city  of  Glasgow  to  be  hereunto  affixed,  this  2d 
day  of  May,  1865 

[SEAL.]  ROBERT  GILKISON, 

Acting  Chief  Magistrate. 

The  right  honorable  the  Lord  Belhaven  and  Stenton,  lord  lieutenant  of  the 
county  of  Lanark,  then  moved  that  the  thanks  of  this  meeting  be  offered  to 
Bailie  Gilkison  for  the  promptitude  and  courtesy  with  which  he  called  this 
meeting  and  occupied  the  chair. 

This  resolution  also  was  carried  by  acclamation. 

WM.  W.  WATSON,  Chamberlain, 

Secretary  of  the  Meeting. 


At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  held  at  Glasgow,  the 
28th  April,  1865 — present,  Messrs.  John  M'Ewen,  Henry  Dnnlop,  James 
Sterling,  James  Watson,  John  Ramsay,  James  Lumsden,  Walter  Paterson, 
James  A.  Campbell,  James  White,  John  Mathieson,  jr.,  Patrick  Play  fair,  J.  C. 
Bolton,  and  William  M'Kinnon — Mr.  M'Ewen  in  the  chair — 

It  was  moved  by  the  chairman,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Dunlop — 

That  this  chamber  desire  to  record  their  utter  abhorrence  and  detestation 
of  the  crime  by  which  the  United  States  have  been  so  suddenly  deprived  of  the 
services  of  their  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  ;  that  the  chamber  beg  to  express 
their  sincere  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  on  so 
trying  an  occasion,  and  trust  that  the  sad  event  may  be  so  overruled  as  not  to 
be  prejudicial  to  the  continued  prosperity  of  the  United  States  of  America  and 
the  best  interests  of  the  nation. 

[SEAL.]  JNO.  M'EWEN,  President. 


At  Glasgow,  and  within  the  Merchants'  Hall,  this  3d  day  of  May,  1865,  at 
a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Merchants'  House,  called  by  public  advertise 
ment  for  the  purpose  of  "expressing  abhorrence  at  the  detestable  crime  which 
has  deprived  the  United  States  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  to  vote  an  address  of 
condolence  to  them  on  this  melancholy  occasion,"  Archibald  Orr  Ewing,  esq., 
lord  dean  of  guild,  in  the  chair — 


294  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

The  clerk  read  the  advertisement  calling  the  meeting,  after  which  the  lord 
dean  of  guild  proposed  the  following  resolution  : 

That  this  house  have  received  the  intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN  of  the  United  States  of  America  with  sentiments  of  horror  and 
pain. 

That  they  desire  to  express  their  heartfelt  sympathy  and  condolence  with 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  who,  in  a  manner  so  shocking  to  every  feeling 
of  humanity  and  so  subversive  of  social  order,  have  been  suddenly  deprived  of 
their  Chief  Magistrate  at  a  momentous  crisis  in  the  history  of  their  country. 

That  this  house  would  record  their  high  respect  for  the  character  of  the 
late  President  LINCOLN,  and  their  grateful  remembrance  of  his  endeavors,  at  all 
times,  to  preserve  and  cultivate  friendly  relations  with  Great  Britain;  and  they 
would  express  their  earnest  hope  and  prayer  that  the  prospects  of  internal  peace 
which  had  opened  to  the  United  States  during  the  last  days  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S 
life  may  not  be  materially  affected  by  the  execrable  deed  which  has  brought 
that  life  prematurely  to  an  end. 

Which  resolution,  having  been  seconded  by  Sir  James  Campbell,  of  Straca- 
thro,  was  unanimously  agreed  to. 

It  was  then  moved  by  Alexander  Harvey,  esq.,  that  the  lord  dean  of  guild 
be  authorized  to  sign  the  resolutions  now  read  and  approved  by  this  house,  and 
that  he  thereafter  forward  them  to  the  United  States  government  through  the 
American  minister  in  London. 

"Which  motion,  having  been  seconded  by  William  M'Ewen,  esq.,  was  also 
unanimously  carried. 

The  lord  dean  of  guild  having  declared  the  business  of  the  meeting  termi 
nated,  it  was  thereupon  moved  by  Peter  White,  esq.,  that  a  vote  of  thanks  be 
accorded  to  the  lord  dean  of  guild  for  the  promptitude  with  which  he  had  called 
the  meeting,  and  for  the  able  manner  in  which  he  had  presided. 

Which  motion  having  been  carried  by  acclamation,  the  meeting  separated. 

Signed  and  sealed  with  the  corporation  seal  of  Merchants'  House,  in  name 
and  by  appointment  of  said  house,  at  Glasgow,  this  3d  day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  ARCHIBALD  ORR  EWING, 

Dean  of  Guild. 


His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America: 

SIR  :  We,  the  members  of  the  Union  and  Emancipation  Society  of  Glas 
gow,  desire  to  express  through  you  to  the  great  nation  of  which  you  now  are 
chief,  our  profound  sorrow  for  the  loss  it  has  sustained  through  the  cruel  and 
atrocious  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  our  utter  detestation  and 
abhorrence  of  the  foul  deed  which  has  brought  this  calamity  upon  your  people. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  295 

We  mourn  with  your  nation  ;  for  we  have  long  reverenced  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN  as  a  great  and  good  man,  discharging  the  solemn  duties  intrusted  to 
him,  not  only  with  high  ability,  but  with  purity  of  purpose  and  simplicity  of 
heart,  and  ever  seeking  righteous  ends  through  honorable  means. 

Called  to  power  in  the  direst  crisis  of  your  national  history,  he  has  proved 
to  the  world  that  high-principled  integrity  is  practical  wisdom,  and  that  the 
greatest  difficulties  in  the  affairs  of  nations  are  best  mastered  by  the  spirit  of 
simplest  nobleness. 

We  would  also  ask  your  excellency  to  convey  our  sorrowing  sympathy  to 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  assure  her  of  our  prayer  that  the  Everlasting  Arm  may  be 
outstretched  to  uplift  and  give  her  strength  in  her  terrible  bereavement,  and 
the  tender  mercy  of  our  Father  in  Heaven  minister  the  peace  which  passeth 
understanding. 

We  would  further  beg  your  excellency  to  express  to  Mr.  Seward  our 
indignant  horror  at  the  vile  blows  inflicted  on  him  by  an  assassin's  hand,  and 
our  earnest  and  hearty  hope  that  he  may  soon  be  restored  to  his  accustomed 
place  in  the  councils  of  your  government. 

We  believe,  sir,  that  the  universal  indignation  excited  by  these  crimes, 
which  have  disgraced  humanity,  will  bind  even  more  closely  our  nation  to  yours, 
and  that  we  only  utter  the  feeling  of  the  aroused  heart  of  the  mass  of  our  people 
when  we  pray  that  those  beneficent  purposes  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLNT  (which 
expressed  upon  the  day  of  his  death,  are  his  last  legacy  to  his  countrymen) 
may  have  their  happy  and  abundant  fulfilment  in  a  peace  which  shall  conclude 
war  with  mercy,  and,  while  securing  freedom  for  those  heretofore  held  in  bond 
age,  shall  unite  all  sections  and  parties  in  one  nation,  whose  prosperous  future 
will  be  the  best  monument  to  the  memory  of  the  great  ruler  over  whose  sad 
grave  we  mourn  with  a  common  sorrow. 

Signed,  in  behalf  of  the  society,  by — 

JAMES  SINCLAIR, 

Secretary. 

GLASGOW,  April  28, 1865. 


His  excellency  lion.  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

United  States  Minister,  Sfc.,  ^r.,  at  London : 

SIR  :  We,  the  undersigned,  Americans,  resident  in  Glasgow,  have  heard 
with  the  deepest  grief,  horror,  and  detestation  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States  has  been  deprived  of  life  by  violence. 

We  beg  to  convey  to  you,  as  the  representative  of  the  American  govern 
ment  in  London,  our  heartfelt  sympathy,  on  learning  this  sorrowful  event.  We 
also  ask  permission  to  record  our  loving  admiration  of  the  stainless  and  heroic 


296  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

presidency  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  to  express  our  hope  and  confidence,  that 
through  the  veneration  inspired  by  his  lofty  virtue,  his  influence  may  now 
become  more  powerful  than  ever  to  guide  the  Union,  of  which  he  was  the 
fruit  and  ornament,  to  victory  and  peace. 

J.  M.  BAILEY. 

A.  F.  STODDARD. 

WM.  COOK. 

W.  B.  HOGGINS. 

M.  M.  MOORE. 

LEWIS  T.  MERROR. 


At  a  meeting  of  native-born  Americans,  convened  at  the  United  States 
consulate  in  Glasgow  on  the  28th  instant,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  their 
feelings  with  respect  to  the  late  distressing  news  from  the  United  States,  J.  M. 
Bailey,  esq.,  consul  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  the  chair,  and  A.  F. 
Stoddard,  secretary,  it  was  unanimously  resolved — 

1.  Whereas  we  have  heard  with  profound  sorrow  and  indignation  of  the 
assassination  of  our  honored  Chief  Magistrate,  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN,  and  of  the 
dastardly  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  we  tender 
our  deep  and  heartfelt  sympathy  and  grief  to  our  weeping  countrymen  at  home, 
and  would  mingle  our  tears  with  theirs  over  the  grave  of  one  of  nature's  noblest 
sons,  whose  loss  at  this  critical  and  eventful  period  of  our  nation's  history  is 
wholly  irreparable.     We  mourn  for  the  fall  of  one  whose  every  impulse  was 
characterized  by  pure  patriotism   and  unflinching  devotion  to   the  cause  of 
liberty,  and  who  combined  in  a  pre-eminent  degree  those  heavenly  attributes, 
mercy,  justice,  and  truth. 

2.  That  while  mourning  over  the  great  loss  which  has  befallen  our  country, 
we  deeply  sympathize  witk  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  afflicted  family  in  the  heavy 
blow  which  they  have  so  suddenly  and  so  unexpectedly  sustained,  and  trust 
that  the  love  of  a  great  nation  may  in  some  degree  compensate  for  him  who  has 
thus  been  ruthlessly  snatched  from  their  side. 

3.  That  while  conveying  to  Mr.  Seward  and  his  stricken  family  our  sincere 
grief  and  sympathy  for  the  sad  calamity  which  has  befallen  them,  we  earnestly 
pray  that  their  lives  may  all  be  spared  to  their  country. 

4.  That  we,  in  common  with  humanity  the  world  over,  unite  in  expressing 
our  unmitigated  abhorrence  and  detestation  of  the  vile  hearts  that  conceived 
this  diabolical  plot,  and  the  villanous  hands  that  executed  the  cowardly  deeds. 

5.  That  we  have  confidence  in  the  integrity  and  ability  of  Andrew  John 
son,  the  present  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States,  and  fondly  trust  that  by 
following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  illustrious  predecessor,  he  may,  under  God. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       297 

speedily  see  consummated  the  desire  of  a  nation's  heart ;  when  the  United 
States  shall  emphatically  become  the  "  land  of  the  free,"  as  she  has  proven 
herself  on  many  a  sanguinary  field  "  the  home  of  the  brave." 

li.  That  the  foregoing  resolutions  be  signed  by  the  chairman  and  secretary, 
and  forwarded  to  our  minister  in  London,  for  transmission  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States. 

J.  M.  BAILEY,  Chairman. 

A.  F.  STODDARD,  Secretary. 
GLASGOW,  April  28,  1865. 


Resolution*  of  the  synod  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church  in  Scotland. 

To  the  Honorable  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America  : 

HONORED  SIR:  The  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  passed  at  the 
meeting  of  the  synod  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church  in  Scotland,  held  in 
Glasgow,  10th  of  May,  1865.  As  clerk  to  that  synod,  I  have  been  instructed 
to  forward  them  to  you,  as  expressive  of  our  sympathy  with  your  great  nation 
in  the  crisis  through  which  it  has  been  passing. 

JOHN  KAY, 
Clerk  to  Reformed  Presbyterian  Si/nod. 

1.  That  this  court,  recognizing  the  duty  of  Christian  churches  to  consider 
those  momentous  evolutions  of  Providence  which  may  seriously  affect  the  moral 
and  spiritual  welfare  of  mankind,  record  an  expression  of  deep  sympathy  with 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  under  the  attempts  made  on  the  liie  of  their 
Secretary  of  State,  and   more   especially  under   the  loss  of  their  chief  ruler. 
President  LINCOLN,  by  a  foul  assassination,  and  deplore  it  as  an  event  which 
would  have  been  painful  and  startling  under  any  circumstances,  but  which  is 
much  more  distressing  from  the  gravity  of  the  crisis  in  which  it  occurred,  and 
from  the  evidence  which  the  deceased  President  had  given  of  a  firm  purpose, 
in  combination  with  great  benignity  of  temper — the  very  qualities  that  seem 
chiefly  requisite  to  meet  the  remaining  difficulties  of  the  American  government 
in  its  efforts  to  restore  peace  and  order  and  unity  throughout  its  extensive 
dominions. 

2.  Although  this  court  never  could  regard  with  any  feelings  but  the  deepest 
abhorrence  the  attempt  to  rear  a  government  with  slavery  as  its  corner-stone, 
and  while  due  regard  must  be  had  to  the  interests  of  law  and  justice,  the  hope; 
is  confidently   cherished  that  the   American  government  will    be   enabled  to 
signalize  the  reality  of  its  success  in   restoring  the  "  Union,"  and  to  give  the 

38 


298  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

•world  some  assurance  of  its  own  conscious  strength,  by  adherence  to  the  same 
magnanimous  and  merciful  policy  to  the  vanquished,  which  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
would  appear  to  have  recommended  and  inaugurated. 

In  name  and  by  authority  of  the  synod  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian 
church  in  Scotland. 

WILLIAM  McLACHLAN,  Moderator. 
JOHN  KAY,  Clerk  of  Synod. 


Resolutions  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,  GUERNSEY,  May,  1865. 

At  a  general  meeting  held  on  the  2d  of  May,  1865— 

Resolved,  That  this  chamber,  deeply  impressed  with  horror  at  the  intelli 
gence  recently  received  from  America  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN 
and  others,  thinks  it  a  duty  to  publicly  express  its  abhorrence  of  such  dastardly 
crimes,  the  authors  of  which  deserve  the  execration  of  mankind. 

The  inhabitants  of  these  Norman  islands  of  the  channel,  the  apex  of  the 
great  Norman  Anglo-Saxon  social  edifice,  venture  to  hope  that  the  fratricidal 
struggle  that  has  endured  in  America  during  a  period  of  four  years,  and  afford 
ing  on  both  sides  so  many  proofs  of  heroism  and  endurance,  may  be  closed,  and" 
uniting  again,  peace  and  prosperity  may  be  restored  throughout  America;  and 
that  the  great  Norman  Anglo-Saxon  family  in  all  its  branches  throughout  both 
hemispheres,  all  sprung  from  the  same  race,  may  hereafter  live  in  brotherly 
union  and  love,  contributing  to  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  each  and  all,  and 
giving  to  the  world  a  bright  example  of  concord,  progress,  and  civilization. 

THOS.  HELARY  AGNEW,  Secretary. 


Resolutions  of  sympathy  with  America,  jmssed  at  a  meeting  of  working  men  and 
women  held  in  the.  Temperance  Hall,  Gatcshead-on-  Tyne,  on  Sunday  ecening. 
May  1,  1865. 

Mr.  George  Lucas  in  the  chair. 

Moved  by  Mr.  Blagburn,  seconded  by  Mr.  Gammell,  and  carried  unani 
mously — 

1.  That  the  workingmen  who  constitute  this  meeting  have  looked  with 
much  interest  upon  the  struggle  which  has  been  so  long  pending  in  America, 
and  they  devoutly  trust  it  will  issue  in  the  entire  overthrow  of  slavery  through 
out  the  American  continent. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE    AND    SYMPATHY.  299 

Moved  by  Mr.  Wheater,  seconded  by  Mr.  D.  Rule,  and   carried   unani 
mously — 

2.  That  the  workingmen  now  assembled  desire  to  express  their  regret  that 
persons  in  this  country  have  spoken  and  written  in  justification  of  the  rebellion 
of  the  South,  especially  during  the  earlier  periods  of  the  conflict ;  but  they  have 
observed  with  much  satisfaction,  that  as  the  spirit  and  objects  of  the  contending 
parlies  have  become  more  fully  understood  throughout  this  country,  a  different 
tone  has  prevailed;  and  it  is  hoped  the  event  now  so  much  deplored  may  tend 
to  cement  the  two  nations  in  bonds  of  lasting  brotherhood. 

Moved  by  Mr.  Tweddle,  seconded  by  Mr.  Wordsworth,  and  carried  unani 
mously — 

3.  That  the  workingmen  now  assembled  wish  to  express  their  deep  admira 
tion  of  the  manner  in  which  the  late  President  has  conducted  the  affairs  of  the 
government  of  America  during  the  period  of  his  office,  but  they  most  of  all 
admire  that  spirit  of  wise  moderation  which  he  manifested  towards  the  enemies 
of  the  Union  in  periods  of  especial  difficulty  and  provocation. 

Moved  by  Mr.  Thomas  Rule,  seconded  by  Mr.  Smith,  and  carried  unani 
mously — 

4.  That  the  workingmen  now  congregated  wish  to  express  their  utter 
detestation  of  the  diabolical  crime  which  has  deprived  a  wife  of  her  husband, 
children  of  their  father,  the  American  commonwealth  of  its  President,  and  the 
world  of  one  of  its  distinguished  benefactors. 

Moved  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Anderson,  seconded  by  Mrs.  Tweddle,  and  carried 
unanimously — 

5.  That  the  working  men  and  women  who  compose  this  meeting  desire  to 
express  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  their  unfeigned  condolence  in  her  present  affliction,  and 
to  direct  her  mind  to  that  source  of  true  consolation  which  her  late  husband 
knew  so  well  how  to  value. 

Moved  by  Mr.  Townsend,  seconded  by  Mr.  Rutherford,  and  carried  unani 
mously — 

6.  That  this  meeting  earnestly  hopes  that  should  events  acise  between 
England  and  America  which  appear  of  a  complicated  character,  a  wise  forbear 
ance  may  be  manifested  on  the  part  of  both  nations,  and  differences  be  settled 
on  the  principles  of  equal  justice. 

Moved    by  Mr.  Mackin,  seconded   by  Mr.  Swanson,  and  carried    unani 
mously— 

7.  That  the  resolutions  now  passed  be  forwarded  by  the  chairman  to  the 
American    minister  in    London,  for  presentation    to  the   American   common 
wealth. 

GEORGE  LUCAS, 

Cfiairman  of  the  Meeting. 
GATESHEAD-ON-TYNE,  Mai/  8,  18G5. 


300  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolutions  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Huntingdon 

At  a  meeting  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of 
Huntingdon,  held  in  the  council  chamber  of  the  said  borough,  this  10th  day  of 
May,  1865,  it  was  proposed  by  Mr.  Foster,  seconded  by  Mr.  Charles  Veasey— 

That  this  council  unanimously  desire  to  convey  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States  of  America  the  sorrow  and  indignation  felt  by  this  council  at  the 
assassination  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States,  and  their  deep  sym 
pathy  with  the  people  of  America  at  the  loss  sustained  thereby. 

Proposed  by  Mr.  Cooch,  seconded  by  Mr.  Foreman,  and 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  signed  by  the  mayor, 
and  the  corporate  seal  affixed  thereto,  and  that  the  same  be  then  transmitted  to 

the  American  minister. 

|  SEAL.]  ROBERT  MARGETTS,  Mayor. 


Resolution  of  tJie  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Hastings. 

TOWN  CLERK'S  OFFICE, 

Hastings,  May  G,  1865. 

SIR:  At  a  meeting  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses,  the 'council  of 
the  borough  of  Hastings,  held  on  the  5th  instant,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  this  council  has  heard  with  extreme  horror  and  indignation 
the  news  of  the  assassination  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
desires  that  the  people  of  those  States  do  understand  that  the  people  of  this 
municipality  are  full  of  sympathy  with  them,  under  the  disgraceful  act  by  which 
President  LINCOLN  lost  his  life. 

At  the  above-named  meeting  of  the  council  of  this  borough  I  was  instructed 
to  forward  a  copy  of  the  resolution  to  the  American  ambassador. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  most  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  GROWSE,  Town  Clerk. 

C.  F.  ADAMS,  Esq.,  American  Ambassador. 


At  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Hertford,  held  May 
10,  1865 — present:  Jasper  Gripper,  esq.,  mayor;  Aldermen  Squire,  Austin,  and 
Young ;  Councillors  Armstrong,  Cocks,  Haggar,  Hancock,  Neale,  Pollard,  Man 
ser,  Twaddle,  Willson,  and  Woodhouse,  M.  D.  -it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  corporation  wishes,  emphatically,  to  express 
the  feelings  of  indignation  and  grief  with  which  they  have  heard  of  the  atrocious 
acts  by  which  the  United  States  of  America  have  been  suddenly  deprived  of  their 
President,  and  the  life  of  his  chief  Secretary  endangered ;  and  that  they  recall 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        3Q1 

with  sorrowful  interest  the  friendly  feelings  invariably  displayed  by  the  late 
President  LINCOLN  towards  this  country. 

PHILIP  LONGMORE,  Town  Clerk 


Hon.  CHARLES  F.  ADAMS, 

Minister  of  the  United  States  in  England: 

HONORED  SIR  :  We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  citizens  of  the  city  of  Here 
ford,  in  council  assembled,  view  with  the  utmost  detestation  and  horror  the 
flagitious  crime  by  which  the  life  of  Mr.  President  LINCOLN  has  been  so  cruelly 
sacrificed,  and  desire  to  express  the  deep  sympathy  we  entertain  with  the  gov 
ernment  and  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  under  the  severe  calamity 
which  this  atrocious  act  has  inflicted  upon  them. 

We  also  beg  most  respectfully  to  offer  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  our  sincere  con 
dolence  under  the  awful  bereavement  which  she  has  sustained. 

And  we  are  most  anxious  to  convey  to  the  American  nation  our  sentiments 
of  deep  grief  and  indignation  at  the  cowardly  attack  which  has  been  made  upon 
the  life  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward,  together  with  our  earnast  hope;  that  he  may 
very  soon  recover  from  the  severe  wounds  which  have  been  inflicted  upon  him. 

As  the  representatives  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  ancient  city,  we  request 
that  you  will  do  us  the  favor  to  forward  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  to  Mr.  Secretary  Seward  these  expressions  of  our  senti 
ments,  with  the  assurance  that  it  is  our  anxious  desire  that  no  other  feelings 
than  such  as  are  consonant  with  those  above  expressed  will  ever  prevail  between 
the  people  of  this  realm  and  those  of  the  United  States. 

Sealed  with  our  corporate  common  seal,  at  our  council  chamber,  in  the 
Guildhall  of  the  city  of  Hereford,  this  2d  day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  THOMAS  CAM,  Mayor. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  town  council  of  the 

borough  of  Hanley. 

TOWN  CLERK'S  OFFICE, 
Hanley,  Staffordshire,  May  11,  1865. 

We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Ilanley, 
have  heard  with  feelings  of  grief  and  abhorrence  of  the  foul  assassination  of 
President  LINCOLN,  and  the  murderous  attack  on  Mr.  Seward,  and  desire  to 
convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  United  States  government  our  heartfelt  sym 
pathy  and  earnest  wishes  for  the  prosperity  of  their  country. 

The  corporate  seal  of  the  borough  of  Hanley  was  hereunto  affixed  this 
llth  day  of  May,  18G5,  in  the  presence  of— 

[SEAL.]  EDWARD  CHALLINOR,  Town  Clerk. 


302  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

I*  '   ',     r. 

V  •':•••"• 

His  Excellency  the  PRESIDENT 

of  the  United  States  of  America : 

May  it  please  your  Excellency,  we,  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  council  of 
the  burgh  of  Hawick,  in  that  part  of  her  Britannic  Majesty's  dominions  called 
Scotland,  in  public  council  assembled,  having  heard  with  the  deepest  sorrow 
and  indignation  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  hasten  to  express  to 
you  the  feelings  of  horror  and  execration  with  which  such  an  atrocious  crime  is 
regarded  by  this  whole  community,  and  to  tender  our  sincere  sympathy  and 
condolence  with  the  government  and  people  over  whom  you  preside,  under  the 
terrible  national  calamity  they  have  thereby  sustained. 

May  it  please  your  Excellency  also  to  convey  the  deep  sympathy  and  con 
dolence  we  feel  towards  the  widow  and  family  of  the  lamented  late  President, 
under  the  sudden  and  overwhelming  bereavement  over  which  they  have,  in  an 
especial  manner,  been  called  to  mourn. 

That  the  terrible  catastrophe  which  has  befallen  your  country  may  be 
mercifully  overruled  by  Him  who  is  Governor  among  the  nations,  for  the 
speedy  pacification  and  prosperity  of  the  American  people,  is  the  earnest  prayer 
of  your  Excellency's  most  obedient  servants. 

Signed  in  name  and  by  authority  of  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  council  of 
the  burgh  of  Hawick. 

[SEAL.]  GEO.  WILSON,  Provost. 


Address  to  President  Johnson,  unanimously  adopted  at  a  public  meeting  of  the 
friends  of  union  and  emancipation,  held  at  Hawick.,  Scotland,  May  5,  1865. 

His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

Having  heard  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  assassination  of  his  Excellency 
President  LINCOLN  and  the  attempted  assassination  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Seward, 
we  tender  to  you  this  expression  of  our  cieep  sense  of  the  wickedness  of  the 
atrocious  crime  that  has  been  perpetrated,  and  of  our  heartfelt  sympathy  with 
the  American  people  under  the  heavy  loss  they  have  sustained  in  the  untimely 
close  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  great  career. 

While  feeling  deep  sorrow  for  the  death  of  that  great  and  good  man,  to 
whose  inflexibility  of  purpose  and  unswerving  fidelity  to  great  principles  the 
American  people  have  been  so  much  indebted  throughout  the  gigantic  struggle 
in  which  they  have  been  engaged,  we  cannot  help  expressing,  at  the  same  time, 
our  high  satisfaction  at  the  recent  great  victories  of  your  armies,  under  General 
Grant,  over  the  confederates  at  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  the  capture  of  those 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       303 

cities,  the  surrender  of  General  Lee  with  the  shattered  remnant  of  his  once 
formidable  rebel  army,  and  the  subsequent  successes  of  the  army  under  Gen 
eral  Sherman,  resulting,  as  that  brilliant  series  of  events  does,  in  the  entire 
overthrow  of  one  of  the  most  gigantic  conspiracies  against  the  rights  of  man 
kind  of  which  history  contains  any  record,  and  giving  confident  hope  of  the 
complete  restoration  of  the  Union  and  of  the  emancipation  of  the  negro  race. 

We  cannot  doubt  that  the  same  policy  which  was  so  steadfastly  and  ably 
carried  out  by  Mr.  LINCOLN  will  be  continued  by  yourself,  on  whom  the  highest 
responsibilities  of  the  state  have  now  devolved ;  and  we  trust  that  ere  long  the 
great  issues  of  the  Union  and  emancipation  may  be  fully  and  happily  consum 
mated  :  and  that  the  United  States,  emancipated  from  the  evil  and  disorganiz 
ing  institution  of  slavery,  and  from  the  dominating  power  of  a  slave  aristocracy, 
may  come  out  of  this  great  crisis  a  yet  purer,  stronger,  and  freer  nation,  and  that 
between  her  government  and  ours,  and  her  people  and  ours,  feelings  of  amity 
and  brotherhood  may  ever  be  maintained,  and  that  the  two  nations  advancing 
together  in  righteousness,  in  commerce,  and  in  moral  power,  may  lead  forward 
the  nations  of  the  world  to  higher  conditions  of  prosperity,  happiness,  and  jus 
tice  than  any  that  have  yet  been  attained. 

Signed  in  name  and  by  authority  of  the  meeting : 

ANDREW  WAUGH,  J.  P., 

Chairman  of  the  Meeting 


Hon.  M  H.  Rickey,  mayor  of  Halifax,  to  the  United  States  consul. 

MAYOR'S  OFFICE, 
Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  April  18,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose,  by  request  of  the  city  council,  a  resolu 
tion  passed  by  that  body,  at  its  session  yesterday,  upon  receiving  intelligence  of 
the  tragic  and  terrible  event  which  has  thrilled  with  horror  and  lamentation  the 
great  nation  of  which  you  are  the  chief  representative  at  this  post. 

Permit  me,  in  conveying  to  you  this  expression  of  sympathy  on  behalf  of 
the  city  council,  to  add  emphatically  my  own,  as  deeply  sensible  of  the  over 
whelming  grief  which  must  pervade  the  United  States  of  America  upon  so  truly 
calamitous  an  occurrence  as  the  violent  death  of  their  honored  President. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  humble  and  most  obedient  servant, 

M.  II.  RICHEY,  Mayor 

M.  M.  JACKSON,  Esq., 

United  States  Consul,  Sfc.,  Sfc.,  $$c. 


304  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Extract  fiom  minutes  of  city  council,  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  April  17,  1865. 

Resolved,  That  this  council  have  heard  with  deep  regret  that  the  President 
of  the  United  States  has  fallen  a  victim  to  the  foul  assassin,  and  they  desire  to 
express  their  sincere  sympathy  with  the  bereaved  family  of  the  illustrious 
deceased  and  the  great  nation  of  which  he  was  the  head. 

To  publicly  mark  their  sense  of  regret,  this  body  respectfully  requests  his 
worship  the  mayor  will  order  the  city  flag  to  be  drooped  over  this  building  on 
the  day  of  the  obsequies  ;  and  further,  that  his  worship  the  mayor  be  requested 
to  direct  a  copy  of  this  resolution  to  be  forwarded  to  the  representative  of  the 
United  States  residing  in  this  city. 

For  and  on  behalf  of  the  city  council : 

J.   NONCRAGG,  City  Clerk. 

CITY  COURT  HOUSE,  April  18,  1865. 


BOROUGH  OF  HALIFAX,  IN  THE  COUNTY  OF  YORK. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Halifax,  holden  in  the  Town 
Hall,  Halifax,  on  the  3d  day  of  May,  1865,  William  Irving  Holdsworth,  esq., 
the  worshipful  the  mayor,  in  the  chair,  it  was — 

On  the  motion  of  the  mayor,  seconded  by  Mr.  Alderman  Ramsden 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of 
Halifax,  in  council  assembled,  desire  to  give  expression  to  the  feelings  of  hor 
ror  and  regret  with  which  we  have  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  LIN 
COLN,  and  beg  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  United  States  government 
and  people  an  expression  of  our  sincere  and  profound  sympathy  and  heartfelt 
condolence  at  the  sad  event 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  Alderman  Collenson,  seconded  by  Mr.  Alderman 
Dennis — 

Also  resolved,  That  the  mayor  be  requested  to  sign  and  affix  the  corporate 
common  seal  of  the  borough  to  a  copy  of  the  above  resolution,  and  to  trans 
mit  the  same  to  the  American  minister  now  in  London. 

[SEAL  ]  W.  I.  HOLDSWORTH,  Mayor. 


Resolutions  unanimously  passed  at  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Halifax, 
in  the  West  Riding  of  the  county  of  York,  held  on  Thursday,  the  4th  day 
of  May,  1865. 

William  Irving  Holdsworth,  esq.,  the  worshipful  the  mayor,  in  the  chair. 
Moved  by  John  Crossley,  esq.,  J.  P.,  seconded  by  Mr.  John  Snowden,  and 
supported  by  Mr.  Thomas  Scarborough — 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       305 

That  we,  the  inhabitants  of  Halifax,  in  public  meeting  assembled,  express 
our  deep  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  great  American  republic  in  the  loss 
they  have  sustained  in  the  death,  by  cruel  assassination,  of  their  honorable  and 
honored  Chief  Magistrate,  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  ;  and  we  cannot  shut 
out  of  view  the  atrocious  political  significance  of  the  crime  as  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  it  was  accompanied  by  a  murderous  attack  upon  Chief  Secretary  Sew- 
ard. 

Moved  by  G.  Buckston  Browne,  esq.,  J.  P.,  seconded  by  Mr.  William 
Brook,  and  supported  by  the  Rev.  William  Roberts— 

That  we  feel  profound  horror  at  the  barbarous  murder  of  President 
LINCOLN,  but  at  the  same  time  we  feel  such  unabated  confidence  in  the  sound 
principles  on  which  the  American  Constitution  is  based,  lhat  we  cannot  doubt 
that  even  this  afflictive  dispensation  of  Providence  will  in  nowise  retard  the 
final  accomplishment  of  that  glorious  object  of  the  late  President,  the  utter 
extinction  of  slavery. 

Moved  by  Mr.  George  Garfitt,  seconded  by  Mr.  Henry  Ambler — 

That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions,  signed  by  the  mayor,  be  sent  to 
James  Stansfeld,  jr.,  esq.,  member  of  Parliament,  with  a  request  that  he  will 
hand  the  same  to  the  Hon.  C.  F.  Adams  for  transmission  to  the  American  gov 
ernment. 

W.  I.  HOLDS  WORTH,  Mayor. 


HASLINGDEN,  LANCASHIRE,  May,  1865. 

The  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  at  a  public  meeting 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Haslingden,  held  in  the  Town  Hall,  Haslingden,  on  the 
evening  of  May  the  3d,  1865: 

First.  That  this  meeting  desires  to  give  utterance  to  the  deep  feelings  of 
grief  and  horror  with  which  it  has  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  LIN 
COLN  and  the  murderous  and  diabolical  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward,  the  Secretary 
of  State. 

Secondly.  That  this  meeting  also  desires  to  tender  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  the 
United  States  government  and  people,  an  expression  of  its  profound  sympathy 
and  heartfelt  condolence  in  this  the  hour  of  their  affliction,  and  deeply  lament 
that,  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  the  one  should  be  bereaved  of  a  husband  and 
the  other  deprived  of  a  wise  and  benevolent  ruler. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting. 

LAURENCE  WHITAKER,  JR.,  Chairman. 

His  Excellency  the  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

39 


300  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

HALSTEAD,  April  29, 1865. 
His  Excellency  C.  F.  ADAMS,  London  : 

We,  the  undersigned,  inhabitants  of  Halstead,  Essex,  England,  desire  to 
express  our  deep  horror  and  regret  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  has 
been  deprived  of  life  by  an  act  of  violence,  and  our  sympathy  with  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States  in  the  great  loss  they  have  sustained. 

[Signed  by  67  names  ] 
Forwarded  by  R.  L.  Hughes,  proprietor  of  the  "  Halstead  Times." 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  inhabitants  of  Heckmondicike. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Heckmondwike,  held  on  the  8th  of  May, 
1865,  at  the  Freemasons'  Hall,  convened  in  pursuance  of  public  requisition  to 
the  chairman  of  the  local  board  of  health,  to  express  sympathy  with  the  Ameri 
can  people  in  the  great  loss  they  have  sustained  at  so  critical  a  period  of  their 
national  history,  and  to  express  a  hope  that  the  same  wise  and  generous  policy 
which  distinguished  Mr.  LINCOLN  and  his  government  will  also  characterize  the 
new  President  and  his  advisers;  and  also  to  express  sympathy  with  Mrs. 
Lincoln  in  her  sad  and  deplorable  loss — William  Rhodes,  csq.,  in  the  chair — 

It  was  moved  by  L.  H.  Firth,  esq ,  seconded  by  Rev.  E.  Vickridge,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  meeting  has  heard  with  indignation  and 
horror  of  the  foul  murder  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  at  perhaps  the  most  critical  period  of  his  career,  and  at  a  time  when 
his  wise,  prudent,  and  conciliatory  conduct  was  commanding  the  admiration  of 
the  world.  That  we  tender  our  deep  sympathy  to  a  brave  people  suddenly 
deprived  of  their  Chief  Magistrate,  and  hope  the  murderers  may  speedily  be 
discovered  and  brought  to  condign  punishment. 

It  was  moved  by  Rev.  Mark  Howard,  seconded  by  George  Burnley,  esq., 
and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  we  deeply  mourn  the  great  and  overwhelming 
affliction  which  has  so  suddenly  fallen  upon  the  bereaved  widow  and  family  of 
the  martyred  President  LINCOLN,  and  humbly  offer  to  them  such  condolence  as 
can  be  derived  from  sympathizing  hearts  in  the  great  loss  which  they  and  the 
cause  of  humanity  throughout  the  world  have  sustained. 

It  was  moved  by  Benjamin  Rhodes,  esq.,  seconded  by  Mr  Jacob  Green, 
and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  we  rejoice  to  hear  that  the  cowardly  and  mur 
derous  attack  on  the  life  of  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward  (while  lying  in  a  helpless 
condition  on  a  bed  of  sickness)  has  not  proved  fatal.  We  trust  he  will  soon  be 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       307 

enabled  to  resume  the  duties  of  his  important  office;  that  President  Johnson 
may  retain  him  to  assist  in  guiding  and  directing  the  affairs  of  his  country, 
helping  to  meet  and  overcome  every  trial ;  that  they  may  succeed  in  purging 
their  nation  from  everything  that  would  blot  its  future  fame,  and  preserve  it  in 
honor  and  peace  with  all  the  world. 

It  was  moved  by  Mr.  W.  B.  Micklethwaite,  seconded  by  Rev.  R.  Bowman, 
and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  meeting  avails  itself  of  the  opportunity  of 
expressing  sympathy  with  President  Johnson  and  his  advisers  in  their  present 
perilous  circumstances,  and  hopes  the  wise  and  humane  policy  which  distin 
guished  the  noble-minded  LINCOLN  may  inspire  and  influence  them ;  that  they 
may  prosecute  the  work  of  reconstruction  so  consistently  begun  by  their 
illustrious  predecessor,  until  the  glorious  republic  be  rendered  still  more 
glorious  by  the  total  and  complete  extinction  of  slavery  in  every  part  of  its 
dominions. 

It  was  moved  by  Mr.  J.  Leadbeater,  seconded  by  Mr.  J.  Crabtree,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  chairman  be  authorized  to  sign  the  above 
resolutions  on  behalf  of  this  meeting,  and  forward  them  to  the  Hon.  C.  F. 
Adams,  the  American  minister  in  London,  for  transmission  to  his  Excellency 
President  Johnson,  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  the  Hon.  William  H.  Seward. 

WILLIAM  RHODES,  Chairman. 


HAMILTON,  BERMUDA,  May  11,  1865. 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  meeting,  the  recent  barbarous  assas 
sination  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  was  an  atrocious 
outrage  upon  all  the  principles  of  humanity  and  good  government,  and  deserves 
to  be  met  with  the  just  indignation  and  fixed  abhorrence  of  every  peaceable 
and  well-ordered  community. 

Proposed    by  his    honor   the    chief  justice;    seconded   by   the   attorney 

general. 

Resohed,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  sympathy  with  a  neigh 
boring  nation,  deprived  by  this  outrage  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  its  choice, 
and  also  to  convey  to  the  bereaved  family  and  personal  friends  of  the  late 
President  LINCOLN  a  heartfelt  expression  of  condolence  with  them  in  their 
deep  affliction. 

Proposed  by  honorable  the  speaker;  seconded  by  Hon.  M.  G.  Keon, 
colonial  secretary. 

HENRY  JAMES  TUCKER 

Mayor  and  Chairman. 


808  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Hon.  Miles  Gerald  Keon  to  C.  M.  Allen,  Esq.,  United  States  Consul. 

HAMILTON,  BERMUDA,  April  28,  1865. 

DEAR  SIR  :  Although  you  will  need  no  assurance  of  this  kind  for  your 
own  information,  I  can  keep  silence  no  longer,  and  am  constrained  both  by  my 
principles  and  by  my  feelings,  (and  certainly  not  prohibited  by  the  commission 
which  I  hold  from  her  Majesty,  as  one  of  her  principal  servants  in  this  com 
munity,)  to  express  to  you,  however  feebly  and  inadequately,  the  grief  and 
indignation  with  which  the  horrible  crime  of  the  14th  instant  has  filled  me.  I 
trust  we  shall  have  a  public  meeting,  at  which  we  can  attest  solemnly  before 
the  world  the  sentiments  which  this  community  entertains  respecting  so  foul 
and  detestable  a  deed. 

I  speak  only  the  feelings  everywhere  paramount,  nay,  the  natural  language 
of  human  society  itself,  and  beyond  a  question  in  that  fragment  of  it  in  which 
I  am  living,  when  I  beg  you  to  believe  that  the  deepest  reprobation  of  every 
man  who  dares  to  look  his  fellow-creatures  in  the  face  awaits  the  wretch  who 
has  deprived  a  great  nation  of  its  Chief  Magistrate,  just  when  he  had  shown 
that  he  was  as  merciful  in  victory  as  he  had  been  stern  in  conflict,  and  at  a 
moment  of  cruel  public  difficulty,  by  one  of  the  most  doltish  and  objectless,  as 
well  as  wicked  and  truculent  murders,  that  history  has  ever  had  to  record. 

I  have  been  urging  all  my  friends  to  hold  a  meeting,  and  say  jointly  before 
the  world  what  they  are  saying  severally  in  their  homes.  Men  of  all  parties, 
of  all  countries,  can  unite  in  this.  During  a  struggle  which  could  not  be  settled 
save  by  Americans,  and  on  American  principles,  some  of  us  felt  commiseration 
and  sympathy  for  the  gallant  few  fighting  so  splendidly  on  the  defensive; 
others  for  the  cause  of  obvious  political  order  and  central  authority;  but  all 
remained  officially  neutral.  When,  however,  Providence  has  decided  the  con 
flict,  and  assassination  is  introduced  among  the  factors  of  political  science,  I 
trust  no  British  gentleman  and  no  honest  man  will  ever  show  neutrality. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  dear  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

MILES  GERALD  KEON. 
CHARLES  M.  ALLEN,  Esq., 

Consul  of  the  U.  S.  of  America  in  Bermuda. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  tlie  Alexandria  Lodge  of  the  G\  U.  O- 

of  Odd  Fellows,  Bermuda. 

Whereas,  by  recent  arrivals  from  New  York,  we  do  learn  of  the  death  of 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  by  assassination: 
therefore,  be  it — 

1st.  Resolved,  That  in  this  dispensation  of  the  Divine  will,  our  race  has 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY. 

lost  an  invaluable  friend,  one  who  in  public  and  private  life  failed  not  to  do  honor 
to  his  country,  who  in  the  support  of  freedom,  equality,  and  the  rights  of  man. 
fell  by  the  hand  of  a  ruthless  assassin. 

2d.  Resolved,  That  this  meeting  do  hear  of  his  untimely  decease  with 
feelings  of  deep  and  deserved  regret,  and  in  view  of  the  said  mournful  intelli 
gence  do  make  such  public  demonstration  of  the  same  as  is  consistent  with  us, 
members  of  the  fraternity  of  Odd  Fellows. 

3d.  Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  lodge  do  on  Thursday,  the  4th 
proximo,  at  its  annual  celebration,  appear  in  mourning  costume,  in  token  of 
respect  for  the  deceased  President,  and  that  badges  of  mourning  be  continued 
to  be  worn  by  the  brethren  for  thirty  days. 

4th.  Resolved,  That  we  do  heartily  sympathize  with  the  worthy  consul 
here,  C.  M.  Allen,  esq.,  and  the  friends  of  the  Union,  as  also  with  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
and  their  bereaved  family  abroad,  in  this  hour  of  trying  moment. 

5th.  Resolved,  That  the  secretary  be  directed  to  notify  "  Somers  Pride  of 
India  Lodge,  No.  899,"  and  "Victoria  and  Albert  Lodge,  No.  1,027,"  of  their 
intention  in  accordance  with  the  3d  resolution,  and  to  request  a  compliance  of 
the  same. 

6th.  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  the  United 
States  consulate  at  St.  George's,  and  to  the  Anglo-African  papers,  New  York, 
for  publication. 

The  foregoing  resolutions  were  submitted  to  the  meeting  at  Hamilton,  on 
Tuesday,  the  25th  of  April,  ultimo,  by  P.  G.  M.  Brother  J.  T.  Richardson,  sup 
ported  by  Senior  G.  M.  Brother  Joseph  H.  Thomas,  and  ably  seconded  by 
Brother  Joseph  H.  Rainey,  and  unanimously  carried  by  the  brethren,  some  one 
hundred  and  fifty  or  more  being  present. 

DAVID  TUCKER, 

General  Secretary. 


MAYOR'S  OFFICE,  HAMILTON,  CANADA  WEST., 

April  26,  A.  D.  1865. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor,  by  direction  of  the  municipal  corporation  of  the 
city  of  Hamilton,  Canada  West,  to  enclose  a  copy  of  resolutions  passed  by 
that  body  on  hearing  the  sad  news  of  the  assassination  of  the  late  President, 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  to  respectfully  request  that  you  will  be  pleased  to 
lay  the  same  before  the  President. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  MAGILL, 

Mai/or  of  Hamilton,  Canada,  West. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  Slate. 


310  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolutions  passed  by  the  municipal  corporation  of  the  city  of  Hamilton,  Canada 
West,  on  the  18th  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1865. 

Whereas  this  council  having  heard  the  melancholy  news  of  the  assassination 
of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  commonalty  of  the  city  of 
Hamilton,  in  council  assembled,  deeply  lament  the  sad  occurrence,  and  also 
sincerely  sympathize  with  the  widow  and  bereaved  family  of  the  late  President, 
and  with  the  nation  thus  afflicted  and  wrongfully  deprived  of  its  Chief  Magistrate; 
and  we  also  feel  that  in  thus  expressing  our  views  on  this  mournful  subject,  and 
in  deprecating  the  diabolical  act  which  deprived  a  neighboring  nation  of  its 
chief  head,  we  are  only  giving  expression  to  the  feelings  entertained  by  the 
inhabitants  of  this  city. 

Resolved,  That,  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  the  deceased  President,  the  mayor 
be  instructed  to  request  the  citizens  to  close  their  respective  places  of  business 
during  the  time  the  funeral  obsequies  are  being  performed,  which  will  take 
place  on  Wednesday,  the  19th  instant,  between  the  hours  of  12  o'clock  noon 
arid  2  p.  m.,  and  that  the  city  bells  toll  during  those  hours. 

[SEAL.]  CHARLES  MAGILL, 

Mayor  of  Hamilton,  C.  W. 


Resolutions  of  the  Huddersjield  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE, 

Huddersfield,  May  1,  1865. 

Extract  from  proceedings  of  special  meeting  of  council,  May  1,  1865  : 

Moved  by  W.  11.  Haigh,  esq.,  vice-president,  seconded  by  T.  Creswell, 
esq.,  and 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  chamber  desires  to  record  the  expression 
of  its  profound  sympathy  and  condolence  with  the  government  and  citizens  of 
the  United  States  of  America  on  the  occasion  of  the  recent  assassination  of 
President  LINCOLN,  and  the  attempted  assassination  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward. 
These  most  atrocious  crimes  must  excite  the  horror  and  indignation  of  all 
civilized  nations,  and  cannot  at  this  momentous  crisis  of  American  affairs  be  too 
deeply  deplored  by  all  who  recognize,  as  this  chamber  does  to  its  fullest  extent, 
the  single-minded  patriotism  and  great  ability  with  which  President  LINCOLN 
has  guided  the  destinies  of  his  country  through  almost  unparalleled  difficulties. 

The  chamber  would  also  express  its  respectful  sympathy  with  the  widow 
and  family  of  the  deceased  President. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        311 

Moved  by  W.  P.  England,  esq.,  seconded  by  H.  Brooke,  esq.,  and 
Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  foregoing  resolution  be  communicated  to 
the  American  consul  in  Huddersfield,  with  a  request  that  he  will  forward  the 
same  through  the  proper  channel  to  the  American  government. 

W.  R.  HAIGH,   Vice- President. 
.     JOSEPH  BATLEY,  Secretary. 


Resolution  passed  by  the  Huddersfield  improvement  commissioners. 

At  a   monthly  meeting  of  the  Huddersfield   improvement  commissioners 
held  on  Wednesday,  the  5th  day  of  May,  1865,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  Huddersfield  improvement  commissioners, 
in  monthly  meeting  assembled,  feel  that  they  cannot  but  give  expression  to  their 
feelings  of  horror  and  indignation  at  the  atrocious  acts  by  which  the  United 
States  of  America  have  been  suddenly  deprived  of  their  late  President,  and  by 
which  the  lives  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward  and  his  two  sons  have  been  endangered. 
The  commissioners  would  also  record  their  deep  sympathy  with  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  and  with  the  widow  of  the  late  Mr.  President  LINCOLN,  in 
the  irreparable  loss  which  they  have  sustained  through  his  death. 

JOSEPH  TURNER, 

Chairman  of  Commissioners. 
J.  W.  CLOUGH, 

Clerk  to  the  said  Commissioners. 


From  the  council  of  the  Huddersfield  Union  and  Emancipation  Society. 

HUDDERSFIELD,  April  27,  1865. 
THOMAS  STEPHENSON,  Esq., 

Consular  Agent  of  the  United  States  at  Huddersfield: 
SIR:  We  have  learned  with  the  deepest  horror  and  regret  that  the  President 
of  the  United  States  of  America  has  been  basely  assassinated,  and  we  desire  to 
express  our  profound  sympathy  in  the  sad  event,  with  his  family  and  friends,  a 
sentiment  which  must  be  shared  by  the  friends  of  liberty  everywhere. 

Signed,  on  behalf  of  the  council  of  the  Huddersfield  Union  and  Emancipa 
tion  Society  : 

MATHEW  HALE. 
THOMAS  DENHAM. 
JOHN  GLAISZER. 
HENRY  REVILL. 
WILLIAM  R.  CROFT. 
J.  K.  GLAISZER,  Honorary  Secretary. 


ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

HULL,  May  1,  1865. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  directors  of  the  Hull  Chamber  of  Commerce  and 

Shipping  held  this  day,  the  president,  Henry  J.  Atkinson,  in  the  chair- 
It  was   moved  by  Stephen  West,  vice-president,  seconded   by  Edmund 

Philip  Maxsted,  vice-president,  and  carried  unanimously— 

That  the  American  minister  be  assured  of  the  sympathy  of  this  chamber 

with  the  government  and  the  people  of  the  United  States,  under  the  mournful 

circumstances   in  which    they  are    placed    by  the  assassination  of  President 

LINCOLN. 

HENRY  J.  ATKINSON,  President. 


Resolution  of  the  Holmfirth  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  held  on  the  8th  of  May,  1865,  the  following 
resolution  was  unanimously  adopted: 

"  That  this  chamber  desires  to  express  its  abhorrence  of  the  assassination 
of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  to  offer  its  sympathy 
to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family,  and  the  American  people,  in  their  painful  bereave 
ment." 

BENJAMIN  CRAVEN,  President. 

SAMUEL  S  BOOTH,  Secretary. 


Resolution*  passed  at  a  meeting  lield  by  tlie  working  men  of  Hinton  Martel, 

Dorset    county. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  working  men,  held  (by  permission)  in  the 
school-room,  Hinton  Martel,  near  Wimborne,  in  the  county  of  Dorset,  on 
Wednesday,  May  17,  1865,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted: 

That  this  meeting  having  heard  with  great  regret  of  the  assassination  of 
Mr.  President  LINCOLN,  beg  most  humbly,  but  very  respectfully,  to  tender 
through  his  excellency  the  American  ambassador  residing  in  this  country,  to 
the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  of  America,  their  most  earnest 
sympathy  and  condolence,  and  to  express  their  detestation  and  horror  of  the 
crime. 

That  his  excellency  be  requested  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  the  assurance, 
that  by  no  class  in  this  country  will  there  be  felt  for  her  a  more  earnest  and 
true  sympathy  under  this  great  trial  than  that  experienced  by  us,  a  few  of  the 
agricultural  laborers  of  Dorset. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting : 

HARRY  STOKES,  Chairman. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  313 

HINTON  MARTEL,  Wimborne,  Mai/  19,  1865. 

SIR  :  As  chairman  of  the  above  meeting,  I  have  the  honor  to  hand  you  the 
resolution  passed  by  the  workingmen  of  this  district. 

I  would  take  this  opportunity  to  express  my  earnest  hope  that  the  prospect 
now  presented  of  a  termination  of  the  conflict  that  has  been  raging  so  long  in 
your  country  may  be  speedily  realized,  and  that  you,  sir,  may  be  long  spared  to 
watch  over  the  interests  of  your  country  at  the  court  of  our  beloved  Queen. 

With  great  respect,  1  beg  to  remain,  sir,  your  very  obedient,  humble  servant, 

HARRY  STOKES. 

His  Excellency  C.  F.  ADAMS,  Esq. 


To  (lie  President  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

We,  the  town  commissioners  of  West  Hartlepool,  in  the  county  of  Durham, 
beg  to  convey  to  you  and,  through  you,  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  our 
deep  abhorrence  and  detestation  of  the  foul  crime  which  has  so  suddenly 
deprived  you  of  your  late  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

We  share  with  all  classes  and  creeds  in  this  country  in  feelings  of  mingled 
grief  and  indignation  at  so  atrocious  an  outrage. 

Called  to  the  high  office  of  supreme  director  of  the  destinies  of  a  great 
nation,  and  engaged  in  the  active  and  conscientious  performance  of  his  vast  and 
arduous  duties,  such  a  life  might  well  have  been  regarded  as  peculiarly  sacred. 

We  would  desire  to  express  our  deep  sympathy  and  condolence  with  your 
government  and  people  at  this  untoward  and  melancholy  event,  and  our  hope  that, 
under  the  blessing  of  Almighty  God,  even  this  sad  event  may  be  overruled  to  the 
welfare  of  your  country  and  the  restoration  of  national  peace  and  prosperity. 

Given  under  our  common  seal  this  3d  day  of  May,  1865. 

The  common  seal  of  the  West  Hartlepool  commissioners  was  hereunto 
affixed  in  the  presence  of — 

[SEAL.]  WM.  W.  BRUNTER,  Clerk  to  the  Board. 


To  Mrs.  Lincoln,: 

We,  the  town  commissioners  of  West  Hartlepool,  in  the  county  of 
Durham,  desire  to  express  to  you  our  earnest  sympathy  in  your  recent  great 
and  irreparable  bereavement.  So  foul  an  outrage  against  the  life  of  the 
illustrious  President  is  received  by  us  with  but  one  united  feeling  of  abhor 
rence  and  detestation.  All  classes  and  creeds  unite  in  one  common  expression 
of  mingled  grief  and  indignation  at  the  foul  and  dastardly  assassination. 

We  desire  to  convey  to  you  our  deepest  condolence  in  this  your  great  trial 
and  affliction,  and  our  earnest  hope  that  if  anything  will  tend  to  assuage  your 
great  grief,  it  will  be  the  united  sympathy  of  all  classes  and  all  countries,  and 
your  consciousness  that  the  life  so  dear  to  you  was  sacrificed  while  engaged  in 

40 


314  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

the  honest  and  noble  discharge  of  his  duty  in  that  high  sphere  to  which,  under 
God's  providence,  he  had  been  elected  by  his  fellow-countrymen. 

Given  under  our  common  seal  this  third  day  of  May,  1865. 

The  common  seal  of  the  West  Hartlepool   commissioners  was  hereunto 
affixed  in  the  presence  of- — 

[SEAL.]  WILLIAM  W.  BRUNTER, 

Clerk  to  the  Board. 


BOROUGH  OF  HARTLEPOOL,  COUNTY  OF  DURHAM. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Hartlepool,  con 
vened  by  the  mayor  in  response  to  a  numerously  signed  requisition  from  the 
rate-payers,  and  held  in  the  Town  Hall  on  Tuesday,  May  2,  1865,  James  Groves, 
esq.,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  it  was  unanimously  resolved — 

On  the  motion  of  Mr  William  Hall,  seconded  by  Mr.  B.  T.  Ord — 
First.  That  this  meeting  deeply  sympathizes  with  the  people  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  in  the  bereavement  which  they  have  sustained  in  the  death 
of  their  President  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin. 

On  the  motion  of  George  Blumer,  esq.,  seconded  by  Thomas  Belk,  esq.— 

Second.  That  this  meeting  desires,  while  giving  expresions  to  the  feelings 

of  grief  and  horror  with  which  it  regards  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN, 

to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  an  intimation  of  its  profound  sympathy  and  heartfelt 

condolence. 

On  the  motion  of  the  Rev.  B.  J.  Hall,  seconded  by  Mr.  S  Armstrong — 
Third    That  this  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  ancient  borough  of 
Hartlepool  rejoice  to  learn  that  it  is  the  intention  of  President  Johnson  to  carry 
out  the  policy  of  which  the  lamented  late  President's  career  was  the  embodi 
ment,  believing,  as  they  do,  that  that  policy  had  for  its  object  the  preservation 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  the  emancipation  of  the  slave. 
On  the  motion  of  Mr.  J.  H.  Bell,  seconded  by  Mr.  Councillor  Graham — 
Fourth.  That  copies  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  be  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  Hon.  C.  F.  Adams,  the  American  minister,  for  transmission  to  his  Excellency 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  to   Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  to  the  honorable 
William  H.  Seward. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting : 

[SEAL.]  JAMES  GROVES,  Mayor. 

And  the  chair  having  been  vacated — 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  Councillor  Taylor,  seconded  by  Mr.  Councillor 
Harrison — 

Fifth.  That  the  best  thanks  of  the  meeting  be  accorded  to  his  worship 
the  mayor,  for  having  so  promptly  convened  and  so  ably  presided  at  this  meeting 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  315 

MAY  4,  1865. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  The  United  Methodist  Free  Church,  West  Hartlepool,  in 
a  special  congregation,  desires  that  you  will  convey  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  to  Mr.  Seward  in  particular,  its  deep 
detestation  of  the  crime  and  of  the  men  who  have  struck  down  the  noble  life 
of  the  late  President.  We  have  ever  felt  towards  him  while  alive  a  personal 
friendship,  and  now,  that  he  is  no  more  of  this  world,  we  love  his  memory. 
"  The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed."  But  this  is  not  a  time  for  many  words. 
We  have  faith  in  the  future  of  the  United  States,  and  we  say,  God  prosper  and 
bless  the  American  people.  God  bless  the  policy  of  emancipation. 

On  behalf  of  the  church: 

J.  MARTIN,  Pastor. 

Hon.  C.  F.  ADAMS,  American  Legation,  London. 


Resolutions  parsed  at  a  public  meeting  held  at  Ipswich,  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  on 
Thursday,  the  \\.tk  day  of  May,  1865,  Samuel  Harrison  Cowell,esq.,  mat/or 
of  the  borough  of  Ipswich,  in  the  chair. 

On  the  motion  of  the  Rev.  Charles  Hicks  Gaye,  seconded  by  Henry  Foot 
man,  esq. — 

That  this  meeting  regards  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  with 
unmitigated  abhorrence,  and  desires  to  express  the  deepest  sorrow  and  indigna 
tion  at  the  occurrence. 

On  the  motion  of  the  Rev.  James  Robert  Turnock,  seconded  by  Edward 
Grimwade,  esq.— 

That  this  meeting  sincerely  condoles  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  all  others 
whom  this  event  has  bereaved,  and  entertains  the  greatest  respect  for  the 
memory  of  the  late  Mr.  LINCOLN,  whose  talents,  integrity,  and  peaceful  disposi 
tion  so  eminently  qualified  him  for  the  high  position  he  held  at  the  present 
crisis  of  American  affairs. 

On  the  motion  of  the  Rev.  James  Webb,  seconded  by  George  Green 
Sampson,  esq. — 

That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  our  American  kinsmen  in  the  great 
national  affliction  that  has  befallen  them,  and  trust  that  they  may  ere  long  be 
delivered  from  their  present  distress,  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  peace  and 
prosperity,  and,  above  all,  the  utter  extinction  of  slavery. 

On  the  motion  of  Joseph  Fison,  esq.,  seconded  by  the  Rev.  John  Gay— 

That  copies  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  be  sent  to  the  honorable  Mr 
Adams,  the  United  States  ambassador  in  London. 


316  ASSASSINATION   OP   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

SYMPATHY  WITH  AMERICA. 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  public  meeting  of  the  working  classes  held  in  the  borough  of 
Ipswich,  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  May  22,  18b'5. 

First  resolution :  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  the  detestation  and 
profound  sorrow  with  which  it  regards  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN, 
and  the  barbarous  attack  on  Mr.  Seward,  and  to  offer  its  sympathy  and  heart 
felt  condolence  with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  President  Johnson,  the  government,  and  the 
people  of  the  United  States. 

Second  resolution :  That  this  meeting,  while  it  deeply  laments  the  loss  of 
President  LINCOLN,  at  a  time  when  his  influence  and  abilities  were  most  needed 
to  complete  the  work  of  slave  emancipation  in  America,  confidently  trusts  that 
President  Johnson  and  his  colleagues,  upon  whom  the  conduct  of  national 
affairs  in  America  devolves,  will  succeed  in  accomplishing  that  desirable  result. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting  : 

W.  D.  SIMS, 
(of  Burlington  Road,  Ipswich,)  Chairman, 

Hon.  W.  H.  SEWAKD, 

Secretary  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


Address  of  the  Niagara  annual  conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in 

Canada  to  Mr.  Johnson. 

We,  the  ministers  composing  the  Niagara  annual  conference  of  the  Meth 
odist  Episcopal  church  in  Canada,  desire  to  express  our  heartfelt  sympathy 
with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family,  yourself,  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  because  of  the  melancholy  death  of  the  lamented  late  President 
LINCOLN,  who  was  assassinated  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  at  a  period  in  the 
history  of  the  republic  when  he  appeared  to  be  the  mainspring  of  the  nation. 

We  feel  that  in  the  demise  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'  his  country  lost  a  patriot,  and 
the  whole  civilized  world  a  friend. 

The  cause  and  spirit  of  the  execrable  southern  rebellion,  which  evidently 
dictated  the  barbarous  crime,  as  well  as  the  assassins  who  attempted  the 
destruction  of  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward  and  sons,  and  succeeded  in  killing 
President  LINCOLN,  deserve  the  reprobation  of  the  universal  brotherhood  of 
mankind. 

Our  sincere  prayer  to  Almighty  God  is,  that  He  may  console  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  family  under  their  bereavement ;  preserve  the  life  of  the  present  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  republic,  and  direct  him  and  his  administration  to  such  wise 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       317 

conclusions  as  shall  fully  restore  the  Union,  extinguish  slavery,  and  give  per 
manent  peace  to  the  nation. 

Done  by  order  of  conference  at  Strashrog,  on  the  24th  of  April,  A.  D. 
1865. 

M.  BENSON,  Secretary  of  Conference. 
His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  provost,  bailies  and  councillors  of  the  royal  burgh  of 
Jedburgh,  in  Scotland,  held  on  the  8th  day  of  May,  1865,  it  was 

Rexolned,  That  this  council,  on  their  own  part  and  as  the  exponent  of  the 
feelings  of  the  entire  community  of  the  royal  burgh  of  Jedburgh,  do  record  an 
expression  of  the  deep  sorrow  universally  experienced  on  receiving  the  intelli 
gence  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN — an  act  the  foul  atrocity  of 
which  has  excited  the  horror  and  indignation  of  all  classes  of  her  Majesty's 
subjects. 

That  this  council,  in  expressing  their  most  sincere  sympathy  with  the 
government  and  people  of  the  United  States  under  their  terrible  national 
calamity,  fervently  hope  and  pray  that  the  death  of  their  Chief  Magistrate,  in  a 
manner  so  shocking  to  every  feeling  of  humanity  and  so  subversive  of  social 
order,  may  be  regulated  by  an  all-wise  and  overruling  Providence  so  as  not 
material!}'  to  affect  their  country's  prospects  of  internal  peace,  amity,  and  good 
will. 

That  this  council  further  express  their  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and 
the  family  of  the  late  President  in  their  sorrowful  bereavement,  and  earnestly 
pray  that  He  who  has  revealed  himself  heretofore  as  the  "  father  of  the  father 
less,  and  judge  of  the  widow,"  may  be  to  them  an  all-abiding  consolation  in  this 
their  hour  of  trial. 

It  was  further 

Resolved,  That  the  provost  transmit  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the 
American  minister  in  London,  with  a  request  that  he  will  take  the  earliest 
opportunity  of  communicating  them  to  the  government,  and  to  the  widow  of 
the  late  President. 

WILLIAM  DEANS,  Provost. 


At  and  within  the  Town  Hall  of  the  burgh  of  Kilmarnock,  in  the  county 
of  Ayr,  on  the  3d  of  May,  1865,  convened  the  provost,  magistrates  and  council 
of  said  burgh  ;  whereupon  it  was 

Resolved,  That  this  council  have  learned  with  the  greatest  indignation  and 


318  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

profound  regret  of  the  atrocious  murder  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of 
the  United  States  of  America. 

That  this  council  deeply  sympathize  with  the  American  republic,  under 
the  great  loss  which  it  has  sustained  by  the  untimely  decease  under  such 
revolting  circumstances,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  illustrious  career  of  a  ruler 
whose  personal  excellence  has  made  him  an  object  of  honest  pride  to  his  own 
countrymen,  and  of  just  admiration  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  whose  earnest 
endeavor  to  maintain  friendly  relations  with  Great  Britain  must  ever  endear  his 
name  and  memory  to  the  people  of  this  country. 

That  this  council  also  deeply  sympathize  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family 
under  their  heavy  bereavement,  and  sincerely  pray  that  they  may  be  supported 
by  Him  "  who  is  the  husband  of  the  widow,  and  the  father  of  the  fatherless." 

That  these  resolutions  be  subscribed  by  Provost  Dickie,  in  name  and  on 
behalf  of  the  council,  and  presented  by  him  to  the  minister  in  London  of  the 
United  States  of  America. 

JOHN  DICKIE,  Provost. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Kidderminster,  in  the 
county  of  Worcester,  held  Wednesday,  the  3d  day  of  May,  1865— 

Moved  by  Mr.  Councillor  P.  Talbot ;  seconded  by  Mr.  Councillor  Boycott — 

That  this  council,  representing  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Kidder 
minster,  desires  to  give  utterance  to  the  feelings  of  grief  and  horror  at  the 
assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  attempted  murder  of  Mr.  Seward, 
and  to  convey  to  the  United  States  government  and  people,  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
an  expression  of  its  profound  sympathy  and  sincere  condolence. 

Carried  unanimously. 


KING  S  LYNN — GUILDHALL. 

At  a  congregation  there  holden  on  Friday,  the  19th  day  of  May,  A.  D. 
1865 — present,  William  Monement,  esquire,  mayor;  Aldermen  Francis  J. 
Cresswell,  Walter  Moyse,  John  G.  Saunders,  and  William  Seppings;  Coun 
cillors  Henry  W.  Allen,  Robert  Cook,  Joseph  Cooper,  Richard  Coller,  W.  D. 
Harding,  Geo.  Holditch,  S.  Marsters,  William  Plews,  H.  B.  Plowright,  James 
Seals,  T.  M.  Wilkin — it  was  moved  by  Mr.  Alderman  Moyse,  seconded  by  Mr. 
Councillor  Cook,  and  resolved  unanimously — 

That  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  this  borough,  in  common 
council  assembled,  desire  to  record  their  feelings  of  horror  and  indignation  at 
the  atrocious  assassination  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  and  the  murderous  attack  on  Mr.  Secretary  Seward,  and  to  express 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       319 

their  deep  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  under  the  great 
national  calamity  which  has  befallen  them  ;  and  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her 
bereaved  family  in  the  irreparable  loss  they  have  sustained. 

That  copies  of  the  above  resolution  be  forwarded  through  one  of  the 
members  for  the  borough  to  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  minister  in  London,  for 
transmission  to  the  American  government  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

[SEAL.]  WILLIAM  MONEMENT,  Mayor. 


Address   of  the  provost,  magistrates  and   town  council  of  the  royal  burgh  of 

Kirkcaldy,  Scotland. 

MAY  9,  18G5. 

SIR  :  The  provost,  magistrates  and  town  council  of  the  royal  burgh  of  Kirk 
caldy,  Scotland,  desire  to  express  their  unfeigned  sorrow  at  the  tragic  termination 
of  the  career  of  the  late  loved  and  lamented  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

They  join  in  the  universal  cry  of  horror  and  detestation  at  the  dreadful 
crime  which  has  inflicted  so  deep  a  wound  in  the  heart  of  the  nation,  and  has 
awakened  so  keen  a  sympathy  with  you  throughout  the  civilized  world. 

They  recognize  in  the  late  President  a  man  who,  by  his  honesty,  vigor, 
and  ability,  secured  the  intense  affection  and  respect  of  the  people ;  one  fitted 
to  rule  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  civil  conflict  the  world  has  seen,  and  to 
temper  with  forbearance  and  clemency  the  triumph  over  the  vanquished.  They 
join  in  earnest  hope  that  your  severe  and  protracted  struggles  may  terminate 
with  his  intentions  and  desires  fully  accomplished,  in  the  downfall  of  slavery, 
and  in  the  entire  removal  from  your  great  nation  of  an  evil  which  has  hitherto 
trammelled  and  distressed  it.  They  anticipate  a  bright  future  for  America  in  the 
reign  of  freedom,  intelligence,  and  Christian  worth;  they  desire  an  intimate  and 
friendly  understanding  between  her  and  the  government  and  people  of  Great 
Britain  ;  and  trust  that,  together,  they  may  long  continue  the  pioneers  and 
promoters  of  civilization  and  freedom. 

They  will  feel  obliged  by  your  communicating  these  sentiments  to  the 
government  of  America. 

Signed  in  name  and  by  authority  of  the  provost,  magistrates  and  town 
council  of  the  royal  burgh  of  Kirkcaldy,  and  the  seal  of  the  burgh  hereunto 
appended. 

[SEAL.]  PATRICK  D.  SWAN, 

Provost  Magistrate  of  Kirkcaldy,  N.  13. 

CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS,  Esq., 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

for  the  United  States  of  America,  London. 


320  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Address  of  the  provost,  magistrates  and   town  council  of  tlie  royal   burgh   of 
Kirkcaldy,  Scotland,  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

MAY  9,  1865. 

MADAM  :  Permit  us,  the  provost,  magistrates  and  town  council  of  the  royal 
burgh  of  Kirkcaldy,  Scotland,  to  approach  you  in  order  to  express  our  deep 
sympathy  with  you  under  your  sore  bereavement,  and  the  dreadful  shock  which 
the  removal  from  your  side,  by  such  foul  means,  of  a  husband  who  had  earned 
the  respect,  love,  and  admiration  of  so  great  a  people,  must  have  given  you. 

We  commend  you  to  the  care  and  protection  of  the  Almighty  Father,  who 
alone  can  heal  the  wound  which  this  great  calamity  has  inflicted. 

We  pray  that  He  may  be  your  God  and  guide  through  life,  your  constant 
protector  and  stay,  and  that,  to  soothe  your  sorrow,  you  may  enjoy  the  attach 
ment  of  the  great  people  over  whom  your  lamented  husband  ruled  with  so  much 
ability  and  success,  and  whose  virtues  we  doubt  not  will  be  embalmed  in  the 
hearts  of  their  grateful  posterity. 

Signed  in  name  and  by  authority  of  the  provost,  magistrates  and  town 
council  of  the  burgh  of  Kirkcaldy,  and  the  seal  of  the  burgh  hereto  appended : 

[SEAL.]  PATRICK  D.  SWAN, 

Provost  of  Kirkcaldy,  N.  B. 


Address  of  the  corporation  of  Kendal  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

The  corporation  of  Kendal  approach  Mrs.  Lincoln  with  their  respectful 
expression  of  sincere  condolence  on  the  incalculable  loss  she  has  so  suddenly 
and  so  painfully  sustained. 

It  having  pleased  the  Almighty  Ruler  of  events  to  permit  the  newly 
re-elected  head  of  the  American  people  to  be  removed  on  the  threshold  of  his 
continued  possession  of  the  chair  of  state,  thus  overturning  a  nation's  plans  for 
its  own  government,  the  corporation  feel  that,  in  the  solemn  presence  of  such 
a  lesson  of  the  instability  of  the  schemes  of  man,  the  death  of  the  President 
must  have  come  upon  his  afflicted  family  as  a  national  as  well  as  a  domestic 
bereavement.  But  it  is  with  regard  to  the  latter  deep  sorrow  that  the  corpora 
tion  venture  to  offer  their  sincere  sympathy  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  children. 
The  amiability  and  kindliness  of  the  departed  President  were  not  limited  to  his 
connections,  but  extended  to  his  opponents ;  his  prayers  for  peace,  and  the 
dignity  of  his  benevolence  in  the  hour  of  successful  triumph,  have  left  behind 
a  light  pure  and  bright  for  those  who  succeed  him. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  WHITWELL, 

Vice-Mai/or  of  Kendal. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       321 

Address  of  the  corporation  of  the  borough,  of  Kendal  to  tlie  government  of  (lie 

United  States. 

The  corporation  of  the  borough  of  Kendal,  moved  by  indignation  at  the 
foul  and  treasonable  assassination  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States, 
hereby  transmit  to  his  excellency  Charles  Francis  Adams,  for  communication 
to  the  American  government,  the  sincere  expression  of  sorrow  that  the  life  of 
the  chief  ruler  of  the  American  people  has  been  sacrilegiously  taken  at  the 
moment  he  was  designing,  by  conciliatory  and  kindly  measures,  to  heal  the 
discord  and  anarchy  that  has  so  grievously  afflicted  the  United  States.  It  will 
rejoice  the  corporation  of  Kendal  to  learn,  in  the  process  of  time,  that  the, 
sanguinary  struggle,  during  which  so  many  precious  lives  on  both  sides  have 
been  sacrificed,  has  eventually  resulted  in  freedom  to  the  whole  family  of  man 
on  the  North  American  continent — a  consummation  necessary  to  the  sacred 
character  of  a  free  constitutional  state. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  WHITWELL, 

Vice-Mayor. 


At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Kendal,  convened  on  behalf  of 
the  mayor  by  John  "Whitwell,  esq.,  the  ex-mayor,  and  held  the  6th  day  of  May, 
1865,  the  following  proceedings  took  place: 

The  following  resolution,  proposed  by  Mr.  Henry  Wilson,  seconded  by  Mr. 
John  Robinson,  and  supported  by  James  Cropper,  esq.,  (by  request,)  was  carried 
unanimously  : 

The  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Kendal  in  public  meeting  assembled — 

Resolved,  That  it  is  their  bounden  duty  to  express  their  horror  and  detesta 
tion  of  the  treacherous  assassination  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United 
States,  the  late  President  LINCOLN,  and  of  the  murderous  attack  on  the  life  of 
Mr.  Secretary  Seward  ;  and  they  request  his  excellency  Mr.  Adams  to  convey 
from  them  to  the  authorities  of  the  United  States  and  to  the  American  peoplr 
the  expression  of  condolence  on  the  death  of  the  head  of  their  government  by 
the  hand  of  treason  and  crime. 

The  following  resolution,  proposed  by  the  Rev.  William  Taylor,  and 
seconded  by  Charles  Lloyd  Braithwaite,  esq.,  was  carried  unanimously  : 

Resolved,  That  the  honorable  widow  and  children  of  the  late  President  of 
the  United  States  be  respectfully  informed  that  this  meeting  enters  deeply  into 
their  great  sorrow,  sympathizing  with  them  in  their  sudden  and  most  afflictive 
bereavement,  and  trusts  that  it  may  please  the  great  Ruler  of  the  Universe;  in 

41 


322  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

this  His  inscrutable  dispensation,  1o  comfort  those  who  mourn,  and  to  visit  with 
His  healing  presence  the  widow  and  fatherless  in  their  affliction. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting : 

JOHN  WHITWELL, 

Ex-Mayor,  Chairman. 


Address  of  condolence  with  the  American  people. 

We,  the  inhabitants  of  Keighley,  in  public  meeting  assembled,  having 
learned  with  deepest  sorrow  and  regret  the  horrible  act  of  foul  assassination 
of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
and  the  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  do  hereby 
express  our  sympathy  with  the  American  people,  and  especially  with  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  her  family,  and  the  members  of  the  late  President's  cabinet,  for  the 
great  loss  they  are  thus  called  upon  to  sustain  in  that  pure,  kind-hearted,  for 
giving,  and  persevering  friend  to  the  human  race,  so  violently  removed  from  his 
high  and  responsible  position  in  life.  We  deplore  the  loss  of  such  a  good  and 
great  man,  and  deprecate  the  foul  deed  as  a  blot  upon  the  human  character 
We  recognize  among  the  American  people  many  of  our  beloved  relatives  and 
friends,  and  to  all  we  offer  the  right-hand  of  human  brotherhood,  expressing 
our  earnest  wish  for  the  future  peace,  prosperity,  and  amicable  relations  of  the 
nation  with  this  and  every  other  country  ;  and  we  pray  the  God  of  all  peace  to 
guide  them  in  all  domestic  affairs,  to  preserve  them  from  discord  at  home  and 
abroad,  and  especially  from  further  deeds  of  dark  and  fiendish  assassination  and 
lawless  violence,  which  they  with  us  equally  abhor. 

JOSEPH  CRAVEN,  Chairman. 


We,  the  undersigned  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Kettering,  in  the  county 
of  Northampton,  desire  to  express,  through  his  excellency  the  American  minister, 
our  horror  at  and  detestation  of  the  atrocious  crime  by  which  the  President  of 
the  United  States  has  been  deprived  of  his  life,  and  our  deep  sympathy  with 
the  people  and  government,  as  well  as  with  the  family  of  the  late  President. 

H.  LINSAY,  Rector. 

JAMES  MURSELL,  Wesleyan  Minister. 

MILES  B.  PICKERING,  Baptist  Minuter. 

(The  above  memorial  of  the  inhabitants  of  Kettering  was  signed  by  eight 
hundred  persons.") 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       323 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Kingston, 
in  the  island  of  Jamaica,  held  at  the  Baptist  chapel,  East  Queen  street,  on 
Thursday,  June  1,  1865,  the  honorable  L  Q.  Bowerbank,  custos,  in  the  chair. 

RESOLUTION  1. 

That  this  meeting  rejoices  in  the  prospective  termination  of  the  fratricidal 
war  which  has  for  four  years  desolated  the  United  States  of  America,  and  trusts, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  that  soon  peace  may  be  permanently  established  in  that 
country;  that  all  its  institutions,  social,  political,  and  commercial,  may  be  speedily 
restored  to  their  former  order  and  prosperity;  and  that  all  classes  of  its  citizens 
may  be  once  more  united  together  in  peace,  amity,  and  love. 

Moved  by  Rev.  W.  Gardner ;  seconded  by  Rev.  E.  Nuttall. 

RESOLUTION  2. 

That  this  meeting  would  reverently  and  thankfully  acknowledge  the  over 
ruling  providence  of  Almighty  God,  in  having  evolved  from  the  late  terrible 
war  the  blessings  of  emancipation  to  four  millions  of  human  brings,  and  con 
gratulate  the  United  States  that  their  country  has  thus  become  delivered  from 
the  curse  and  dishonor  of  slavery,  and  is  now  throughout  its  entire  and  vast 
extent  a  land  of  liberty,  in  which  every  man,  woman,  and  child,  without  any 
distinction  of  class,  country,  or  color,  may  enjoy  the  benefits  of  its  charter — life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

Moved  by  Rev.  Seth  Wolcott ;  seconded  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dilavante. 

RESOLUTION  3. 

That  this  meeting  would  express  its  deep  sympathy  with  all  those  families 
whose  homes  the  late  awful  struggle  has  made  desolate,  and  prayerfully  com 
mend  the  widows  who  have  been  deprived  of  their  husbands,  and  orphans 
whose  fathers  have  been  slain,  to  the  loving  care  and  protection  of  Him  who  is 
the  widow's  friend  and  the  father  of  the  fatherless ;  and  most  especially  would 
it  mingle  its  sympathies  with  the  nation,  on  account  of  the  awful  calamity 
which  has  fallen  upon  it  in  the  moment  of  its  greatest  triumph,  by  the  assassin 
ation  of  its  Into  President,  as  also  with  his  bereaved  widow  and  family  whom 
this  terrible  event  has  deprived  of  one  whom  they  so  tenderly  and  reverently 
loved,  and  who  was  so  highly  and  deservedly  honored  by  a  great  and  mighty 
nation. 

Moved  by  Rev.  W.  Holdgworth ;  seconded  by  Rev.  W.  Hamilton 

RESOLUTION  4. 

That  this  meeting  cannot  refrain  from  its  expression  of  horror  and  detesta 
tion  of  the  foul  crime  which  has  so  suddenly  deprived  President  LINCOLN  of  lite 
by  the  hand  of  an  assassin  ;  that  it  would  pray  the  Father  of  Mercies  to  watch 


324  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

over  the  interests  and  welfare  of  the  United  States  in  this  eventful  and  perilous 
crisis  of  their  history,  and  by  the  communication  of  His  grace  to  him  who  has 
succeeded  the  late  lamented  President  in  the  government  of  the  republic,  by 
the  impartation  of  wisdom  and  discretion  to  those  officers  of  state  in  whose 
hands  is  placed  the  solemn  trust  of  directing  public  affairs,  and  to  the  people  at 
large  a  spirit  of  mutual  forbearance,  conciliation,  and  good  order,  so  that  no 
further  evils  may  result  from  the  awful  tragedy  that  has  filled  the  land  with 
mourning. 

Moved  by  Rev.  James  Watson ;  seconded  by  Rev.  W.  Raw. 

RESOLUTION  5. 

That  this  meeting  would  record  its  profound  veneration  and  highest  respect 
and  admiration  for  the  character  of  him  whose  untimely  death  it  deplores,  and 
its  conviction  that  history  will  not  only  enshrine  his  name  among  the  noblest 
patriots  and  most  enlightened  statesmen  that  have  ever  presided  over  the  destiny 
of  nations,  but  that  the  memory  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  will  be  embalmed  in  the 
hearts  of  millions  as  one  whose  private  virtues,  simple  honesty  of  purpose,  and 
enlarged  philanthropy  rank  him  as  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  honorable  of 
men. 

Moved  by  Rev.  S.  Oughton ;  seconded  by  Rev.  E.  Palmer. 

RESOLUTION  6. 

That  John  Camp,  esq.,  vice-consul  of  the  United  States  of  America,  be 
requested  to  forward  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  his  government,  with  an 
assurance  of  the  deep  sympathy  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jamaica  in  their  present 
bereavement,  and  earnest  interest  in  their  future  prosperity  and  happiness. 

Moved  by  Thomas  Oughton,  esq. ;  seconded  by  Richard  C.  Hitchins,  esq. 

LEWIS  Q.  BOWERBANK, 

Gustos  Rotulorum,  Chairman. 


KINGSTON,  JAMAICA,  June  5,  1865. 
His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

May  it  please  your  Excellency :  By  desire  of  a  numerous  meeting  of  the 
inhabitants  of  this  city,  held  at  the  Tabernacle  on  the  1st  instant,  in  condolence 
on  the  assassination  of  your  beloved  late  President,  I  have  the  honor  to  hand 
herewith  a  copy  of  resolutions  and  address  which  were  unanimously  adopted, 
and  also  to  state  that  the  sympathies  of  the  people  of  Jamaica  have  ever  been 
with  your  government.  I  have  further  to  ask  the  condescension  of  your  Excel- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       325 

lency  towards  the  meeting,  by  placing  the  enclosed  letters  in  possession  of  Mrs. 
Lincoln  and  the  honorable  William  H.  Seward,  giving  expression  to  our  sincere 
and  respectful  wishes. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  Excellency's  most 
obedient  servant, 

GEORGE  W.  GORDON,  Chairman. 


Address  oj  the  inhabitants  of  Kingston,  Jamaica,  to  President  Johnson. 

KINGSTON,  JAMAICA,  June  1,  1865. 

SIR  :  We,  the  inhabitants  of  Kingston,  Jamaica,  on  this  melancholy  occasion, 
seek  the  opportunity  of  conveying  to  you  and  the  people  of  America  the  inex 
pressible  grief  we  feel,  and  the  sympathy  which  touches  our  hearts,  on  the  sad 
event  which  has  not  only  overtaken  the  nation  of  America,  but,  we  may  say,  the 
whole  world,  in  the  tragical  end  of  the  great  and  renowned  Mr.  LINCOLN,  your 
late  President. 

Our  feelings  revolt  at  the  atrocious,  cowardly,  and  heartless  manner  in 
which  his  valuable  life  was  taken,  and  by  which  the  cause  of  truth,  liberty,  and 
righteousness  has  been  deprived  of  one  its  greatest  supporters  the  world  ever 
produced. 

When  we  reflect  on  his  fixed  principles  of  humanity  and  truth,  from  which 
he  could  not  be  moved  by  threats  nor  tempted  by  selfish  interests  to  swerve, 
we  find  that  he  was  of  a  singularly  great  mind.  He  accomplished,  under  God, 
great  purposes,  and  his  memory  claims  a  reputation  which  can  never  lie 
tarnished.  We  could  wish  that  his  most  valuable  life  had  been  spared  to  see 
the  unnatural  and  terrible  war,  which  he  had  so  nearly  subdued,  brought  to 
a  conclusion;  "but  though  dead,  he  yet  speaketh."  We  hope  that  that  freedom 
which  has  cost  the  penalty  of  life  may  be  ever  a  memento  of  him,  dear  in  the 
heart  of  the  people  of  America,  in  present  and  succeeding  generations.  We 
beg  you,  as  the  representative  of  the  American  people,  and,  through  you,  his 
surviving  widow,  to  accept  this  our  special  condolence  in  the  sudden  bereave 
ment  which  has  caused  such  general  sorrow,  and  we  hope  that  it  will  please 
God  to  grant  sustaining  grace  in  the  hour  of  need,  and  that  the  dispensation 
may  be  sanctified  in  its  influences. 

We  have  also  to  convey  to  the  honorable  William  II.  Seward,  Secretary  of 
State,  our  heartfelt  congratulations  on  the  narrow  escape  of  his  life  from  the  hands 
of  the  base  ruffian,  who  so  barbarously  assaulted  him  on  a  bed  of  sickness.  We 
hope  that  Almighty  God  may  be  pleased  yet  to  spare  his  valuable  life,  and  that 
his  remaining  days  on  earth  may  be  peace. 


32(3  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

destruction  on  a  bed  of  sickness,  and  thanks  God  for  this  token  of  mercy  to  Mr. 
Seward,  whose  life  it  is   hoped  may  be  yet  long  spared  for  future  usefulness 
We  heartily  convey  to  yourself  our  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  your 
administration,  and  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  nation,  whose  greatness 
is  so  truly  enhanced  by  the  blessings  of  freedom  to  all  its  subjects. 
By  desire  and  on  behalf  of  the  meeting: 

GEO.  W.  GORDON,  Chairman. 
JNO.  H.  CROLE,  Secretary. 
His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  citizens  of  Kingston,  Jamaica. 

At  a  numerous  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Kingston,  Jamaica,  held  at 
the  Tabernacle  Parade,  on  Thursday,  1st  of  June,  1865,  to  give  expression  of 
deep  sympathy  with  the  United  States  of  America,  which  have  suffered  sad 
bereavement  by  the  assassination  of  their  late  distinguished  President,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  George  W.  Gordon,  esq.,  was  unanimously  called  to  the  chair,  and 
the  following  resolutions  were  passed : 

Moved  by  Mr.  W.  K.  Smith ;  seconded  by  Rev.  Mr.  Dingwall : 

Resolved,  \st.  That  this  meeting  records  with  profound  grief  the  over 
whelming  calamity  which  has  afflicted  the  cause  of  humanity  and  freedom,  and 
also  the  civilized  world,  by  the  tragical  and  sad  manner  in  which  the  most 
useful  and  valuable  life  of  the  great  and  justly  beloved  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  was  suddenly  terminated  by  the  barbar 
ous  act  of  an  unscrupulous  assassin. 

Moved  by  Rev.  Mr.  Crole ;  seconded  by  Mr.  J.  Williamson : 

Resolved,  2d.  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  sense  of  gratitude  to 
the  memory  of  the  lamented  late  President  of  the  United  States,  and  also  to  his 
surviving  Secretary,  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward,  for  their  discreet,  untiring,  and 
successful  labors  in  the  most  critical  crisis  of  American  history,  and  during 
which  protracted  period,  by  their  persevering  and  courageous  efforts,  they  were 
able  to  subdue  a  most  stubborn  and  unnatural  rebellion,  and,  by  the  mercy  of 
God,  defended  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteousness  to  an  extent  which  shall 
hand  down  their  memories  to  posterity  with  lustre  on  the  pages  of  history. 

Moved  by  Mr.  M.  A.  Hearse,  of  the  United  States  of  America ;  seconded 
by  Mr.  W.  H.  Bercley : 

Resolved,  3d.  That  this  meeting  congratulates  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward  on 
the  narrow  escape  of  his  life  from  the  hand  of  the  base  ruffian  who  sought  his 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       327 

to  liis  fellow-creatures;  and  when  it  may  please  God  to  remove  him  from 
this  present  sphere  of  labors  may  he  receive  the  welcome  approbation  of  his 
heavenly  Benefactor. 

Moved  by  Rev.  J.  F.  Roach;  seconded  by  Mr.  J.  Gordon : 
Resolved,  4fh.  That  this  meeting  glories  in  the  fact,  and  humbly  acknowl 
edges  with  devout  gratitude  the  hand  of  Almightly  God,  in  the  near  approach 
of  the  entire  abolition  of  slavery  in  America,  and  trusts  that  a  similar  blessing 
awaits  at  an  early  period  all  other  slaveholding  countries. 

Moved  by  Mr.  J.  Goldson  ;  seconded  by  Mr.  W.  Harris  : 
Resolved,  bth.  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  and  the  address 
herewith  be  signed  by  the  chairman  and  secretary  and  forwarded  to  the  Presi 
dent,  and  also  a  copy  of  the  resolutions  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  Hon.  W.  H. 
Seward,  in  the  most  acceptable  manner,  and  the  chairman,  the  Rev.  J.  F.  Roach, 
Rev.  J.  H.  Crole,  and  Messrs  M.  A.  Hearse  and  W.  K.  Smith,  be  a  committee 
for  such  purpose. 

Moved  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Surgeon ;  seconded  by  Mr.  M.  A.  Hearse : 

Resoh-ed,  Gfh.   That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  each  of  the 

newspapers  of  this  island,  and  to  the  New  York  Herald,  and  also  to  the  London 

Times. 

Moved  by  Mr.  M.  A.  Hearse;  seconded  by  Mr.  W.  K.  Smith: 
Resolved,  1th.  That  the  thanks  of  the  meeting  be  tendered  to  the  chair 
man  for  the  able  manner  in  which  he  presided  over  the  meeting. 

GEO.  W.  GORDON,  Chairman. 

JNO.  H.  CROLE,  Secretary. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  tlie  inhabitants  of  Kingston-upon-Hull. 

TOWN  HALL,  KINGSTON-UPON-HULL,  April  29,  1865. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Kingstou-upon-Hull,  duly  convened  by 
the  mayor,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  inhabitants  of  Kingston-upon-Hull,  in 
public  meeting  assembled,  desire  to  express  the  feelings  of  horror  and  indigna 
tion  with  which  they  heard  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  barbarous  attempt  on  the  life  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  also 
their  deep  sympathy  with  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States,  as 
well  as  with  the  widow  and  the  family  of  the  late  President,  at  the  great  loss 
which  they  have  sustained. 

[SEAL.]  HENRY  J.  ATTKINSON, 

Mayor  of  Kingston-upon-Hull,  and  Chairman  of  the  Meeting. 


328  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

At  the  quarterly  meeting  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  council  of  the 
borough  of  Ludlow,  held  in  council  chamber,  the  4th  day  of  May,  1865,  the 
following  resolution  was  unanimously  agreed  to,  and  it  was  ordered  that  the 
corporate  common  seal  be  affixed  thereto: 

Resolved,  That  this  council  express  their  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the 
atrocious  murder  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  late  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  record  their  deep  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  great  American  nation 
in  the  heavy  affliction  that  has  befallen  them. 

[SEAL  ]  JOHN  HARDING,  Mayor. 


At  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Llanidloes,  in 
the  principality  of  Wales,  Great  Britain,  held  pursuant  to  summons,  on  the  5th 
day  of  May,  A.  D.  1865,  it  was  moved,  seconded,  and  carried  nem.  con. — 

That  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Llanidloes  hereby  unanimously  express 
their  extreme  abhorrence  of  the  assassination  of  the  lamented  late  President 
LINCOLN,  and  their  deep  sympathy  and  condolence  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  upon  her 
great  bereavement,  and  also  with  the  American  people  for  the  great  loss  they 
have  sustained,  and  at  a  very  critical  period  of  their  history,  in  that  most  honest, 
sagacious,  and  conciliatory  statesman  and  patriot,  their  late  President. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  council: 

[SEAL.]  THOS.  F.  ROBERTS,  Mayor. 


Resolution  passed  by  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Lymington,  May  2, 1865. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting,  having  heard  of  the  great  loss  the  American 
commonwealth  has  sustained  in  the  horrible  assassination  of  its  President,  and 
the  murderous  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward.  desire  to  convey  to  the  United  States 
government  and  people,  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  its  sympathy  and  condolence; 
and  that  the  town  clerk  do  forward  a  copy  of  this  resolution  to  the  American 
minister  in  London. 

E.  H.  MOORE,  Town  Clerk. 


At  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Leominster, 
in  the  county  of  Hereford,  held  on  the  llth  day  of  May,  1865,  it  was  moved  by 
Mr.  Alderman  James,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Rudge,  and  carried  unanimously — 

That  this  council,  feeling  deep  indignation  at  the  cowardly  and  brutal 
assassination  of  the  American  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  the  attempt 
on  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward,  are  desirous  of  expressing  their  sympathy  with  Mrs. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF  CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  329 

Lincoln  and  the  American  citizens  at  the  great  loss  they  have  sustained,  and  the 
heavy  affliction  with  which  they  have  been  visited. 

That  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  duly  signed  and  sealed  by  the  mayor, 
and  transmitted  by  the  town  clerk  to  the  American  minister  of  the  United 
States  in  this  country. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  JACKSON,  Mayor. 


BOROUGH  OF  LANCASTER,  IN  THE  COUNTY  PALATINE  OF  LANCASTER 

At  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  said  borough,  held  in  the 
council  chamber  in  the  Town  Hall,  within  the  said  borough,  on  Wednesday, 
the  3d  day  of  May,  1865 — present,  James  Williamson,  esq.,  mayor,  in  the 
chair — it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  council  shares  in  the  spontaneous  and 
deeply  felt  indignation  and  horror  of  the  people  of  this  country  at  the  atrocious 
assassination  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  barbarous 
attack  on  Mr.  Secretary  Seward — deeds  most  cowardly  and  detestable,  which 
no  political  considerations  can  palliate,  and  which  must  shock  the  whole  civilized 
world. 

That  this  council  desires  to  express,  through  the  American  minister  now 
in  London,  its  deep  sympathy  and  condolence  with  the  United  States  govern 
ment  and  people,  and  with  the  widow  and  family  of  the  late  President,  at  the 
loss  they  have  sustained. 

That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  presented  to  Mr.  Adams,  the  resident 
American  minister. 

JAMES  WILLIAMSON,  Mayor. 

Extracted  from  the  minutes : 

THOMAS  SWAINSON,  Town  Clerk. 


CITY    OF   LINCOLN. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  citizens  of  the 
city  of  Lincoln,  held  at  the  Guildhall  in  the  said  city,  on  Tuesday,  the  9th  day 
of  May,  1865,  it  was  proposed  by  the  worshipful  the  mayor  of  Lincoln,  Richard 
Sutton  Harvey,  esq.,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Thomas  John  Nathaniel  Brogden, 
and  carried  unanimously— 

That  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  citizens  of  the  city  of  Lincoln,  England,  in 
council  assembled,  are  desirous  of  expressing  their  most  profound  sympathy 
42 


330  ASSASSINATION   OF   AB11AHAM   LINCOLN. 

with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  people  of  the  United  States,  now  plunged  into  the 
deepest  sorrow  by  a  deed  which  has  in  a  moment  not  only  deprived  her  of  a 
beloved  husband,  but  them  also  of  their  elected  chief,  and  filled  the  mind  of 
every  member  of  their  great  and  intelligent  republic,  as  well  as  the  mind  of 
every  thoughtful  individual  throughout  the  world,  with  feelings  of  the  utmost 
horror,  indignation,  abhorrence,  and  grief. 

That  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  citizens,  in  council  assembled,  are  desirous, 
most  respectfully,  to  present  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  their  sincere  and  heartfelt  sym 
pathy  and  condolence  on  the  melancholy  loss  she  has  sustained  in  the  death  of 
her  illustrious  husband. 

That  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  citizens  rejoice  that  the  dastardly  attempt 
upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward  was  frustrated,  and  sincerely  hope  that  he  may 
long  be  spared,  to  continue  that  assistance  to  his  bereaved  country  which  he 
has  hitherto  afforded,  and  with  the  help  of  his  great  colleagues  may  succeed 
in  speedily  restoring  it  to  a  position  of  freedom,  happiness,  and  peace. 

[SEAL.]  RICHARD  SUTTON  HARVEY,  Mayor. 

JOHN  THOMAS  TWEED,  Town  Clerk. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Lincoln,  convened  by  public  notice,  and 
held  in  the  Guildhall  in  the  said  city,  on  Saturday,  the  20th  day  of  May,  1865, 
at  which  meeting  the  mayor,  Richard  Sutton  Harvey,  esq.,  presided,  the  follow 
ing  resolutions  were  proposed  and  unanimously  carried : 

Proposed  by  Mr.  Coroner  Hitchins,  and  seconded  by  the  Rev.  A.  F. 
Macdonald — 

Resolved,  That  the  citizens  of  Lincoln  deeply  regret  the  melancholy  ter 
mination,  by  assassination,  of  the  life  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  more  especially 
at  a  time  when  the  continuance  of  his  career  of  usefulness  was  in  the  greatest 
need. 

Resolved,  That  they  deplore  the  irretrievable  loss  which  Mrs.  Lincoln  has 
sustained,  and  fervently  sympathize  with  her  in  her  sorrow  and  bereavement. 

Resolved,  That  the  citizens  of  Lincoln  sincerely  hope  the  pleasing  recol 
lection  of  the  many  virtues  of  her  departed  husband  may  in  a  measure  tend  to 
alleviate  the  sorrows  of  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

Resolved,  That  they  rejoice  that  the  deadly  intentions  of  the  cowardly 
assassin  upon  the  valuable  life  of  Mr.  Seward  and  his  sons  were  thwarted,  and 
they  cheerfully  congratulate  him  upon  his  providential  deliverance. 

[SEAL.]  RICHARD  SUTTON  HARVEY,  Mayor. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       331 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Leicester,  England, 
held  in  the  Temperance  Hall,  on  Friday,  the  28th  day  of  April,  1865,  Alfred 
Burgess,  esquire,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  it  was  unanimously  resolved — 

First.  That  this  meeting  records  its  unqualified  abhorrence  of  the  assassi 
nation  of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  late  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America. 

Second.  That  the  inhabitants  of  Leicester  greatly  deplore  the  loss  which 
the  cititens  of  the  United  States  have  sustained  in  the  violent  death  of  their 
patriotic  and  honest  President,  and  deeply  sympathize  with  them  at  this  import 
ant  crisis. 

Third.  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  deep  sympathy  with  the 
widow  and  family  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States,  trusting  that,  in 
the  midst  of  their  unparalleled  affliction,  they  may  find  comfort  from  the  memory 
of  the  high  character  of  the  deceased,  and  from  the  gratitude  of  a  great  nation. 

Fourth.  That  this  meeting,  whilst  receiving  with  feelings  of  thankfulness 
an  improved  account  of  the  state  of  the  honorable  W.  H.  Seward,  desires  to 
express  its  strong  sympathy  with  himself  and  his  family. 

Fifth.  That  the  foregoing  resolutions  be  signed  by  the  mayor  for  trans 
mission  to  the  honorable  C.  F.  Adams,  the  American  ambassador. 

ALFRED  BURGESS,  Mayor. 


TOWN  HALL,  Limerick,  Mat/  9,  1865. 

SIR  :  At  a  public  meeting  held  in  this  city  on  Saturday,  the  6th  instant,  to 
express  the  opinion  of  the  citizens  of  Limerick  on  the  assassination  of  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN  and  the  attempt  on  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward,  a  series  of  resolutions 
were  passed  unanimously,  and  which  I  now  enclose,  with  a  request  that  you 
will  have  copies  sent  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  also  to  Mr.  Seward. 

Assuring  you  of  my  own  feeling  of  sympathy  with  the  American  people, 
and  abhorrence  of  the  cowardly  act  which  has  been  committed, 
I  have  the  honor  to  remain  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  R.  TINSLY, 

Mayor  of  Limerick. 
His  Excellency  C.  F.  ADAMS, 

United  States  Minister,  London. 


LIMERICK,  May  6, 1865. 

Proposed  by  Richard  Russell,  esq.,  J.  P.,  seconded  by  Councillor  Synan, 
J.  P.,  and  unanimously  passed : 

That  this  meeting  view  with  the  deepest  abhorrence  the  assassination  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  desire  to  record  their  most  heartfelt 


332  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

sympathy  with  the  American  people  in  the  great  national  loss  sustained  by  the 
removal  from  the  head  of  the  government  of  a  man  who  displayed  in  the  dis 
charge  of  his  duties  the  greatest  ability  and  zeal  for  the  interest  of  the  people 
over  whom  he  presided. 

Proposed  by  Caleb  Powell,  esq.,  J.  P.,  seconded  by  Eugene  O'Callaghan, 
esq.,  J.  P.,  and  carried  unanimously : 

That  as  Irishmen  we  feel  it  our  duty  to  express  our  deep  sorrow  and  indig 
nation  at  the  attempt  to  assassinate  Mr.  Seward,  Foreign  Secretary  of  trfc  States 
of  America. 

Proposed  by  Aldennan  Quintiran,  J.  P.,  and  seconded  by  Thomas  Boyse, 
esq.,  J.  P. : 

That  copies  of  the  resolutions  now  passed  be  forwarded  to  the  American 
minister  in  London,  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  Mrs.  Seward. 

JOHN  R.  TINSLY, 
Mayor  of  Limerick,  Chairman  of  Meeting. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  tmcn  council  of  tlie  royal  burgh  of 

Lanark. 

LANARK,  May  8, 1865. 

At  an  ordinary  monthly  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  royal  burgh  of 
Lanark,  before  proceeding  to  the  ordinary  business  of  the  meeting,  the  follow 
ing  resolution  was  unanimously  agreed  to : 

That  this  council  desire,  in  common  with  every  public  body  in  the  British 
nation,  to  express  their  feelings  of  horror  on  learning  of  the  dastardly  murder 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America.  This  crime, 
which  would  have  been  atrocious  under  any  circumstances,  is  rendered  doubly 
so  in  this  instance,  from  its  having  been  committed  upon  a  man  whose  honesty 
of  purpose,  gentleness  of  disposition,  and  greatness  of  character  were  becoming 
fully  appreciated  by  the  whole  civilized  world,  and  were  of  peculiar  value  in  the 
crisis  which  the  American  nation  had  just  reached.  This  council  cannot,  under 
such  circumstances,  refrain  from  expressing  their  deep  sympathy  with  the 
people  of  that  country  in  the  great  loss  they  have  just  sustained,  and  more  espe 
cially  with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  to  whom  the  loss  must  be  altogether  irreparable,  and 
for  this  purpose  order  a  copy  of  this  minute,  signed  by  the  provost  on  behalf  of 
the  council,  to  be  forwarded  to  the  ambassador  of  the  United  States  of  America 
in  London. 

[SEAL.]  ALEXANDER  MAXWELL  ADAMS, 

Provost. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.  333 

COUNTY  OF   LANARK,  SCOTLAND. 

At  a  general  meeting  of  the  lord  lieutenant,  sheriff,  and  commissioners  of 
supply  of  the  county  of  Lanark,  and  of  the  provosts  and  chief  magistrates  of 
the  city  of  Glasgow,  royal  burghs  of  Lanark,  Rutherglen,  and  burghs  of  Ham 
ilton  and  Airdrie,  holden  at  Lanark,  on  the  1st  day  of  May,  1865,  it  was,  on 
motion  of  the  Right  Honorable  Lord  Belhaven  and  Hamilton,  K.  T.,  &c.,  &c., 
lord  lieutenant  of  the  county,  seconded  by  Sir  Archibald  Alison,  baronet,  sheriff 
of  the  county — 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  meeting  do  give  expression  to  the  feelings 
of  profound  sorrow  and  of  deep  horror  and  detestation  with  which  they,  in 
common  with  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  British  islands,  regard  the  late  atrocious 
murder  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  murderous  assault  upon  the  honorable 
Secretary  Seward. 

It  was  also 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  forwarded  to  his 
excellency  the  minister  ef  the  United  States  for  presentation  to  his  govern 
ment. 

BELHAVEN  AND  HAMILTON, 

Lieutenant  and  Convener  of  the  Count;/. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  mayor,  aldermen  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Liv 
erpool,  in  common  council  assembled,  held  in  the  Town  Hall  within  the  said 
borough,  on  Wednesday,  the  3d  day  of  May,  1865 — present,  Edward  Laurence, 
esq.,  mayor,  &c. — it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  council  desires  to  record  its  horror  and 
indignation  at  the  atrocious  murder  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  express  its  sympathy  with  the  American  nation  under 
their  severe  loss,  as  well  as  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  the  sad  bereavement  she  has 
sustained. 

And  it  was  also 

Resolved,  That  a  minute  of  the  foregoing  resolution,  under  the  common 
seal,  should  be  sent  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  through  the  British  minister  at  Washing 
ton. 

[SEAL.]  EDWARD  LAURENCE,  Mayor. 

WILLIAM  SHUTTLEWORTH,  Town  Clerk. 


334  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

LIVERPOOL,  April  27,  1865. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Liverpool,  held  in  St.  George's  Hall,  on 
the  evening  of  Thursday,  the  27th  of  April,  1865,  called  for  the  purpose  of 
expressing  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  the  following  resolutions  were  passed 
unanimously  : 

1.  That  this  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Liverpool  records  its  horror  and 
detestation  of  the  atrocious  assassination  perpetrated  at  Washington  on  the 
fourteenth  of  this  month. 

2.  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  deepest  sympathy  with  the 
families  of  President  LINCOLN  and  Mr.  Seward  in  the  great  affliction  which  has 
befallen  them. 

3.  That  this  meeting  desires,  also,  to  express  its  profound  sympathy  with 
the  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  loss  they  have  sustained  by  the  death 
of  President  LINCOLN,  and  its  earnest  hope  that  the  events  we  now  deplore  may 
not  imperil  or  delay  the  triumph  of  freedom  and  of  right,  or  the  restoration  of 
peace  in  America. 

4.  That  the  resolutions  now  passed  be  signed  by  the  chairman  on  behalf  of 
the  meeting,  and  be  transmitted  through  the  proper  authorities  to  Washington. 

CHARLES  WILSON,  Chairman. 


Resolution  passed  at   a  meeting  held  by   the   inhabitants   of  the  borough   of 

Liverpool. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Liverpool,  held 
in  St.  George's  Hall,  on  Thursday,  the  27th  day  of  April,  1865,  Edward  Lau 
rence,  esq ,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  it  was 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  inhabitants  of  Liverpool,  in  public  meet 
ing  assembled,  do  hereby  express  their  deepest  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the 
atrocious  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  Mr.  Frederick  Seward,  Assistant  Secretary  of  State  ;  and  at  the  dastardly 
attempt,  about  the  same  hour,  on  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State. 
They  desire  that  the  government  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  should 
understand  that  no  difference  of  opinion  on  the  merits  of  the  conflict  of  the  last 
four  years  avails  to  prevent  the  unanimous  condemnation  of  so  great  a  crime 
against  our  common  humanity. 

EDWARD  LAURENCE,  Mayor. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        335 

At  a  meeting  of  the  American  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Liverpool,  held 
on  the  28th  day  of  April,  1865 — present,  Wellwood  Maxwell,  (W.  A.  &  G 
Maxwell  &  Co.,)  president ;  J.  Spence,  (Richardson,  Spence  &  Co.,)  vice-presi 
dent  ;  F.  A.  Hamilton,  (Brown,  Shipley  &  Co. ;)  Stewart  H.  Brown ;  M.  Hyslop, 
(W.  A.  &  G.  Maxwell  &  Co. ;)  Henry  W.  Gair,  T.  K.  Twist,  (Rathbone  Brothers 
&  Co. ;)  C.  W.  Pickering,  (T.  H.  Schroeder  &  Co.  ;)  Charles  Maclver,  (C. 
&  D.  Maclver;)  Charles  Forget,  Charles  P.  Melly,  George  Melly,  (Melly, 
Forget  &  Co.;  William  Rome,  (Eyre,  Evans  &  Co.;)  H  Stolterfoht,  H. 
Stolterfoht,  jr.,  (Stolterfoht,  Sons  &  Co. ;)  Thomas  Boyde,  Thomas  Stolterfoht, 
(Boyde,  Edwards  &  Co. ;)  Ferdinand  Karck,  (Drake,  Kleinwort  &  Cohen ;) 
Edgar  Garston,  (George  Green  &  Co. ;)  George  Martin,  Meadows  Frost — it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  chamber  begs  to  express  to  the  American 
minister,  and  through  him  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  its  deep 
abhorrence  of  the  foul  deed  that  has  been  perpetrated  by  assassins  in  the  ruth 
less  murder  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  dastardly  attempt 
upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward. 

The  chamber  offers  to  the  whole  American  people  its  heartfelt  condolence 
on  the  terrible  loss  they  have  sustained  in  the  person  of  their  Chief  Magistrate. 

To  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  Mrs.  Seward  the  chamber  would  respectfully  tender 
the  expression  of  its  most  sincere  sympathy  in  their  great  affliction. 

WELLWOOD  MAXWELL,  President. 


At  a  special  general  meeting  of  the  Liverpool  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
held  on  Friday,  the  5th  of  May,  1865,  H.  W.  Meade  King,  esq,  vice-president, 
in  the  chair,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  this  chamber,  in  special  meeting  assembled,  hereby  record 
the  profound  sorrow  and  indignation  with  which  they  have  heard  of  the  assassi 
nation  of  the  honorable  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  the  attempt  on  the  life  of  the 
honorable  W.  H.  Seward.  While  expressing  their  deep  sympathy  with  the 
Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  through  them 
with  the  nation  at  large,  in  this  national  calamity,  they  fervently  hope  that  it 
may  not  delay  the  return  of  peace  and  confidence  to  an  afflicted  country. 

Resolved,  That  the  president  be  requested  to  forward  a  copy  of  this  resolu 
tion  to  his  excellency  Charles  Francis  Adams,  the  American  minister,  for 
transmission  to  his  government  at  Washington,  and  that  copies  be  also  sent  to 
Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  honorable  W.  H.  Seward,  and  also  to  the  New  York 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  with  a  request  that  that  chamber  will  kindly  send 
copies  to  every  other  Chamber  of  Commerce  or  Board  of  Trade  in  the  United 
States. 


33(5  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

^Mercantile  Marine  Service  Association,  Liverpool. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  Mercantile  Marine  Service  Association, 
held  at  the  office  of  the  association,  66  Tower  buildings,  Water  street,  Liver 
pool,  on  Monday,  the  1st  of  May,  1865,  Captain  Benjamin  Sproule  in  the  chair, 
it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  (on  the  motion  of  Captain  James  W.  Jeffrey, 
seconded  by  Captain  James  R.  Rea,)  That  this  association  desires  to  express,  in 
the  strongest  possible  terms,  its  deep  feelings  of  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the 
recent  foul  assassination  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  also  at  the  diabolical  attempt,  made  about  the  same  hour,  upon 
the  lives  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward  and  his  son,  Mr.  Scward,  the  under-secretary. 

It  was  further 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  association  also  ventures  to  place  on  record 
its  heartfelt  sympathy  with' Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  family  in  the  irreparable  loss 
they  have  sustained  in  the  awfully  sudden  and  truly  sad  and  unlocked  for 
departure  from  among  them  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  association  earnestly  hope  that  consolation  be  ministered  to  them  in  this 
bitter  hour  of  trial  and  distress. 

It  was  also 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  secretary  do  transmit  copies  of  the  fore 
going  resolutions,  through  the  proper  channel,  to  Mr.  President  Johnson,  as 
representing  the  American  people,  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

BENJ.  SPROULE,  President. 


Vice-President  of  the  Liverpool  Cotton  Brokers'  Association  to  Mr.  Dudley. 

LIVERPOOL,  April  28,  1865. 

SIR  :  At  the  usual  weekly  meeting  of  the  Cotton  Brokers'  Association  of 
this  town,  held  this  morning,  the  appalling  assassination  of  the  late  President 
of  the  United  States  and  the  atrocious  attempt  on  the  lives  of  Mr.  Secretary 
Seward  and  his  son,  were  the  theme  of  unanimous  execration  and  abhorrence. 

I  have  been  requested  to  convey  to  you,  as  the  representative  of  the  United 
States  at  this  port,  the  expression  of  the  deep  sympathy  and  condolence  of  this 
association,  in  common  with  the  country  at  large,  in  a  calamity  so  awful,  and 
which  has  impressed  our  body  with  the  strongest  feelings  of  profound  regret 
and  indignation,  as  well  as  of  commiseration  for  a  people  with  whom  we  are  so 
closely  allied  in  the  bonds  of  good  will,  as  well  as  in  the  daily  business  of  our 
lives.  I  trust  you  will  favorably  receive  this  imperfect  assurance  that  in  this 
terrible  blow  which  it  has  pleased  God  to  inflict  on  your  great  nation  they  and 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       337 

you  have  the  utmost  possible  sympathy  of  the  members  of  our  association,  both 
individually  and  collectively.  In  the  absence  (from  ill  health')  of  our  president, 
Edgar  Musgrove,  esq.,  I  beg  to  subscribe  myself,  on  behalf  of  this  association, 
with  all  respect,  sir,  your  obedieut,  humble  servant, 

D.  C.  BUCHANAN,    Vice-President. 
THOMAS  H.  DUDLEY,  Esq., 

American  Consul,  Liverpool. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  committee  of  the  Liverpool  Emancipation  Society,  held 
May  3,  1865,  the  following  resolutions  were  passed  unanimously,  and  ordered 
to  be  forwarded  to  his  excellency  the  Hon.  C.  F.  Adams,  for  transmission  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States  : 

That  the  Liverpool  Emancipation  Society,  in  recording  its  deepest  sorrow 
for  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  cut  off  as  he  has  been  in  the  midst  of  a 
life  of  usefulness  rarely  equalled,  expresses  its  sympathy  with  his  bereaved 
family  in  their  affliction,  and  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  their  loss. 

That  the  society  expresses  at  once  its  sympathy  with  Mr.  Seward  and  his 
family  in  their  sufferings,  and  its  heartfelt  satisfaction  that  the  purposes  of  the 
assassin  were  in  this  case  frustrated. 

That,  in  conveying  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  this  testimony  of 
sorrow  for  their  bereavement,  this  society  also  records  its  profoundest  thankful 
ness  that  in  the  good  providence  of  God,  the  great  cause  of  emancipation,  so 
nobly  carried  out  during  the  last  four  years  by  President  LINCOLN  and  the 
legislature,  is  in  the  safe  keeping  of  a  people  fully  awakened  to  a  sense  of  its 
responsibility ;  a  people  resolved  to  make  peace  on  the  basis  of  freedom  only, 
and  thus  hand  down  to  succeeding  generations  a  heritage  enlarged,  ennobled 
and  consecrated  by  the  precious  blood  of  martyrs. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  society  : 

CHARLES  WILSON,  Chairman  of  Committee. 
ROBERT  TRIMBLE,  Secretary. 


FINANCIAL   KEFORM   ASSOCIATION',  LIVERPOOL MONTHLY    MEETING,  FRIDAY,  APRIL 

28,  1865 — (E.  K.  Muspratt,  esq.,  in  the  chair.) 
Extract,  from  proceedings. 

Moved  by  Owen  Williams,  esq.;  seconded  by  Joseph   Coventry,  esq.,  and 
resolved  unanimously- 
Believing  that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  associated  bodies  of  Englishmen  to  give 
expression  to  the  feelings  of  horror  and  indignation  excited  in  every  English 
mind  by  the  execrable  murder  of  the  wise,  patriotic,  and  magnanimous  ruler  of 
43 


338  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

a  great  people,  and  this  at  a  moment  when  triumphant  in  the  terrible  struggle 
which  has  so  long  devastated  his  native  land,  he  had  no  thoughts  but  those  of 
clemency  toward  the  vanquished  ;  no  desire  but  to  assuage  all  animosities,  and 
to  confer  on  all  classes  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  without  distinction  of  color 
the  blessing  of  equal  rights  and  privileges ;  and  regarding  with  equal  horror  and 
detestation  the  murderous  assaults  on  the  chief  Secretary  of  State  and  members 
of  his  family,  the  council  of  the  Liverpool  Financial  Reform  Association  desire 
to  convey  to  the  President  and  people  of  the  United  States,  to  the  bereaved 
widow  and  family  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Sevvard,  if  his  life 
be  happily  spared,  or  to  his  family,  if  deceased,  an  assurance  of  their  sincere 
sorrow  and  sympathy,  in  contemplation  of  the  atrocious  deeds  which  have  con 
verted  the  hour  of  triumph  for  them  and  their  country  into  one  of  universal 
mourning;  and,  also,  an  expression  of  their  earnest  hope  that,  whatever  differ 
ences  of  opinion  or  causes  of  complaint  there  may  have  been  on  one  side  or  the 
other,  the  knowledge  that  there  is  not  one  person  in  America  not  closely  related 
to  the  victims  that  detests  and  deplores  these  savage  deeds  and  their  conse 
quences  more  than  every  honest  man  in  the  United  Kingdom,  will  have  the 
effect  of  burying  in  oblivion  the  remembrances  of  all  such  grievances,  real  or 
imaginary,  and  of  permanently  restoring  those  feelings  of  cordial  amity  which 
ought  ever  to  prevail  between  two  great  nations,  one  in  race,  language,  laws,  and 
religion,  and,  henceforth,  in  really  free  institutions.  And  the  council  further 
desire  that  the  Hon.  Mr.  Adams,  resident  American  minister  at  London,  will 
have  the  goodness  to  transmit  this  resolution  to  the  proper  parties  in  the  United 
States. 

CHARLES  EDWARD  MACQUEEN, 

Secretary. 


Resolution  passed  at  the  ordinary  meeting  of  the  Albert  Literary  Society. 

THE    LATE    PRESIDENT   LINCOLN. 

At  the  ordinary  meeting  of  the  Albert  Literary  Society,  on  the  4th  instant, 
held  at  the  Royal  Institution,  Colquitt  street,  Mr.  G.  H.  Ball  in  the  chair,  the 
following  resolution  was  proposed  by  Mr.  A.  B.  Hayware,  the  vice-president, 
seconded  by  Mr.  E.  J.  Parr,  the  treasurer,  and  carried  unanimously — 

'  That  this  society  record  its  deep  horror  of  the  enormous  crime  which  has 
deprived  the  American  people  of  their  Chief  Magistrate,  and  tender  to  the  late 
President  LINCOLN'S  family,  and  the  nation  at  large,  its  sincere  sympathy,  and 
also  its  appreciation  of  his  singular  ability,  rare  integrity,  and  progressive 
spirit." 

WILLIAM  EVANS,  Hon.  Secretary. 

LIVERPOOL,  May  5,  1865. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND   SYMPATHY,  339 

ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

"  Sic  semper  tyrannis  /"  the  assassin  cried, 

As  LINCOLN  fell.     O  villain !  who  than  he 

More  lived  to  set  both  slave  and  tyrant  free  ? 
Or  so  enrapt  with  plans  of  freedom  died, 
That  even  thy  treacherous  deed  shall  glance  aside 

And  do  the  dead  man's  will  by  land  and  sea ; 

Win  bloodless  battles,  and  make  that  to  be 
Which  to  his  living  mandate  was  denied  ! 
Peace  to  that  gentle  heart !     The  peace  he  sought 

For  all  mankind,  nor  for  it  dies  in  vain. 
Rest  to  the  uncrowned  king,  who,  toiling,  brought 

His  bleeding  country  through  that  dreadful  reign ; 
Who,  living,  carn'd  a  world's  revering  thought, 

And,  dying,  leaves  his  name  without  a  stain. 

ROBERT  LEIOIITON,  of  Liverpool 


At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Leeds,  in  the 
county  of  York,  held  in  the  Town  Hall,  on  the  1st  of  May,  18G5,  convened  by 
the  mayor,  in  accordance  with  a  requisition  presented  to  him  by  the  inhabitants — 
present,  the  mayor,  in  the  chair — 

Resolved,  That  the  inhabitants  of  Leeds,  in  public  meeting  assembled, 
would  emphatically  express  the  feeling  of  horror  and  intense  regret  with  which 
they  have  heard  of  the  atrocious  acts  by  which  the  United  States  of  America 
have  been  suddenly  deprived  of  their  President,  and  the  life  of  his  chief  Secre 
tary  has  been  endangered ;  and  that  they  recall  with  melancholy  interest  the 
friendly  feeling  invariably  displayed  by  the  late  President  LINCOLN  towards  this 
country. 

Resolved,  That  while  deeply  lamenting  the  removal  of  President  LINCOLN 
from  his  exalted  position,  at  a  time  when  his  combined  wisdom  and  benevolence 
seemed  peculiarly  needful  to  secure  the  peaceful  and  harmonious  reconstruction 
of  the  American  nation,  this  meeting  earnestly  hopes  the  surviving  statesmen 
of  that  great  republic  may  succeed  in  speedily  and  happily  surmounting  every 
obstacle  to  such  a  reconstruction,  in  accordance  with  the  immutable  principles 
of  justice  and  freedom. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  preceding  resolutions,  signed  by  the  mayor, 
on  behalf  of  the  meeting,  be  forwarded  to  the  United  States  government,  and 
that  the  American  consul  at  Leeds  be  requested  to  transmit  such  copy  to  the 
embassy  in  London. 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  be  also  forwarded  to 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  with  an  expression  of  the  deep  sympathy  entertained  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Leeds  for  herself  and  her  family  in  their  heavy  bereavement  and 
affliction. 

J.   I).  ZUNOCK,  Mayor. 


340  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

At  a  large  meeting  of  work-people,  in  the  Leeds  Working  Men's  Hall,  on 
Thursday  evening,  April  27,  held  to  hear  a  dramatic  reading,  opportunity  was 
taken  to  show  the  deep  feeling  of  sympathy  felt  among  the  working  classes 
for  their  brethren  in  America  on  the  sad  loss  of  President  LINCOLN. 

The  following  resolution  was  unanimously  carried,  with  a  request  that  the 
American  consul  in  Leeds  would  kindly  forward  it  to  the  proper  quarter : 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  deep  and  heartfelt  sym 
pathy  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  on  the  terrible  bereavement  they 
have  just  experienced  in  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  its  feeling 
of  horror  at  the  cowardly  murder  by  which  they  have  been  deprived  of  a  sound 
leader,  a  wise  counsellor,  a  beloved  friend,  and  an  honest  man.  In  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN  the  working  classes  of  this  country  have  long  had  the  fullest  confidence, 
as  the  uncompromising  enemy  of  the  detestable  institution  of  slavery ;  and 
although  recent  victories  had  placed  his  enemies  at  his  feet,  his  noble-hearted- 
ness  and  kindly  disposition  led  him  to  extend  forgiveness  to  them,  in  the  hope 
of  restoring  peace  and  unity  among  the  American  people. 

This  meeting  prays  that  God,  in  his  infinite  mercy,  will  so  direct  the  rulers 
of  America  that  peace  may  be  soon  restored,  the  Union  cemented,  and  slavery 
forever  abolished. 

FRED.  R.  SPARK,  Vice- President,  Chairman. 


Mr  Adams  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  936.  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

London,  April  28,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  had  the  grief  to  receive  the  day  before  yesterday  the  telegraphic 
despatches  from  Mr.  Stanton,  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  from  Mr.  Hunter,  the 
chief  clerk  of  your  department,  announcing  the  afflicting  event  of  the  14th 
instant,  which  has  thrown  our  whole  people  into  such  deep  distress.  They  also 
give  a  narrative  of  the  simultaneous  savage  onslaught  upon  yourself  in  your 
sick-room,  and  upon  your  son,  the  Assistant  Secretary,  which  had  not  at  the 
latest  date,  and  which  I  yet  permit  myself  to  hope  will  not  prove  fatal  to  either 
of  you. 

I  immediately  took  the  requisite  measures  to  communicate  the  intelligence 
to  the  different  legations  on  the  continent. 

It  is  but  consistency  that  a  rebellion  which  began  in  perjury,  treachery, 
and  fraud,  should  close  with  private  assassination. 

The  whole  of  the  day  was  one  of  the  greatest  excitement.  Few  events 
of  the  present  century  have  created  such  general  consternation  and  indignation. 
Many  people  called  personally  at  the  legation  to  express  their  deep  sympathy, 
and  many  more  sent  me  notes  of  the  same  tenor. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       341 

The  notices  taken  by  the  press  are  almost  all  of  them  of  a  most  honorable 
character.  I  transmit  copies  of  the  leading  newspapers.  There  seems,  at  last, 
to  be  a  general  testimony  borne  to  the  noble  qualities  of  the  President,  and  the 
friendly  disposition  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 

If  all  this  eulogy  be  found  mingled  with  the  alloy  of  unworthy  aspersions 
of  the  Vice-Presidcnt  who  succeeds,  he  has  abundant  consolation  in  the  reflec 
tion  that  when  his  predecessor  began  he  was  not  a  whit  better  treated.  It  is  a 
weakness  of  the  press  and  the  people  of  the  country  not  to  value  some  men 
properly  until  they  are  lost ;  the  case  of  the  late  Prince  Consort  is  a  remarkable 
instance. 

The  proceedings  in  the  two  houses  of  Parliament  last  evening  mark  out 
the  line  proposed  to  be  adopted  by  the  government  on  this  occasion. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Mr.  Adams  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

No.  943.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

London,  May  4,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  death  of  the  President  and  the  fearful  circumstances  under  which 
it  was  brought  about  have  occupied  the  public  mind,  all  over  this  kingdom,  almost 
exclusively  during  the  past  week. 

At  the  desire  of  the  Americans  residing  in  this  city,  I  called  a  public 
meeting  of  all  such  as  might  happen  to  be  here,  for  Monday  last.  It  was  very 
well  attended.  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  a  copy  of  the  proceedings. 

I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  a  number  of  addresses,  resolutions,  or  other 
form  of  public  action  taken  by  various  corporate  bodies  in  England,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland  on  this  subject,  and  forwarded  to  me  down  to  this  time,  according 
to  the  list  which  is  attached  to  this  despatch. 

As  a  further  evidence  of  the  extent  of  the  public  feeling,  I  transmit  a  con 
siderable  number  of  newspapers  from  different  parts  of  the  kingdom  which  have 
been  sent  to  me  as  containing  comments  upon  the  late  calamity. 

A  very  large  number  of  persons  have  called  at  this  legation,  including  most 
of  the  members  of  the  corps  diplomatique,  in  token  of  their  sentiments  on  this 
occasion.  The  labor  devolved  upon  the  members  of  it,  in  acknowledging  all 
these  demonstrations,  is  not  small.  It  will  also  become  a  serious  question  to 
decide  upon  the  most  suitable  mode!  of  responding  to  them.  On  matilre  reflec 
tion,  I  should  rather  recommend  one  brief,  comprehensive  communication,  which 


342  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

I  might  be  authorized  to  print,  in  some  form  or  other,  and  send  to  the  respective 
parties  concerned. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 


[Extract.] 
A  REQUIEM  FOR  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  :    AN  ADDRESS   TO  THE  LIBERALS  OF  EUROPE. 

"  Awake  !  tliou  slialt  and  must .'" 

BROTHERS  :  One  of  our  best  friends,  and  one  of  the  best  men  the  world  has 
ever  seen,  has  been  called  suddenly  from  us.  We  will  not  say  that  he  is  dead, 
for  there  is  no  death  for  such  as  he:  nothing  but  life — a  glorified  and  immortal 
life — both  on  earth  and  in  heaven.  It  will  be  as  wise  as  consoling  for  us  to 
reflect  that  this  good  man,  instead  of  dying,  as  his  wretched  enemies  have 
supposed,  has  attained  to  a  higher  existence — has  gone  to  a  companionship 
more  worthy  of  his  exalted  merits — has  been  welcomed  home  like  a  good 
servant  to  repose  from  his  labors — and  is  henceforth  to  be  known  as  one  of  that 
sublime  brotherhood  of  sages  and  heroes  who  have  died  that  men  may  be  wiser 

and  better. 

******** 

I.    TlIE  GLORY   OF  MR.  LINCOLN. 

Grandest  among  the  sages  and  heroes  of  this  generation  !  the  most  perfect 
embodiment  of  the  genius  of  a  free  and  mighty  people  !  the  noblest  benefactor 
of  his  species  that  has  ever  toiled  and  suffered  among  men !  the  glorious  father 
of  a  whole  world's  regeneration !  the  great  prophet  of  the  speedy  emancipation 
of  every  man  on  the  earth  who  is  burdened  and  wronged !  there  is  no  mortal 
name  beneath  the  stars  that  can  be  placed  beside  that  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
He  has  lived  and  died,  not  for  America  alone,  but  for  the  people  of  England, 
the  people  of  France,  the  people  of  Germany,  the  people  of  Italy,  the  people 
of  every  land  under  heaven.  He  has  lived  and  died,  not  only  for  American 
unity  and  brotherhood,  but  for  the  unity  and  brotherhood  of  all  the  groaning 
and  oppressed  peoples  of  Europe.  As  simple  as  a  child  in  the  sublime  faith 
that  moved  him,  as  sound  in  every  attribute  as  the  sturdy  oaks  of  his  native 
hills,  as  kindly  towards  all  mankind  as  a  loving  mother  to  her  children,  as 
unselfish  and  as  spotless  in  all  his  attributes  as  an  angel  from  heaven,  it  is  not 
for  naught  that  he  has  been  elevated  in  the  providence  of  God  to  the  highest 
pinnacle  oV  glory,  where  the  eyes  of  all  the  sons  of  men  can  behold  him,  as  a 
bright  and  deathless  example.  When  the  foremost  of  the  liberals  who  had 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        343 

called  him  to  his  high  office  were  calling  sternly  for  judgment  upon  the  rebels, 
he  knew  how  to  temper  judgment  with  mercy;  when  all  around  him  were 
discouraged  by  unexpected  reverses,  his  faith  remained  calm  and  unshaken. 
When  sympathizers  with  rebellion  obtruded  themselves  upon  him,  and  told  him 
that  certain  proposed  measures  would  be  the  certain  destruction  of  his  country, 
he  smilingly  bowed  them  out  of  his  presence,  and  went  on  with  his  labors  as 
steadily  as  though  these  croakers  of  evil  had  never  existed.  When  a  hundred 
different  cliques  and  parties  endeavored  to  sway  him  in  as  many  different 
directions,  he  wisely  selected  the  right  course,  and  placed  his  foot  firmly  upon 
the  precise  road  that  his  far-seeing  wisdom  arid  humanity  pointed  out  to  him. 
A  mental  and  moral  giant,  he  did  not  waste  his  strength  upon  the  little  expe 
dients  of  politicians,  but  he  charged  directly  upon  the  great  towers  of  human 
wretchedness,  assaulted  incessantly  the  strongholds  of  the  misguided  men  who 
had  taken  up  arms  against  human  liberty;  and  nobly  and  gloriously  did  he 
carry  his  warfare  to  the  hour  of  victory.  Patient  and  long-suffering,  animated 
by  a  trust  in  God  that  gave  him  sufficient  endurance  for  the  onerous  duties 
devolving  upon  him,  looking  hopefully  towards  heaven  for  the  regeneration  of 
mankind,  and  loving  even  those  who  had  pointed  their  weapons  at  his  throat,  it 
was  in  keeping  with  all  his  thoughts  and  actions  that  Jie.  spoke  kindly  of  Lee  and 
ot/iers  in  the  confederacy,  in  the  last  hours  preceding  his  assassination,  and  thus 
grandly  sealed  the  yearnings  and  tender  affection  he  had  so  long  displayed 
towards  the  brave  but  mistaken  men  who  had  attempted  the  life  of  the  republic- 
Brothers!  the  world  is  too  small  to  furnish  a  grave  for  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN' 
and  the  spirit  of  the  glorious  martyr  must  continue  to  dwell  among  us ! 

II.    THE  POWER  AND  GRANDEUR  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLIC. 

In  the  land  beyond  the  sea,  where  the  spirit  of-  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  still 
animates  his  people,  there  is  honor  and  glory.  There  is  weeping,  too ;  there  is 
sorrow  too  great  for  utterance,  but  there  is  also  a  hope  as  radiant  as  the  morning 
of  that  blessed  eternity  to  which  we  are  all  hastening.  The  great  prophet  has 
indeed  left  us,  but  the  true  seer  of  God  lives  forever  in  the  fulfilment  of  his 
aspirations,  and  greater  than  all  surviving  voices  is  that  voice  which  has  been 
so  rudely  silenced.  Over  the  sea,  towering  supremely  above  all  the  mighty 
things  of  the  world,  there  is  a  redeemed  and  ennobled  nation,  quickened  into 
universal  life  by  the  spirit  of  its  great  leader,  and  ordained  by  Almighty  God  to 
be  the  bulwark  and  the  impregnable  fortress  of  universal  freedom. 

The  initial  battles  of  a  universal  regeneration  have  been  won! 

If  Mr.  LINCOLN  did  not  live  to  perform  all  that  he  intended,  and  all  that 
we  had  reason  to  expect  of  him,  he  did  certainly  live  to  set  in  motion  the  forces 
that  will  soon  sweep  from  the  face  of  the  earth  the  enemies  of  mankind  who 
hated  and  abused  him. 


344  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

A  great  change  for  the  better  has  already  been  accomplished,  and  it  only 
remains  to  carry  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  work  to  its  completion. 

If  the  dungeons  built  by  tyranny  have  not  been  destroyed,  they  have  at 
least  been  shattered  by  the  lightnings  of  progress,  and  the  light  of  liberty  is  to 
day  shining  into  them,  never  more  to  be  darkened. 

Glorious  light !  all  hail ! 

If  we  are  not  all  of  us  fully  awake  to  the  duties  devolving  upon  us,  and  if 
we  have  not  yet  entered  fully  into  possession  of  our  promised  land,  and  if  we 
are  still  loaded  unjustly  with  burdens  grievous  to  be  borne,  and  if  many  of  us 
are  still  driven  to  and  fro  like  cattle,  the  glad  truth  is  nevertheless  manifest 
that  the  spirit  of  God  is  working  lovingly  among  us,  and  that  the  long-desired 
morning  of  the  world's  regeneration  will  soon  dawn  upon  us. 

If  there  is  yet  sin  and  suffering  around  us,  and  if  weary  men  are  still 
toiling  hard  and  long  for  the  bare  necessities  of  existence,  and  if  the  most  vital 
titles  and  claims  of  manhood  are  yet  denied  by  our  governments,  and  if  cruelty 
and  injustice  are  still  potent  in  many  of  the  affairs  touching  our  personal  honor 
and  happiness,  it  is  nevertheless  easy  to  see  that  the  idea  of  a  government  of  the 
people  for  the  people  will  soon  be  realized  among  all  the  civilized  nations  of  the 
earth. 

Once  more,  0  glorious  era  of  freedom  and  freemen,  all  hail ! 

*  *  *  ****** 

Fraternally  your  brother, 

LEON  LEWIS, 

A  Citizen  of  the  United  States. 


[Translation.  ] 

LONDON,  No.  3  PERCY  STEEET,  BEDFORD  SQUARE, 

May  5,  1865. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  In  presence  of  the  sombre  tomb  which  encloses  the 
body  of  citizen  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
and  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  York,  the  undersigned,  delegates 
from  the  lodge  of  Gymnosophists  in  London,  have  the  honor  of  transmitting  to 
you  the  expression  of  their  fraternal  regret  for  the  loss  oft-one  of  the  greatest 
citizens  of  the  republic  of  America. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is  no  more!  He  has  given  his  blood  for  the  social 
restoration  of  the  most  pitiable  portion  of  humanity.  Death  to  him  is  not 
annihilation,  but  the  beginning  of  a  new  life  that  will  endure  as  long  as  the 
memory  of  man. 

The  lodge  to  which  we  belong  has  decided  to  wear  mourning  for  a  month 
in  commemoration  of  that  heroic  and  unfortunate  death,  and  takes  this  occasion 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       345 

of  requesting  you,  Mr.  President,  to  accept  the  expression  of  the  regrets  which 
we  send  in  the  name  of  our  brethren,  and  our  best  wishes  for  the  prosperity 
of  your  country  and  your  own  personal  happiness. 

J.  P.  BERJEAN,  (33,) 
Grand  Venerable  Master  of  the  Lodge. 

J.  LORGUE,  First  Warden. 

CHAPERON,  Second  Warden. 

L.  WOLFF,  Deputy  of  the  Lodge. 

P.  LEFEVRE,  Orator. 

CRESPELLE  DESIRE,  Treasurer. 

L.  ARNAUD,  Levite. 

GROT,  Expert. 

DAUTEAUBEL,  Brother  Collector. 

T.  CHARLES  BERJEAN,  Secretary. 
[MASONIC  SEAL.] 

His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States 


A  common  council  holden  in  the  chamber  of  the  Guildhall,  of  the  city  of 
London,  on  Thursday,  the  27th  day  of  April,  1865,  Hale  mayor — 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  court  desires,  before  proceeding  to  the 
business  of  the  day,  to  express  its  profound  sympathy  with  the  people  of 
American  at  the  loss  sustained  in  the  death,  by  assassination,  of  Mr.  LINCOLN 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  to  record  its  detestation  of  the  atrocious 
crime  which  has  been  perpetrated. 

WOODTHORP. 


BEEIIIVE  OFFICE,  10  Bolt  Court,  Fleet  afreet,  London. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  workingmen  of  London,  held  at  St.  Martin's  Hall,  on 
Thursday  evening,  May  4,  1865,  Mr.  Thomas  Bayley  Potter,  M.  P.,  in  the  chair, 
it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  in  addition  to  expressing  their  deep  sympathy 
with  the  people  of  America  for  the  great  loss  they  have  sustained,  this  meeting 
also  desires  to  convey  to  the  President,  government,  and  people  of  the  United 
States,  their  congratulation  on  the  decisive  successes  which  have  lately  attended 
the  federal  arms,  affording  a  just  hope  of  a  speedy  suppression  of  the  rebellion, 
44  • 


346  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

and  the  entire  extinction  of  the  accursed  slave  institutions,  and  therefore  adopt 
the  following  address : 

To  the  President,  government,  and  people  of  the  United  States  : 

We,  the  workingmen  of  London,  send  you  greeting!  For  more  than  four 
years  have  we  watched,  with  the  deepest  anxiety,  the  momentous  and  stupend 
ous  struggle  in  which  you  have  been  engaged ;  we  have  sympathized  with  your 
reverses,  rejoiced  over  your  successes,  and  hailed  with  delight  your  late  decisive 
triumph  over  the  men  who  raised  the  standard  of  rebellion,  not  for  the 
advancement  of  liberty,  but  that  they  might  establish  in  your  midst  an  empire 
with  the  avowed  object  of  maintaining,  extending,  and  perpetuating  the  accursed 
slave  institution,  for  so  long  a  period  the  dark  spot  in  your  national  history. 
We  were  about  to  congratulate  you  on  your  late  glorious  victory,  and  on  the 
extirpation  from  your  great  republic  of  that  foul  stain  of  slavery,  when  we  were 
shocked  at  receiving  the  intelligence  that  the  man  who  had  done  so  much  to 
bring  about  this  desired  end,  gradually  and  constitutionally,  who  had  pursued 
steadfastly  his  anti-slavery  policy,  braving  alike  the  opposition  of  the  open  foe, 
the  fears  of  the  timid,  the  prejudice  of  the  ignorant,  and  the  abuse  of  the  aristo 
crat,  had  fallen  a  victim  to  the  fiendish  attack  of  an  assassin,  on  the  eve  of 
witnessing  the  consummation  of  his  great  and  glorious  labor,  and  while  the 
words  of  conciliation  and  mercy  to  the  vanquished  enemy  were  yet  hovering  on 
his  lip. 

People  of  America,  we  deeply  feel  with  you  the  great  loss  you  have  sus 
tained  by  the  untimely  death  of  your  late  illustrious  President,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  who  had  endeared  himself  to  his  country  and  mankind,  especially  to 
the  toiling  millions  of  the  civilized  world,  not  less  by  his  pure  and  stainless 
character  than  by  his  great  services  to  his  country  in  its  time  of  agonizing  trial. 
We  feel  that  the  loss  of  such  a  man  is  ours  as  well  as  yours.  We  feel  that  the 
loss  of  such  a  man  is  not  only  a  loss  to  the  nation  over  which  he  presided,  but 
a  loss  to  the  world  at  large.  Raised  by  the  force  of  his  own  character  and 
genius  from  a  humble  position  in  the  ranks  of  industry  to  be  the  first  citizen  of 
a  great  and  glorious  republic,  his  memory  will  be  endeared  to  and  enshrined  in 
the  hearts  of  the  toiling  millions  of  all  countries,  as  one  of  the  few  uncrowned 
monarchs  of  the  world.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  been  sacrificed  in  the  cause  of 
negro  emancipation,  and  the  freedom  of  the  slave  has  been  consecrated  by  the 
blood  of  his  deliverer. 

People  of  America,  in  your  grief  and  affliction  we,  the  workingmen  of 
London,  offer  you  our  heartfelt  sympathy.  We  also  have  to  lament  the  recent 
loss  of  a  man  among  us  whose  life  was  devoted  to  our  interests  and  whose 
political  career,  like  that  of  your  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  though  less  troubled,  was 
equally  pure  and  stainless,  Richard  Cobden.  May  we,  acting  in  the  spirit  of 
these  two  great  men,  draw  closer  the  bonds  of  unity  between  us,  and  may  peace 


EXPKESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        347 

and  good  will  always  exist  between  our  respective  nations.  That  man  is  a 
traitor  to  humanity  and  freedom  who  would  lift  his  voice  or  his  pen  to  provoke; 
hostile  proceedings  between  England  and  America;  that  man,  be  he  peer  or 
plebeian,  be  he  in  the  senate  or  on  the  platform,  or  in  the  press,  who  would  say 
or  write  anything  in  favor  of  a  war  between  the  two  countries  is  little  less  a 
miscreant  than  that  assassin  who  has  lately  struck  down  the  foremost  man 
among  you.  Be  assured,  whatever  you  may  have  heard  to  the  contrary,  either 
in  a  parliament  with  which  we  have  nothing  in  common,  and  in  which  we  are 
not  yet  represented,  or  in  the  leading  articles  of  the  corrupt  and  venal  portion 
of  the  press,  the  workingmen  of  Great  Britain  have  always  been  sound  upon 
the  great  struggle  in  which  you  have  been  engaged,  and,  while  you  have  been 
fighting,  they  have  been  anxiously  watching  and  awaiting  that  time,  now,  it 
would  appear,  so  happily  approaching,  when  the  rights  and  dignity  of  labor  shall 
be  acknowledged  to  exist  equally  in  the  black  man  as  in  the  white.  It  was  for 
this  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  lived  arid  labored.  It  was  for  this  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
died  the  martyr  of  freedom.  May  his  glorious  example  be  as  a  beacon-light  to 
his  successor.  May  he  and  those  associated  with  him  in  the  government  carry 
out  the  principles  and  policy  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  tempering  justice  with 
mercy,  and  triumph  with  conciliation,  and  the  blood  and  treasure  poured  out 
during  the  last  four  years  will  not  have  been  sacrificed  and  expended  in  vain. 

Accept,  people  of  America,  the  pledge  of  sympathy  and  the  hand  of  fellow 
ship  and  fraternity,  from  the  workingmen  of  England's  great  metropolis. 
Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting : 

THOMAS  BAYLEY  POTTER, 

Chairman. 

THOMAS  BAYLEY  POTTER,  M.  P., 

P.  A.  TAYLOR,  M.  P., 

EDMOND  BEALES,  M.  P., 

JOHN  ROBERT  TAYLOR, 

PROFESSOR  BEESLY. 

MASON  JONES, 

F.  W.  EDGE, 

S.  ENGLANDER, 

J.  A.  NICHOLAY, 

D.  D.  ROGERS, 

Committee. 

GEO.  POTTER, 

W.  S.  NORTHHOUSE, 

Honorary  Secretaries. 

AND  FORTY-TWO  OTHER  NAMES. 


348  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Address  of  the  workingmen  of  South  London  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  Mr.  Johnson,  and 

the  people  of  America. 

SOUTH  LONDON,  April  28,  1865. 

BEREAVED  FRIENDS  :  We,  a  public  meeting  of  many  hundreds  of  working- 
men  of  South  London,  assembled  in  front  of  Surry  Chapel,  Blackfriars'  Road, 
Surrey,  desire  to  convey  to  you  our  sincere  and  sorrowing  sympathy  in  reference 
to  the  sad  loss  you  have  sustained  by  the  cruel  and  blood-thirsty  assassination 
of  the  truly  magnanimous  and  patriotic  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  to 
record  our  unmitigated  disgust  and  horror  at  the  brutal  treachery  and  unparalleled 
baseness  of  the  savage  deed  of  blood  which  has  placed  your  own  and  every 
civilized  land  in  mourning. 

The  name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  had  already  become  famous  to  the  working 
people  of  England ;  he  appeared  as  one  of  themselves,  fighting  the  battle  of 
freedom  for  all  lands  ;  he  is  now,  and  for  all  coming  time,  the  hero  martyr  of 
liberty  and  right.  The  American  people  have  acted  right  nobly  under  his 
wise,  conscientious,  and  upright  rule.  We  believe  they  will  not  depart  from 
the  splendid  course  he  lias  marked  out  for  the  nation.  The  assassin's  hateful 
blow  has  sealed  with  sacred  blood  the  bond  which  secures  freedom  in  perpe 
tuity  to  every  man  on  the  American  continent,  irrespective  of  color  or  race. 

Peace  be  to  the  slain  !  We  mourn  the  mighty  dead  !  Never,  in  the  whole 
range  of  the  world's  history,  were  hopes  so  gloriously  bright  so  rudely,  sud 
denly,  and  atrociously  dashed;  but  we  earnestly  pray  that  from  out  the  thick 
darkness  and  the  fearful  evil  good  may  ultimately  flow.  The  twice  elected 
President — the  man  of  the  people — is  no  more  ;  but  Sampson-like,  in  a  moral 
sense,  there  will  be  more  slain  by  his  death  than  in  his  life  ;  for  we  see,  even 
now,  in  clearer  character,  the  diabolical  vindictiveness  which  obtains  among 
the  baffled  abettors  of  slavery,  and  to  see  a  subtle  and  gigantic  evil  in  its  native 
hideousness  is  the  certain  forerunner  of  its  complete  and  final  overthrow.  The 
blow  which  aimed,  alas !  too  surely,  at  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'S  life,  will  send  its 
echoes  wherever  slavery  is  felt  or  known,  and  will,  we  trust,  prove  the  key-note 
of  freedom  for  the  oppressed  in  every  land. 

We  mourn  with  bitterness  and  lamentation  for  the  dead;  we  sorrow  for  the 
living ;  but  not  as  for  those  who  have  no  hope.  The  comforter  will  surely 
come  for  them,  and  their  wounds,  though  many  and  severe,  shall  be  healed. 
We  pray  for  the  future  of  America,  that  it  may  be  indeed  a  glorious  future  of 
liberty,  prosperity,  and  peace,  and  notwithstanding  the  last  fearful  climax  to 
the  treachery  and  rebellion  so  recently  and  gallantly  quelled  by  the  victorious 
bravery  and  courageous  persistence  of  the  northern  arms,  we  trust  that  moder 
ation  and  clemency  may  still  rule ;  justice,  as  in  the  past,  being  ever  tempered 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       349 

with  mercy,  and  that  the  national  counsels  may  be  always  under  the  guidance 
of  Him  who  has  said,  "  Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will  repay." 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting,  and  at  its  unanimous  request : 

GEORGE  M.  MURPHY, 
Chairman,  55  Finchley  Road,  London. 
To  Mrs.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

His  Excellency  the  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  and 
The  PEOPLE  OF  AMERICA. 


Meeting  held  by  the  members  of  the  "Workingmen's  Christian  Institute,"  Drurij 

Lam,  W.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We,  the  members  of  the  "  Workingmen's  Christian  Institute," 
Parker  street,  Drury  Lane,  W.  C.,  in  meeting  assembled,  beg  leave  to  convey  to 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  to  the  United  States  government,  and  to  the  American  people, 
our  deep  sympathy  with  them  in  the  great  loss  they  have  sustained  by  the 
martyrdom  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  we  fervently  hope  that  the  principles  of 
Union  and  emancipation  which  were  so  dear  to  the  lamented  late  President, 
and  in  the  defence  of  which  his  blood  was  shed,  may  become  still  dearer  to 
the  American  people,  and  that  from  the  present  struggle  the  United  States 
may  come  forth  a  glorious,  a  united,  and  a  free  nation. 

In  behalf  of  the  meeting  : 

R.  NICHOLLS,  Chairman. 

His  Excellency  C.  F.  ADAMS, 

Minister  of  the  United  States  of  America,  London. 


LONDON,  W.,  18  Greek  Street,  May  13,  1865. 

SIR:  The  demon  of  the  peculiar  institution,  for  the  supremacy  of  which  the 
South  rose  in  arms,  would  not  allow  his  worshippers  to  honorably  succumb  in 
the  open  field.  What  he  had  begun  in  treason  he  must  needs  end  in  infamy. 
As  Philip  the  Second's  war  for  the  inquisition  bred  a  Gcrards,  thus  Jefferson 
Davis's  pro-slavery  war,  a  Booth. 

It  is  not  our  part  to  cull  words  of  sorrow  and  horror,  while  the  heart  of  two 
worlds  heaves  with  emotion.  Even  the  sycophants  who  year  after  year,  and 
day  by  day,  stuck  to  their  Sisyphus  work  of  morally  assassinating  AIJRAHAM 
LINCOLN  and  the  great  republic  he  headed,  stand  now  aghast  at  this  universal 
outburst  of  popular  feeling,  and  rival  with  each  other  to  strew  rhetorical  flowers 
on  his  open  grave.  They  have  now  at  last  found  out  that  he  was  a  man, 
neither  to  be  browbeaten  by  adversity  nor  intoxicated  by  success — inflexibly 


350  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

pressing  on  to  the  great  goal,  never  compromising  it  by  blind  haste ;  slowly 
maturing  his  steps,  never  retracing  them  ;  carried  away  by  no  surge  of  popular 
favor,  disheartened  by  no  slackening  of  the  popular  pulse;  tempering  stern  acts 
by  the  gleams  of  a  kind  heart;  illuminating  scenes  dark  with  passion  by  the 
smile  of  humor;  doing  his  Titanic  work  as  humbly  and  homely  as  heaven-born 
rulers  do  little  things  with  the  grandiloquence  of  pomp  and  state ;  in  one 
word,  one  of  the  rare  men  who  succeed  in  becoming  great  without  ceasing  to  be 
good.  Such,  indeed,  was  the  modesty  of  this  great  and  good  man  that  the 
world  only  discovered  him  a  hero  after  he  had  fallen  a  martyr. 

To  be  singled  out  by  the  side  of  such  a  chief,  the  second  victim  to  the 
infernal  gods  of  slavery,  was  an  honor  due  to  Mr.  Seward.  Had  he  not,  at  a 
time  of  general  hesitation,  the  sagacity  to  foresee  and  the  manliness  to  foretell 
"  the  irrepressible  conflict  V  Did  he  not,  in  the  darkest  hours  of  that  conflict, 
prove  true  to  the  Roman  duty  to  never  despair  of  the  republic  and  its  stars  ? 
We  earnestly  hope  that  he  and  his  son  will  be  restored  to  health,  public  activity, 
and  well-deserved  honors  within  much  less  than  "  ninety  days." 

After  a  tremendous  civil  war,  but  which,  if  we  consider  its  vast  dimensions 
and  its  broad  scope,  and  compare  it  to  the  Old  World's  one  hundred  years' 
wars,  and  thirty  years'  wars,  and  twenty-three  years'  wars,  can  hardly  be  said 
to  have  lasted  ninety  days,  yours,  sir,  has  become  the  task  to  uproot  by  the 
law  what  has  been  felled  by  the  sword,  to  preside  over  the  arduous  work  of 
political  reconstruction  and  social  regeneration.  A  profound  sense  of  your  great 
mission  will  save  you  from  any  compromise  with  stern  duties.  You  will  never 
forget  that,  to  initiate  the  new  era  of  the  emancipation  of  labor,  the  American 
people  devolved  the  responsibilities  of  leadership  upon  two  men  of  labor,  the 
one  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  other  Andrew  Johnson. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  International  Workingmen's  Association,  the 
central  council  : 

CHARLES  KAUB.  H.  CLUWOSKY. 

EDWIN  COULSON.  JOHN  WESTON. 

FERD.  LESSNER.  HENRY  BOLLETER. 

CARL  PFAENDER.  BENJAMIN  LUCRAPT. 

N.  P.  HANSEN.  JAMES  BUCKLEY. 

KARL  SCHAPPER.  PETER  FOX. 

WILLIAM  DELL.  N.  SALVATELLA. 

GEORGE  LOCKNER.  GEORGE  HOWELL. 

GEORGE  ECCARIUS.  BORDAGE. 

JOHN  ASBEUN.  A.  VALTIER. 

EMILL  IIATTORP,  Secretary  for  Poland,  ROBERT  SHAW. 

KARL  MARX,  Secretary  for  Germany.  JOHN  H.  LONGMAID. 

GEORGE  WILLIAM  WHEELER.  M.  MORGAN. 

J.  WHITLOCK,  Financial  Secretary.  JOHN  D.  NICASS. 

P.  PETERSEN.  W-ILLIAM  C.  WORLEY. 

ALO  TANKO.  DIXON  STAWTZ. 

EUGENE  DUPONT,  Secretary  for  France.  G.  T.  DE  LASSARIE. 

H.  JUNG,  Secretary  for  Switzerland.  J.  CARTER. 
W.  R.  CREMER,   Honorary  General  Secretary.         G.  ADGER,  President. 

ANDREW  JOHNSON,  President  of  tlie  United  States. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF    CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  351 

LONDON,  May  1,  1865. 

SIR  :  We,  the  undersigned,  merchants,  bankers,  and  traders  of  the  city  of 
London,  are  anxious  to  express  to  you,  as  the  representative  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  the  horror  and  indignation  with  which  we  have  heard  ofthe 
assassination  of  the  late  President,  Mr.  LINCOLN.  This  event,  which,  under  any 
circumstances,  would  have  called  forth  these  feelings,  seems  to  do  so  more 
strongly  at  this  time,  when  so  much  appeared  to  depend  upon  Mr.  LINCOLN'S 
well  known  character  for  integrity,  and  his  kindly  desire  of  conciliation  in  the 
great  task  to  which  he  was  about  to  address  himself — of  restoring  peace  and 
concord  in  that  great  country  over  the  councils  of  which  he  presided. 

We  also  desire  to  express  our  deep  and  heartfelt  sympathy  in  the  irrepar 
able  loss  which  his  family  have  sustained;  and  we  beg  you  will  convey  to  them 
the  assurance  of  this  feeling,  which  we  believe  to  exist  universally  throughout 
this  country. 

H.  L.  HOLLANDS, 

Governor  of  tlic  Bank  of  England. 
THOMAS  N.  HUNT, 
Deputy  Governor  of  tlie  Bank  of  England, 

AND  THREE  HUNDRED  OTHER  NAMES  OR  FIRMS. 

His  Excellency  Hon.  C.  F.  ADAMS, 

Minister  of  the  United  States  of  America,  London.  Iu  I  13  It  A   i  i   \ 


|  UNIVERSITY   OF 

THE   LATE    PRESIDENT   LINCOLN 

At  a  great  meeting  held  under  the  auspices  ofthe  Emancipation  Society,  at 
St.  James's  Hall,  London,  on  Saturday  evening,  the  29th  of  April,  1865,  (Mr. 
William  Evans,  president  of  the  society,  in  the  chair,)  the  following  resolution 
was  proposed  by  Mr.  W.  E.  Forster,  M.  P.,  seconded  by  Mr.  P.  A.  Taylor,  M. 
P.,  supported  by  Mr.  E.  A.  Leatham,  M.  P.,  and  carried  unanimously : 

That  this  meeting  desires  to  give  utterance  to  the  feelings  of  grief  and 
horror  with  which  it  has  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and 
the  murderous  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward ;  and  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  to 
the  United  States  government  and  people  an  expression  of  its  profound  sym 
pathy  and  heartfelt  condolence. 

Mr.  Stanfield,  M.  P.,  moved,  Mr.  T.  B.  Potter,  M.  P.,  seconded,  and  Mr.  W. 
E.  Baxter,  M.  P,  the  honorable  Lyulph  Stanley,  Mr.  Henry  Fawcett,  professor 
of  political  economy  in  the  University  of  Cambridge,  and  Mr.  G.  Shaw  Lefevre, 
M.  P.,  supported  the  following  resolution  : 

That  this  meeting  desires  also  to  express  the  entire  confidence  which  it 
feels  in  the  determination  and  the  power  of  the  government  and  people  of  the 
United  States  to  carry  out  to  the  full  the  policy  of  which  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'S 


352  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

presidential  career  was  the  embodiment,  and  to  establish  free  institutions 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  American  republic. 

It  was  further  resolved,  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Caird,  M  P.,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Grenfell,  M.  P.,  and  supported  by  Mr.  Crum  Ewing,  M.  P.,  the  Rev.  New 
man  Hall,  and  Mr.  Mason  Jones : 

That  copies  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
honorable  C.  F.  Adams,  the  American  minister,  for  transmission  to  his  Excellency 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward. 

Mr.  F.  W.  Chesson,  the  honorable  secretary,  announced  the  receipt  of  letters 
expressing  deep  sympathy  with  the  objects  of  the  meeting  from  Lord  Hough- 
ton,  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  bart.,  Mr  Goschen,  M.  P.,  Colonel  Sykes,  M.  P.,  Mr. 
Thomas  Bazley,  M.  P.,  Mr.  Charles  Buxton,  M.  P.,  Mr.  Thomas  Hughes,  and 
Dr.  Frederick  Tomkins. 

A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  chairman  was  moved  by  Mr.  Edmond  Beales,  and 
seconded  by  Mr.  Cyrus  W.  Field,  of  New  York. 

WILLIAM  EVANS,  Chairman. 
P.  A.  TAYLOR, 
WILLIAM  V.  MALLESON, 

Treasurers. 
F.  W.  CHESSON,  Honorary  Secretary. 


Address  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  of  London. 

SIR  :  The  committee  of  this  society  deems  it  its  melancholy  duty  to  give 
expression  to  its  deep  sorrow  on  account  of  the  sudden  removal  of  President 
LINCOLN,  and  its  intense  abhorrence  of  the  crime  by  which  his  valuable  life  has 
been  terminated.  This  committee  has  long  cherished  the  highest  admiration 
for  the  character,  and  felt  full  confidence  in  the  constitutional  and  genuine  anti- 
slavery  policy,  of  the  lamented  late  President.  It  has  never  traced  the  sufferings 
of  the  freed  people  to  that  policy,  but  to  the  cruel  and  unrighteous  war  which 
the  slaveholders  originated,  which  having  begun,  Mr.  LINCOLN  turned  to  the 
advantage  of  the  enslaved,  by  making  it  the  constitutional  ground  of  their 
emancipation. 

This  committee  tenders  its  deep  sympathy  with  the  widow  and  other  mem 
bers  of  the  bereaved  family,  and  also  to  the  entire  nation  which  at  such  a  crisis 
has  been  so  suddenly  deprived  of  its  great  leader.  But  this  committee,  while  sor 
rowing  for  the  loss  of  this  great  and  good  man,  and  deeply  sympathizing  with 
all  the  American  people,  has  strong  faith  in  the  glorious  cause  of  emancipation, 
to  accomplish  which  the  President  has  fallen  a  sacrifice. 

He,  by  whom  kings  reign  and  princes  decree  justice  can  easily  supply  the 
lack  of  service  which  has  now  arisen,  and  will,  it  is  confidently  believed,  raise 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        353 

up  and  duly  qualify  all  needed  agency  for  effecting  the  absolute  extinction  of 
slavery,  the  reconciliation  of  contending  parties,  arid  the  establishment  of  uni 
versal  peace. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  above  society  by — 

T.  FOWELL  BUXTON,  Bart.,  Chairman. 
SAMUEL  GURNEY,  M.  P.,  Treasurer. 
WILLIAM  ALLEN,  Sub- Treasurer. 
FRED.  TOMKINS,  M.  A.,  D.  C.  L. 
F.  W.  CHESSON. 
SAMUEL  GARRATT,  M.  A., 
JOHN  CURRVEN, 

Honorary  Secretaries. 
Hon.  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

Minister  of  the  U.  S.  of  America  at  the  Court  of  St.  James. 


At  a  general  meeting  of  the  committee  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Anti- 
Slavery  Society,  held  at  No.  27  New  Broad  street,  E.  C.,  London,  on  Friday, 
the  5th  day  of  May,  1865,  the  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted, 
and  the  secretary  was  instructed  to  forward  to  the  Hon.  C.  F.  Adams,  United 
States  minister  in  London,  copies  of  the  same  for  transmission  to  Andrew 
Johnson,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America: 

RESOLUTION. 

The  committee  desire  to  record  the  feelings  of  dismay  and  sorrow  with 
which  they  have  heard  of  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  of  the  murderous  attempt  upon  the  life  of  his 
colleague,  the  Hon.  W.  II.  Seward.  While  they  regard  these  crimes  as  unpar 
alleled  in  atrocity,  deserving,  as  indeed  they  have  justly  excited,  universal  repro 
bation,  they  consider  that  the  peculiar  circumstances  under  which  they  were 
perpetrated  remove  them  out  of  the  category  of  ordinary  crimes,  and  give  them 
a  deplorable  prominence  as  the  natural  manifestations  of  the  execrable  system 
of  slavery  directed  against  the  exponents  of  a  policy  of  freedom. 

The  committee  deem  it  especially  their  duty  to  bear  their  testimony  in 
appreciation  of  the  high  qualities  which  distinguished  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
as  the  ruler  of  a  great  people,  who  during  a  season  of  unprecedented  difficulty 
consistently  adhered  to  principles  which  have  happily  been  accepted  by  the 
nation,  and  in  their  application  will  secure  the  liberty  of  four  millions  of  our 
fellow-creatures,  held  oppressed  and  degraded  in  the  very  worst  form  of  bond 
age.  As  the  emancipator  of  the  slaves  in  the  United  States,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
is  entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  all  mankind. 
40 


354  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

The  committee,  in  condoling  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  on  the 
occasion  of  the  signal  loss  they  have  sustained  in  the  sudden  removal  of  their 
late  President,  would  express  the  confident  hope  that  they  will  remain  steadfast 
to  the  policy  of  emancipation,  to  the  steady  development  of  which  his  life  was 
consecrated,  and  to  which  he  fell  a  martyr,  and  will  strengthen  the  hands  of 
his  successor  to  pursue  the  same  noble  course.  They  also  fervently  trust  that 
in  the  high  and  responsible  position  which  Andrew  Johnson,  now  President, 
lias  been  called  to  fill,  he  may  be  guided  by  the  wisdom  which  cometh  from 
above;  that  he  may  be  endowed  with  the  forbearance  which  tempereth  justice 
with  mercy,  and  be  spared  to  bring  to  a  happy  and  peaceful  consummation  the 
work  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  began. 

The  committee  would  further  express  their  profound  sympathy  with  the 
family  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  under  their  bereavement,  which  bows  them  down 
with  grief.  At  such  a  solemn  time  they  will  derive  consolation  from  the  world 
wide  manifestation  of  sorrow  and  regret  which  the  violent  death  of  him  who 
was  their  head  has  elicited,  and  will  be  strengthened  to  bear  up  against  this 
grievous  calamity,  and  be  cheered  by  the  reflection  that  he  and  his  descendants 
will  bear  an  honored  name,  which  the  ever-increasing  multitudes  of  a  once 
down-trodden  race  will  hold  enshrined  in  their  hearts,  to  be  transmitted  to 
remotest  posterity,  as  that  of  one  of  the  greatest  benefactors  of  mankind. 

.   SAMUEL  GURNEY,  President. 

EDMUND  STURGE,  Chairman  of  Committee. 

L.  A.  CHAMKROVZOW,  Secretary. 


London  Committee  of  Deputies  of  tlie  British  Jews. 

4  GREAT  STANHOPE  STREET,  MAY  FAIR,  May  2,  1865. 

SIR:  I  am  deputed,  as  president  of  this  board,  to  express  to  your  excel 
lency,  and  to  request  that  your  excellency  will  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the 
United  States  government,  the  assurance  of  its  deepest  sympathy  in  the  sad 
event  which  has  aroused  the  indignation  of  all  classes  of  persons  in  this  country, 
and  excited  their  most  heartfelt  sorrow. 

This  board  is  mindful  of  the  full  measure  of  equal  liberty  so  long  enjoyed 
by  its  co-religionists  in  the  United  States,  and  trusts  that  in  thus  conveying  its 
condolence,  it  may  be  permitted  to  express  its  grateful  appreciation  of  this 
blessing. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain  your  excellency's  faithful  and  obedient  servant, 

J.  M.  MONTEFIORE. 
CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

Envoi/  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

for  the  United  States  of  America,  London. 


EXPRESSIONS  OP  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       355 

ARGYLE  SQUARE  JUNIOR  MEMBERS'  SOCIETY, 
24  Graf  ton  Place,  Euston  Square,  London,  May  6,  1865. 
SIR  :  'I  beg  to  hand  you  a  copy  of  a  resolution  passed  at  a  general  meeting 
of  this  society,  held  last  evening,  expressing  condolence  with  the  American 
nation  on  the  late  disastrous  assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  excellency's  most  obedient  servant, 

H.  FRANCIS  MOORE,  Honorary  Secretary. 
Hon.  C.  F.  ADAMS. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  give  utterance  to  the  feelings  of 
grief  with  which  it  has  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  to 
convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  to  the  United  States  government  and  people,  an 
expression  of  their  deepest  sympathy  and  condolence. 


THE  BANK  OP  BRITISH  COLUMBIA, 
80  Lombard  Street,  E.  C,  London,  April  28,  1865. 

SIR  :  We  are  deputed  by  the  court  of  directors  of  this  bank  to  convey  to 
you,  and  through  you  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  of  America,  the 
expression  of  their  sincere  sympathy  at  the  heavy  calamity  which  has  befallen, 
not  only  your  country,  but  our  own,  and,  in  fact,  the  whole  world,  by  the  cruel 
assassination  of  your  high-minded  and  patriotic  President. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  excellency's  most  obedient  servants, 

THOS.  W.  L.  MACKEAN,  Chairmaji. 
ROBERT  ESTERSFIE,  Deputy  Chairman. 
HENRY  McCHELSEY,  Director. 
His  Excellency  Hon.  CHARLES  F.  ADAMS, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

from  tJie  United  States. 


BRITISH  HONDURAS  COMPANY,  LIMITED, 
London,  E.  C.,  2  Great  St.  Helens,  April  28,  1865. 

SIR:  I  am  intrusted  by  my  colleagues,  the  directors  of  the  British  Hon 
duras  Company,  Limited,  with  the  expression  of  our  deep  sympathy  with  you 
and  your  nation  on  the  sad  event  of  the  assassination  of  your  late  excellent 
President. 

Somewhat  of  the  tenderness  of  private  personal  feeling  mingles  with  our 
sense  of  a  great  public  calamity  in  which  the  whole  civilized  world  shares.  A8 
Mr.  LINCOLN  showed  great  kindness  to  our  manager  when  seeking  labor  in  the 
United  States,  and  took  an  interest  in  the  company's  affairs,  we  thus  deem  our- 


356  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

selves  called  on,  peculiarly,  to  express  that  sincere  sympathy  which  is  universal, 
for  the  sad  loss  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  sustained  by  the 
death  of  so  honest,  so  humane,  so  sagacious,  so  good,  and  so  great  a  chief. 

Permit  me  to  add  to  yourself  the  expression  of  our  personal  respect  and 
regard. 

I  am,  sir,  your  excellency's  most  obedient  servant, 

J.  R  ROBERTSON,  Chairman. 

His  Excellency  Hon.  CHARLES  F.  ADAMS, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

from  the  United  States. 


An  address  of  condolence  from  the  members  of  the  "  Temple  Discussion  Forum" 
Fleet  street,  London,  to  the  illustrious  widow  of  the  late  President  Lincoln. 

ILLUSTRIOUS  LADY— —illustrious  by  position,  and  still  more  by  sorrow:  We, 
the  supporters  and  frequenters  of  the  "  Temple  Discussion  Forum,"  Fleet 
street,  London,  approach  you  with  liveliest  sentiments  of  profound  respect, 
deep  sympathy,  and  unfeigned  regret.  Our  society,  which  numbers  in  its  ranks 
the  representatives  of  all  nations  and  forms  of  government  throughout  the 
civilized  world,  and  in  the  free  exercise  of  its  opinions  once  evoked  the  censure 
of  the  most  potent  sovereign  in  Europe — established  in  dark  and  troubled  days 
in  the  history  of  our  country,  for  the  fearless  and  open  expression  of  opinion — 
has  ever  held  in  utter  detestation  the  crimes  of  conspiracy  and  assassination, 
which  in  all  ages  have  been  the  most  deadly  instruments  which  despotism  could 
supply,  and  have  ever  been  inimical  to  the  cause  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
throughout  the  world. 

In  a  society  constituted  as  ours,  it  is  useless  to  say,  a  variety  of  opinions 
necessarily  exist  as  to  the  merits  of  that  mighty  struggle  which  has  marked 
with  the  furrows  of  age  a  glorious  and  youthful  republic.  But,  we  rejoice  to 
think,  not  a  single  dissentient  opinion  exists  in  the  condemnation  of  a  deed 
which  has  taken  away  so  cruelly  and  abruptly  from  this  life  the  husband, 
father,  and  uncrowned  monarch  of  millions  of  men  whose  language  is  the  lan 
guage  of  Shakespeare  and  Milton. 

Upon  sorrow  so  sacred  and  so  recent  we  will  not  presume  further  to 
intrude  ourselves ;  but,  illustrious  lady,  be  pleased  to  place  upon  that  narrow  bed 
of  eternal  rest  where  your  own  heart  now  lies  entombed,  this  well-meant 
tribute  of  an  ancient  body,  a  tribute  already  sanctioned  by  the  sorrows  of  our 
august  Sovereign,  a  tribute  which  the  great  ornament  of  our  hereditary  legisla 
ture  declared  in  his  senatorial  place,  "  every  man,  woman,  and  child  agreed  in." 

Praying  that  He  who  "  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb,"  and  filled  in 
the  old  days  the  stricken  heart  of  the  royal  Psalmist  with  celestial  rays  of 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        357 

promised  joy,  may  guard  you   from  every  ill  and   sustain  you  in  your  terrible 
bereavement, 

We  remain,  illustrious  lady,  your  devoted  and  faithful  servants, 
WILLIAM  COKST1ER,  Proprietor. 
JOSEPH  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN,  Chairman. 
M.  N.  DEYBURGH, 

Scotchman,  Editor  of  the  Illustrated  Times. 
EDWARD  BAKER,  London: 
JOEL  H.  TALUM,  of  Alabama. 
WILLIAM  CHAPMAN, 

Citizen  of  Antwerp,  Belgium. 


The  directors  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company,  while  occupied  on  the 
eve  of  accomplishing  their  enterprise  for  drawing  closer  the  ties  of  friendship 
and  cordial  intercourse  between  the  two  kindred  nations  of  America  and  the 
British  empire,  have  heard  with  horror  of  the  atrocious  and  recent  acts  by 
which  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  been  deprived  of  their  Chief  Mag 
istrate,  in  the  person  of  their  estimable  and  patriotic  President,  and  have  lost 
for  a  time  the  active  services  of  Mr.  Seward,  who  is  one  of  their  foremost  min 
isters  and  statesmen. 

The  directors  desire  to  record  their  deep  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the 
United  States  on  this  calamitous  occasion,  and  hoping  that  these  wicked  and 
disastrous  ^crimes  will  be  traced  to  individual  malignity,  wholly  foreign  and 
abhorrent  to  the  feelings  of  any  section  of  the  American  people,  they  share 
with  them  in  the  sorrow  and  indignation  which  they  have  excited  in  this  king 
dom,  and  throughout  the  civilized  world. 

The  directors  further  desire  respectfully  to  tender  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and 
the  bereaved  families  and  friends  of  the  eminent  men  who  have  thus  fallen  and 
suffered  under  the  hands  of  assassins,  their  joint  and  individual  condolence  on 
their  cruel  bereavement  and  sorrows. 

Given  under  the  common  seal  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company,  at  the 
offices  of  the  company,  within  the  city  of  London,  this  8th  day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL:]  GEO.  SAWARD,  Secretary. 


COVENT  GARDEN  THEATRICAL  FUND, 

May  4,  1865. 

Re.sof.red,  That  this  honorable  corporation,  the  Covent  Garden  Theatrical 
Fund,  desires  to  give  utterance  to  the  feelings  of  grief  and  horror  with  which 
it  has  received  the  fearful  intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  to  convey  to  his  sorrowing  widow  and  the 


358  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

American  people  its  profound  condolence  and  sympathy,  together  with  the 
expression  of  its  sad  and  solemn  regret  that  the  unnatural  parricide  who  deprived 
the  father  of  his  country  of  existence,  and  the  wife  of  his  bosom  of  her  loved 
protector,  should  in  any,  the  slightest,  way  have  been  connected  with  the  pro 
fession  this  corporation  represents,  whose  honor  and  loyalty  have  ever  been  its 
most  cherished  pride. 

Signed  for  the  committee  of  the  Covent  Garden  Theatical  Fund : 

DRINKWATER  MEADOWS,  Secretary, 
6   The  Grange,  Michaels  Grove,  Bron^ton,  S.  W. 
CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

Minister  oj  the  United  States  in  England. 


[Translation.] 

CONCORD  LODGE,  LONDON,  May  22,  1865. 
To  the  Citizen  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  Republic  of  the  United  States,  thrice  greeting : 
Stricken  by  the  ball  of  a  serf  of  tyranny,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is  dead — 
victim  to  his  love  for  the  cause  of  our  brethren,  the  black  laborers  of  the 
southern  States. 

Descendants  of  slaves,  it  is  with  feverish  anxiety  that  we  have  followed  the 
great  movements  of  the  drama  of  emancipation,  for  which  the  blood  of  the 
upholders  of  right  have  been  shed. 

Independent  operatives,  our  bosoms  have  swelled  with  joy  at  th^  news  of 
the  downfall  of  oppression  beneath  the  heroic  efforts  of  the  soldiers  of  emanci 
pation. 

Our  brethren  are  free !  Slavery  is  abolished !  Such  is  the  cry  which, 
throughout  the  Old  World,  the  down-trodden  of  our  day  repeated  with  joy, 
when  the  death  of  the  great  martyr  came  to  add  new  brilliancy  to  the  glorious 
halo  which  surrounds  the  sacred  cause  of  right  and  of  justice. 

Mourning  is  in  our  hearts  !  our  grief  is  great !  We  weep  with  you  for  the 
loss  of  the  great  citizen  who  represented  the  nation  of  freemen.  Faithful  to 
his  memory,  we  shall  tell  our  sons  of  the  actions  of  this  just  man,  who  has  passed 
from  this  life  to  the  life  immortal. 

L.  LUBAY,  President  of  Concord  Lodge. 

P.  BORDAGE,  Secretary. 

LARDON,  Orator. 

L.  PAIRIER,  1st  Supervisor. 

L.  RIDET,  2d  Supervisor. 

DE  ROUX,  Treasurer. 

EMILE  HATTORFF,  Expert. 

AZERNA,  Architect. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  359 

Resolution  of  the  German  National  Verein  in  London. 

SEYD'S  HOTEL,  FINSISURY  SQUARE,  LONDON, 

May  C,  18G5. 

SIR  :  At  to-day's  meeting  of  the  German  National  Verein  in  London,  to 
which  meeting  the  Germans  resident  in  London  were  invited,  it  was  resolved 
to  express  at  the  same  time  our  joy  at  the  victory  of  the  free  States  of  the 
Union,  and  our  horror  of  the  crime  perpetrated  upon  the  life  of  your  noble 
President,  whose  fidelity  to  the  cause  of  humanity  we  admired,  long  before  his 
kindness  to  the  conquered  and  his  glorious  martyrdom  reconciled  to  him  even 
those  who  had  so  long  been  his  antagonists. 

We  consider  it  an  important  sign  of  our  time  that,  as  this  great  and  good 
man,  who  held  the  helm  of  your  state  during  this  tempest,  had,  by  his  own 
energy  and  virtue,  risen  from  the  working  class,  so  your  actual  worthy  Presi 
dent,  likewise,  shows  us  a  workman  of  former  days,  raised  to  the  head  of  a 
grand  and  mighty  community,  by  his  own  merit  and  the  free  election  of  his 
people. 

Germany  has  assisted  the  giant  struggle  of  freedom  in  your  hemisphere, 
not  by  idle  sympathy,  but  with  blood  and  treasure ;  because,  throughout  the 
country  the  feeling  is  universal  that,  as  a  reverse  of  the  North  must  have  given 
the  severest  blow  to  the  growth  of  democratic  institutions  in  Europe,  so  your 
glorious  conquest  will  powerfully  influence  and  accelerate  the  triumph  of  our 
own  freedom.  America,  during  these  four  years,  has  fought  the  battle  of  liberty 
for  all  mankind  ;  for  the  cause  of  liberty  is  the  same  cause  everywhere.  The 
abolition  of  slavery  and  the  reconstruction  of  your  state  into  a  powerful  republic 
will  conduce  to  the  elevation  of  the  laborer,  and  to  the  establishment  of  such 
forms  of  government  as  will  secure  to  the  will  of  the  true  majority  the  sway 
over  the  destinies  of  every  nation  in  Europe. 

May  we  be  allowed  to  convey  to  your  excellency  these  sentiments  of  our 
countrymen,  and  to  sign,  with  the  expression  of  our  highest  consideration, 

The  committee  of  the  German  National  Verein  in  London. 

GOTTFRIED  KINKEL,  Chairman. 
L.  LOEFFLER,  Secretary. 

His  Excellency  the  AMBASSADOR 

of  tlie  United  States  of  America  at  the  Court  of  St.  James. 


LONDON,  April  27,  1865. 

DEAR  SIB  :  In  view  of  the  distressing  intelligence  which  has  just  reached 
us  from  America,  we  have  to  ask  your  excellency  to  convoke  a  meeting  of 


860  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Americans  resident  here,  in  order  to  obtain  an  expression  of  their  feelings  on 
this  sad  occasion.     If  convenient  to  your  excellency,  we  propose  Monday,  May 
1,  at  3.  p.  in.,  for  such  meeting,  at  some  place  to  be  hereafter  designated. 
Respectfully,  yours,  obediently, 

GEORGE  PEABODY.  W.  R,  BALLARD. 

RUSSELL  STURGES.  W.  N.  NEWMAN. 

J.  S.  MORGAN.  FREEMAN  H.  MORSE. 

C.  M.  LAMPSON.  OSGOOD  FIELD. 

JAMES  McHENRY.  E.  G.  TINKER. 

J  R.  BLACK.  SEWELL  WARNER. 

ELIHU  BURRITT.  DENNIS  R.  ALWARD. 

II.  E.  SOMERBY.  JOHN  NORRIS,  JR. 

BENJAMIN  MORAN.  WINSLOW  LEWIS. 

CRAUMOND  KENNEDY.        WM.  D.  COOLIDGE. 

HENRY  T.  PARKER,  E.  C.  FISHER. 

DANIEL  BLISS.  C.  M.  FISHER,  Sfc.,  8p. 

R.  HUNTING. 
His  Excellency  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

Minister  of  the  United  States. 


LONDON,  April  27,  1865. 

GENTLEMEN:  In  accordance  with  the  desire  expressed  in  your  note  of  this 
day,  and  with  what  I  presume  to  be  the  general  wish  of  Americans  in  London, 
I  consent  to  your  proposal,  and  hereby  invite  my  countrymen,  so  disposed,  to 
meet  for  the  purpose  designated  on  Monday  next,  May  1,  at  3  p.  in.,  at  St. 
James's  Hall. 

I  am  your  obedient  servant, 

C.  F.  ADAMS. 
Messrs.  GEORGE  PEABODY, 
RUSSELL  STURGES, 
J.  S.  MORGAN, 
C.  M.  LAMPSON, 
JAMES  MCHENRY, 

SfC.,  3fC.,  SfC. 


At  a  meeting  of  Amerfcans  resident  in  London,  holden  at  St.  James's 
Hall  on  the  first  day  of  May,  1865,  his  excellency  Charles  Francis  Adams  in 
the  chair,  it  was  resolved  unanimously 

That  we  have  heard  with  the  greatest  indignation  and  the  most  profound 
sorrow  of  the  assassination  which  has  deprived  our  country  of  its  beloved  Chief 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       361 

Magistrate,  as  well  as  of  the  audacious  assault  which  has  greatly  perilled  the 
lives  of  the  Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  and  that  we  regard  the 
taking  of  the  life  of  our  chief  executive  officer,  while  our  country  is  passing 
through  unparalleled  trials,  after  all  loyal  Americans  had  learned  to  love  him, 
and,  with  good  men  the  world  over,  to  confide  in  him,  and  when  so  much  of 
national  and  individual  welfare  and  happiness  depended  on  his  existence,  as  the 
great  crime  of  the  nineteenth  century,  memorable  in  its  atrocity  and  entailing 
on  its  perpetrator  the  execration  of  mankind. 

That  we  tender  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  our  heartfelt  sympathy  and  expressions 
of  condolence  in  the  great  affliction  that  she  and  her  family  and  the  nation  have 
sustained. 

That  in  the  long  public  career  of  Andrew  Johnson,  now  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  early  and  pre-eminent  sacrifices  he  made  from  his  devotion 
to  the  cause  of  the  Union,  and  his  pledges  to  maintain  the  great  principles  of 
human  liberty,  we  have  every  assurance  that  he  will  faithfully  prosecute  to  its 
final  success  the  wise,  humane,  and  statesmanlike,  domestic  and  foreign  policy 
of  President  LINCOLN. 

That,  as  loyal  Americans,  we  have  witnessed  with  peculiar  pleasure  the 
expressions  of  indignation  and  sorrow  throughout  Great  Britain  at  the  assas 
sination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  cordial  and  hearty  sympathy  which  has 
been  extended  by  the  people  of  this  realm  to  the  government  and  people  of 
the  United  States  in  this  great  bereavement  and  public  calamity. 

That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

li.  HUNTING,  Secretary. 


[From  the  London  Evening  Star,  May  2,  1865.] 
THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

Important  meeting  of  Americans. 

In  accordance  with  an  influcntially  signed  requisition  to  Mr.  Adams,  the 
American  ambassador,  a  public  meeting  of  Americans,  resident  in  London,  was 
held  yesterday  at  St.  James's  Hall,  in  order  to  give  expression  to  (heir  feelings 
respecting  the  late  distressing  intelligence  from  America.  The  hall  presented 
the  same  singularly  effective  and  sombre  appearance  as  on  the  occasion  of  the 
great  demonstration  last  Saturday  evening,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Emanci 
pation  Society,  the  entire  front  of  the  balconies  being  draped  with  black  cloth, 
bordered  with  white  lace,  and  festooned  with  cord  of  the  same  hue,  and  the 
front  of  the  upper  gallery  being  tastefully  decorated  with  three  American  flags 
grouped  together,  and  whose  drooping  folds  were  looped  with  crape,  while  the 
staves  of  the  wand-bearers  were  tipped  with  the  same  material.  Although  the 

46 


362  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

hour  appointed  (three  o'clock)  might  be  considered  rather  inconvenient,  the 
attendance  was  very  numerous.  An  hour  before  the  time  appointed  the  princi 
pal  corridors  leading  to  the  hall  were  quite  thronged  with  ladies  and  gentlemen 
waiting  for  admission,  and  soon  after  the  doors  were  thrown  open  the  spacious 
hall  became  comfortably  filled.  By  the  time  appointed  for  commencing  the 
proceedings  the  platform,  which  it  is  well  known  is  of  very  large  dimensions, 
presented  quite  a  crowded  appearance.  Some  few  minutes  after  three  o'clock 
Mr.  Adams,  accompanied  by  a  large  number  of  gentlemen,  ascended  the  plat 
form.  His  appearance  was  the  signal  for  loud  applause,  and  after  taking  the 
chair  his  excellency  had  several  times  to  bow  his  acknowledgments.  Among 
those  present  were  Mr.  Benjamin  Moran,  secretary  of  legation;  Mr.  Dennis  R. 
Alward,  assistant  secretary  of  legation ;  Hon.  F.  H.  Morse,  United  States  consul, 
London;  Mr.  Joshua  Nunn,  deputy  United  States  consul,  London;  Mr.  G.  H. 
Abbott,  United  States  consul,  Sheffield ;  Mr.  H.  Bergh,  late  United  States  secre 
tary  of  legation.  St.  Petersburg;  Lord  Houghton,  Alderman  Salomons,  Hon.  A. 
Kinnaird,  Hon.  Lyulph  Stanley,  Mr.  H.  T  Parker,  Mr.  C.  M.  Fisher,  Mr.  James 
McIIenry,  Mr.  Gerald  Ralston,  consul  general  of  Liberia ;  Mr.  T.  B.  Potter,  M. 
P. ;  Mr.  John  Goddard,  Dr.  W.  R.  Ballard,  Dr.  J.  R.  Black,  Mr.  C.  M.  Lampson, 
Mr.  J.  S.  Morgan,  Mr.  Russell  Sturgis,  Judge  Winter,  Dr.  Howard,  Mr.  Mason 
Jones,  Colonel  J.  S.  Chester,  Captain  E.  G.  Tinker,  Mr.  Gilead  A.  Smith,  Mr. 
B.  F.  Brown,  Mr.  Nathan  Thompson,  Dr.  E.  G.  Ludlow,  Mr.  C.  Coutoit,  Mr.  H. 
G.  Sornerby,  Mr.  Horatio  Ward,  Dr.  W.  Darling,  Mr.  John  Brougham,  Mr. 
Charles  Button,  Rev.  Dr.  Storr,  Mr.  W.  R.  Dempster,  Mr.  James  Beal,  Mr. 
Marshall  Woody,  Captain  Tomkin,  General  Tom  Thumb,  Commodore  Nutt. 
Rev.  Cramond  Kennedy,  Mr.  Henry  Stevens,  Dr.  Fred.  Robinson,  Dr.  C.  R. 
Nicholl,  Mr.  George  Ross,  Captain  Richardson,  (San  Francisco,)  Rev.  Daniel 
Bliss,  Rev.  E.  L.  Cleveland,  Mr.  C.  F.  Dennet,  Mr.  E.  G.  Coates,  Mr.  T.  B. 
Hubbell,  Mr.  George  Atkinson,  Mr.  Edmond  Beales,  Mr.  R.  Hunting,  Mr.  Bart- 
lett,  Mr.  Osgood  Field,  Mr.  Edward  Thornton,  Mr.  John  B.  Stephenson,  Mr. 
Levi  Coffin,  (Cincinnati,  Ohio,)  Mr.  Stafford  Allen,  Mr.  Peach,  Mr.  Massey,  Mr. 
Phillips,  (Wisconsin,)  Mr.  Westerton,  Mr  John  H.  Goodnow,  United  States 
consul  at  Constantinople,  Mr.  M.  D.  Conway,  &c. 

The  chairman,  on  entering  the  hall,  was  received  with  most  enthusiastic 
applause,  which  was  repeated  on  his  rising  to  address  the  meeting.  Silence 
having  been  restored,  he  said  : 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  I  have  been  desired  to  call  you  together  for  the 
sake  of  giving  some  common  form  of  expression  to  our  emotions,  stirred  up 
as  they  have  been  by  the  late  fearful  calamity.  In  presence  of  such  an  awful 
event  we  are  forcibly  impressed,  not  merely  with  the  commonplace  idea 
of  mortal  vicissitude,  but  with  the  more  solemn  idea  of  keeping  ourselves 
wholly  free  from  the  indulgence  of  any  unworthy  passion.  The  ordinary 
jars  of  human  life  are  hushed  before  such  a  catastrophe.  A  great  Virginian 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       363 

statesman    once    said  that  "  he  trembled  for    his  country  when  he  reflected 
that  God  is  just."     The  dreaded  visitation  appears    to    have   come    upon    us 
in  the  third  and  fourth  generation.     Let  us  endeavor  to  bear  ourselves  with 
patience  and   humility.     But  while    acknowledging  our  shortcomings,  let   us 
draw  closer  and  closer  together  while  we  unite  in  one  earnest  wail  of  sorrow 
for  our  loss,  for  I  may  be  permitted  to  observe  that  in  this  loss  the  bereavement 
is  wholly  our  own.     We  are  entirely  to  bear  the  responsibility  of  it.     The  man 
who  has  fallen  was  immolated  for  no  act  of  his  own.     It  may  well  be  doubted 
whether,  during  his  whole  career,  he  ever  made  a  single  personal  enemy.     In 
this  peculiarity  he  shone  prominent  among  statesmen.    No  ;  he  who  perpetrated 
the  crime  had  no  narrow  purpose.     It  was  because  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  a 
faithful  exponent  of  the  sentiments  of  a  whole  people  that  he  was  stricken  down. 
The  blow  that  was  aimed  at  him  was  meant  to  fall  home  upon  them.     The  ball 
that  penetrated  his  brain  was  addressed  to  the  heart  of  each  and  every  one  of  us 
It  was  a  fancied  short  way  of  paralyzing  the  government  which  we  have  striven  so 
hard  to  maintain.     It  was,  then,  for  our  cause  that  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  died,  and 
not  his  own      If  he  was  called  a  tyrant  who  was  elevated  to  his  high  post  by  the 
spontaneous  voices  of  a  greater  number  of  men  than  had  ever  been  given  in  any 
republic  before,  it  is  only  because  he  was  obeying  tlie.wishes  of  those  who  elected 
him.     It  is  we  who  must  stand  responsible  for  his  deeds.     It  is  he  who  has  paid 
the  penalty  for  executing  our  will.     Surely,  then,  this  is  the  strongest  of  reasons 
why  all  of  us  should  join,  as  with  one  voice,  in  a  chorus  of  lamentation  for  his 
fall.     It  is  one  of  the  peculiar  merits  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  that  he  knew  how  to  give 
shape  in  action  to  the  popular  feelings  as  they  developed  themselves  under  his 
observation.     He  never  sought  to  lead,  but  rather  to  follow,  and  thus  he  suc 
ceeded  in  the  difficult  task  of  successfully  combining  conservatism  with  progress. 
This  surely  was  not  like  tyranny.     His  labor  was  always  to  improve.     Hence 
it  was  that  he  conducted  a  war  of  unexampled  magnitude,  always   bearing  in 
mind  the  primary  purpose  for  which  it  had  been  commenced,  at  the  same  time 
that  he  associated  with  it  broader  ones  as  the  opportunity  came.     He  had 
pledged  himself  at  the  outset  to  accomplish  certain  objects,  and  he  never  forgot 
that  pledge.     The  time  had  at  last  arrived  when  he  might  honestly  claim  that 
it  would  be  fulfilled.     It  was  in  that  very  moment  he  was  taken  away.     On  the 
very  same  day  of  the  year  when  the  national  Hag,  which  just  four  years  before 
had  been  lowered  to  triumphant  enemies  at  Fort  Sumter,  was  once  more  lifted 
to  its  original  position   by  the  hand  of  the  same  officer  who  had  suffered   the 
indignity  that  commenced  the  war,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  fell.     His  euthanasia  is 
complete.      For  him  we  ought  not  to  mourn.     His  work  was  done :  he  had 
fought  the  good  fight;  he  had  finished  his  course.     The  grief  is  all  for  our 
selves  alone.     And  now  we  who  stand  around  his  body  may  well  cry,  "  Go  up, 
go  up,  with  your  gory  temples  twined  with  the  evergreen  symbols  of  a  patriot's 
wreath,  and   bearing  the  double  glory  of  a  martyr's  crown.     Go  up,  while  lor 


364  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

us  here  remaining  on  earth  your  memory  shall  be  garnered  in  the  hearts  of  us 
and  our  latest  posterity,  in  common  with  the  priceless  treasures  heaped  up  by 
the  great  fathers  of  the  republic,  and  close  by  that  of  the  matchless  Washing 
ton."  But  although  we  profoundly  lament  this  loss,  it  must  not  be  presumed 
that  we  do  so  having  no  hope.  We  have  parted  with  a  most  faithful  servant. 
But  the  nation  has  not  lost  with  him  one  atom  of  the  will  which  animated 
others  of  its  servants  as  fully  as  it  did  him.  It  is  one  of  the  notable  features 
of  this  great  struggle  that  it  is  not  particular  men  who  have  attempted  to  lead 
on  the  people,  but  rather  that  the  people  have  first  given  the  tone,  to  the 
level  of  which  their  servants  must  come  up,  or  else  sink  out  of  sight  and  be 
forgotten.  They  have  uniformly  designated  to  them  their  wishes.  To  one  man 
they  have  said  "  Come  up,"  and  to  another,  "  Give  way,"  and  in  either  case  they 
have  been  as  implicitly  obeyed.  Whoever  it  be  that  is  employed,  the  spirit  that 
must  animate  him  comes  from  a  higher  source.  The  cause  of  the  country,  then, 
does  not  depend  on  any  man  or  any  set  of  men.  It  has  now  called  to  the  front 
the  individual  whom  it  had  already  elevated  to  the  second  post  in  the  govern 
ment.  He  had  been  pointed  out  for  that  place  by  a  sense  of  his  approved 
fidelity  to  the  Union  at  the  moment  when  all  around  him  were  faltering  or 
falling  away.  In  the  national  Senate  he  stood  Abdiel-like,  firm  and  determined 
in  encountering  with  truth  and  force  the  fatal  sophistry  of  Jefferson  Davis  and 
his  associates,  and  in  denouncing  the  course  of  action  which  was  leading  them 
to  their  ruin.  Four  years  of  intense  and  continued  trials  within  the  borders  of 
his  own  State  have  been  passed  in  the  effort  to  reconstruct  the  edifice  of  civil 
government,  which  they  had  overthrown.  No  one  has  braved  greater  dangers 
to  his  person  and  to  all  that  was  held  most  precious  to  a  man  in  this  world  than 
he.  Those  four  years  have  not  been  passed  without  at  once  proving  the  firm 
ness  of  his  faith  and  the  progressive  nature  of  his  ideas.  He,  too,  has  been 
susceptible  to  the  influence  of  the  national  opinion.  He,  too,  has  gradually  been 
brought  to  the  conviction  that  slavery,  which  he  once  defended,  has  been  our 
bane,  and  the  cause  of  all  our  woe.  And  he,  too,  will  follow  his  predecessor  in 
making  the  recognition  of  the  principle  of  human  liberty  the  chief  pathway 
to  restoration.  May  be  that  he  will  color  his  policy  with  a  little  more  of  the 
sternness  gathered  from  the  severity  of  his  own  trials.  He  may  give  a  greater 
prominence  to  the  image  of  justice  than  to  that  of  mercy  in  dealing  with 
notorious  offenders.  But  if  he  do,  to  whom  is  this  change  to  be  imputed  ? 
LINCOLN  leaned  to  mercy,  and  he  wa  staken  off.  Johnson  has  not  promoted 
himself.  The  magician  who  worked  this  change  is  the  enemy  himself.  It 
would  seem  almost  as  if  it  were  the  will  of  Heaven  which  has  interposed  the 
possibility  of  this  marvellous  retribution.  Yet,  even  if  we  make  proper  allow 
ances  for  this  difference,  the  great  fact  yet  remains  clear  that  Andrew  Johnson, 
like  his  predecessor,  will  exert  himself  to  the  utmost  of  his  power  fully  to 
re-establish  in  peace  and  harmony  the  beneficent  system  of  government  which 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        365 

he  has  clearly  hazarded  so  much  to  sustain.  And  should  it  happen  that  he,  too — 
which  Heaven  avert — should  by  some  evil  design  be  removed  from  the  post  now 
assigned  to  him,  the  effect  would  only  be  that  the  next  man  in  the  succession 
prescribed  by  the  public  law,  and  inspired  from  the  same  common  source,  will 
be  summoned  to  take  his  place.  And  so  it  would  go  on,  if  need  be,  in  a  line 
like  that  in  Macbeth's  vision,  "  stretching  out  to  the  crack  of  doom."  The  re 
public  has  but  to  command  the  services  of  any  of  her  children,  and  whether  to 
meet  open  danger  in  the  field  or  the  perils  of  the  more  crafty  and  desperate 
assassin,  experience  shows  them  equally  ready  to  obey  her  call.  So  long  as 
the  heroic  spirit  animates  her  frame  the  requisite  agents  will  not  fail  to  execute 
her  will.  Any  attempt  to  paralyze  her  by  striking  down  more  or  less  of  them 
will  only  end,  as  every  preceding  design  to  injure  her  has  ended,  in  disappoint 
ment  and  bitter  despair.  Let  us,  then,  casting  aside  all  needless  apprehensions 
for  the  policy  of  our  land,  now  concentrate  our  thoughts  for  the  moment  upon 
the  magnitude  of  the  offence  which  has  deprived  us  of  our  beloved  chief  in  the 
very  moment  of  most  interest  to  our  cause,  and  let  us  draw  together  as  one  man 
in  the  tribute  of  our  admiration  of  one  of  the  purest,  the  most  single-minded, 
and  noble-hearted  patriots  that  ever  ruled  over  the  people  of  any  land. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  MORSE,  in  moving  the  first  resolution,  said  :  If  he  were  to 
consult  his  own  feelings,  he  should  allow  the  resolution  to  pass  in  silence.  To 
attempt  to  add  anything  to  the  atrocious  crime  which  had  brought  them  together 
was  useless.  All  human  language  failed  to  make  it  clearer,  or  to  convey  any 
stronger  impressions  than  the  fact  itself.  Having  expressed  his  profound 
sorrow  at  the  fact,  and  his  admiration  of  the  noble  character  of  the  late 
President,  he  said  there  was  this  consolation — the  lamentable  event  was  calcu 
lated  to  hasten  the  coming  of  the  day  which  the  North  and  all  who  sympa 
thized  with  their  cause  longed  to  see,  namely,  the  restoration  of  the  Union  and 
the  promulgation  of  liberty  throughout  the  land.  [Cheers.]  This  was  not  a 
fit  time  to  go  into  the  question  of  slavery,  but  they  well  remember  the  various 
stages  through  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  carried  his  country  with  the  view  to  wipe 
out  that  black  stain  upon  its  banner.  [Applause.]  Now  that  the  head  of  the 
state  was  dead,  it  was  necessary  to  take  a  calm  survey.  What  remained,  now  that 
LINCOLN  was  no  more  ?  LINCOLN  was  dead,  but  America  was  not — it  still  lived. 
[Applause.]  This  brought  him  to  consider  who  were  left  behind  to  fill  up  the 
gap.  First,  as  regarded  President  Johnson ;  of  him  he  could  speak  from  per 
sonal  experience.  Twenty-one  years  ago  he  entered  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  with  Andrew  Johnson,  who  was  then  the  representative  of  the  State  of 
Tennessee.  He  was  on  a  committee  with  him,  and  sat  three  or  four  times  a 
week  with  him  perhaps  for  the  space  of  two  years,  and  he  said  here,  that 
throughout  the  whole  of  that  period,  and  for  three  or  four  years  subsequently, 
during  which  time  his  acquaintance  with  Andrew  Johnson  continued,  he  never 
heard  one  word  whispered  against  his  liiir  fame.  [Loud  cheers]  He  never 


3(56  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

heard  the  reproach  of  intemperance  cast  upon  him.  [Hear,  hear.]  He  had 
seen  him  daily,  and  knew  him  well,  and  he  knew  that  to  charge  him  with 
habitual  intemperance  was  one  of  the  vilest  slanders  that  could  be  brought 
against  him.  [Cheers]  Johnson  came  from  the  ranks  of  the  people.  He  had 
now  been  in  public  life  some  thirty  years  ;  commencing  as  an  alderman,  then 
mayor,  afterwards  a  member  of  the  lower  House,  from  which  he  was  in  time 
advanced  to  the  Senate,  eventually  made  Vice-President,  and  now,  by  the  provi 
dence  of  God,  President  of  the  United  States.  [Applause.]  He  was  a  little 
particular  in  making  these  facts  known,  because  after  what  had  been  represented 
against  him,  it  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  if  a  want  of  confidence  should  mani 
fest  itself  in  regard  to  the  stability,  and  particularly  the  foreign  policy,  of  a  gov 
ernment  with  such  a  man  presiding  over  it.  [Cries  of  "No,  no."  "No,  no."] 
He  was  glad  to  hear  that,  for  he  believed  in  his  heart  there  need  not  be  the 
slightest  mistrust  of  that  noble  man — a  man,  in  whose  honor  let  it  be  added,  who 
had  made  his  way  from  the  ranks  of  the  people  upward  to  his  present  eminence 
by  his  own  untiring  perseverance  and  manly  conduct.  [Applause.]  As  had  been 
remarked  by  the  chairman,  when,  in  1861,  the  United  States  seemed  to  be  fast 
crumbling  away ;  when  senator  after  senator  and  member  after  member  boldly 
gave  in  his  resignation,  or  left  his  seat  without  making  any  sign  that  they 
intended  joining  in  the  rebellion — while  Slidell  and  Mason  were  plotting  under 
ground  —where  was  Andrew  Johnson  1  He  was  contending  loudly  against  the 
adversaries  of  the  Union  ;  he  was  protesting  loudly  against  secession ;  he  was 
upholding  the  flag  of  his  country  like  a  brave  and  patriotic  man,  as  he  was,  and 
as  he  remained,  doubtless,  to  this  day.  [Cheers.]  There  was  no  faltering  in  his 
case ;  he  went  straight  on  ;  it  mattered  not  who  lagged  behind,  he  was  ever 
stoutly  defending  the  front  He  had  suffered,  as  they  had  heard.  He  came 
from  a  State  in  which,  more  than  anywhere  else,  it  was  dangerous  to  be  a  known 
Unionist — where  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  men  were  shot  down  in  cold  blood, 
hanged  upon  trees,  and  hunted  to  the  mountains  for  no  other  reason  than  that 
they  had  a  leaning  towards  the  North.  He  lost  all  his  property.  His  wife  was 
imprisoned,  and  became  an  invalid  through  the  sufferings  she  endured  while  in 
prison.  Was  that  the  man  to  fail  them  in  these  times?  [Cheers.] 

Mr.  C.  M.  LAMPSON  briefly  seconded  the  resolution,  which,  as  was  the  case 
also  with  all  the  subsequent  ones,  was  unanimously  adopted. 

HENRY  BOUGH,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  moved  the  next  resolution.  With 
manifest  emotion  he  expressed  his  detestation  of  the  crime  that  inflicted  such  a 
blow  on  America.  From  Italy,  Germany,  Spain,  France,  Russia,  and  England — - 
the  cradle  of  the  American  race — [applause] — had  already  gone  forth  addresses 
and  letters  of  condolence  with  the  American  nation  generally,  and  the  widow 
in  particular.  Within  these  very  walls,  only  on  Saturday  night,  a  thrill  of 
unfeigned  sympathy  and  grief  was  excited  by  the  noble  utterances  of  those  who 
took  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  occasion.  He  concluded  an  impassioned 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        367 

harangue  by  powerfully  appealing  in  the  language  of  Shakspeare  to  the  sympa 
thy  of  the  Christian  worlds — 

• 

"  Canst  tliou  minister  to  a  mind  diseased  ?"  &c. — 

and  declared  his  belief  that,  by  the  aid  of  that  Divine  Providence  which  tempers 
the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb,  they  could,  "  with  some  sweet  oblivious  antidote, 
wipe  out  the  written  troubles  of  the  mind"  of  the  widow  and  family,  bereaved 
by  this  shocking  event. 

Mr.  J.  S.  MORGAN  seconded  the  resolution. 

Dr.  BLACK,  in  moving  the  third  resolution,  remarked  upon  the  faults  found 
with  the  late  President  by  those  whose  sympathies  favored  the  South.  LINCOLN 
was  wrong  in  everything  when  he  was  living.  What  was  said  now  he  was 
dead  ?  He  had  no  villifiers  now,  and  before  long  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a 
man  to  dare  acknowledge  ever  having  said  a  wrong  word  against  such  a  noble 
character.  Andrew  Johnson  was  now  the  man  at  whom  attacks  would  be 
directed  ;  it  would  not  be  many  years,  he  (Dr.  Black)  apprehended,  before  his 
villifiers  would  also  hang  down  their  heads.  Johnson  had  a  very  difficult  task 
before  him,  and  not  the  least  difficult  part  of  it  was  the  question  of  slavery — 
where  to  place  the  slaves,  how  to  provide  tor  them,  and  what  privileges  to  accord 
them.  But  it  was  not  by  far  so  difficult  to  deal  with  as  the  enemies  of  the 
North  tried  to  make  out.  People  in  this  country  pointed  to  Jamaica,  and  said, 
"  Look  what  difficulties  we  had  there."  But  Jamaica  and  America  were  two 
different  places,  and  presented  very  different  aspects  in  reference  to  the  slave 
t'rade.  In  Jamaica,  where  fresh  supplies  were  continually  arriving  from  Africa, 
the  negroes  kept  up  the  superstitions  and  bad  habits  of  their  race ;  their  mas 
ters  lived  in  England  and  knew  nothing  about  them,  had  no  sympathy  with 
them ;  in  fact,  they  never  associated  with  anybody  but  their  drivers,  until  at 
last  slavery  and  labor  became  synonymous.  Afterwards,  when  the  slaves  were 
made  free,  freedom  and  laziness  became  synonymous.  In  the  United  States 
the  slaves  had  some  degree  of  intelligence;  since  1808  there  had  been  no 
admixture  with  fresh  importations  from  Africa;  and  let  him  sayhere.it  was 
America  who  first  abolished  the  African  slave  trade,  Great  Britain  following 
the  example.  Leaving  this  question,  he  glanced  at  the  financial  condition  of 
the  United  States,  and  replying  to  the  alarm  felt  in  certain  quarters  in  this 
country  that  America  would  repudiate  its  liabilities,  said  that  when  this  coun 
try  came  out  of  the  Napoleonic  war  its  debt  was  nearly  twice  as  much  as  that 
which  America  has  now  entailed  upon  itself;  the  commerce  of  England  was 
very  little  more  than  that  of  America  even  now  while  she  was  at  war;  the 
people  of  England  were  half  the  number  of  the  American  population;  the  leading 
men  of  America  were  English  in  origin,  religion,  language,  morality,  and  habits 
of  business ;  surely,  then,  if  England  was  in  a  position  to  pay  its  way,  America 
would  be.  If  anybody  supposed,  indeed,  that  the  Americans  had  any  other 


368  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

than  honest  and  honorable  intention,  they  did  them  an  injustice.  Moreover, 
it  was  their  interest,  as  well  as  their  duty,  to  pay  their  just  debts,  and  it  was 
pure  nonsense  to  talk  any  other  way.  [Hear.]  In  conclusion,  he  expressed 
his  hope  that  the  event  which  had  called  them  together,  and  which  had  excited 
such  universal  sorrow,  would  be  the  starting  point  from  which  to  establish  ami 
cable  relations  between  this  country  and  America — amicable  relations  in  their 
truest  and  widest  sense — from  which  both  should  march,  treading  down  all 
past  prejudices,  to  an  honorable  and  lasting  peace  and  unity,  and  from  which  to 
inaugurate  the  natural  alliance,  the  most  powerful  combination  the  world  ever 
knew — not  for  tyranny,  but  for  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  mankind  through 
out  the  world.  [Cheers.] 

Mr.  II.  T.  PAKKER  seconded  the  resolution.  He  made  a  very  able  speech, 
hopefully  picturing  the  future  of  America. 

Mr.  R.  STURGIS,  in  moving  the  next  resolution,  remarked  that  an  address  of 
sympathy  had  that  day  emanated  from  the  Bank  of  England  and  passed  through 
city  circles  preparatory  to  being  placed  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Adams.  He  also 
stated  that  had  that  gentleman  been  well  enough  in  health,  Mr.  Peabody,  whose 
noble  heart  and  liberal  hand  has  spread  blessings  over  both  lands,  [cheers,] 
would  have  occupied  his  place.  He  then  proceeded  to  show  that  it  was  the 
interest  as  much  of  England  as  of  America  to  cling  closely  to  each  other.  The 
two  countries  had  not  only  a  common  lineage  and  common  language,  but  a  com 
mon  heart :  and  whatever  differences  of  sentiment  existed  as  to  the  issue  of  the 
present  conflict,  the  heart  was  found  in  the  right  place  when  such  a  crime  as 
this  occurred.  There  was  not  one  single  throb  on  the  American  side  but  what 
had  a  corresponding  movement  on  the  English  side.  [Applause.] 

Mr.  E.  M.  FISHKU  seconded  the  resolution. 

Mr.  CYRUS  FIELD  proposed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  his  excellency  the  chair 
man.  In  doing  so,  he  remarked  that  just  before  he  left  America  for  this 
country  he  had  an  interview  with  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  he  was  convinced,  from 
what  then  transpired,  as  well  as  by  what  he  knew  of  his  character  and  policy, 
that  he  heartily  desired  peace  in  America,  and  America  to  be  at  peace  with  all 
the  world  [Applause.] 

The  CHAIRMAN  said  it  was  a  great  comfort  and  pleasure  to  him  to  meet  so 
many  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  and  to  perceive,  as  he  did,  such  unanimity  of 
sentiment  on  the  melancholy  subject  which  had  brought  them  together. 

The  meeting  then  dispersed. 


LONDON,  Saturday,  April  29,  1865. 

SIR:  We,  the  undersigned,  Mauritian  colored  gentlemen,  resident  in 
London,  assembled  in  committee,  have  resolved  to  send  this  address  to  the 
representative  of  the  United  States  in  England,  as  the  tribute  of  our  warm 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       369 

admiration  for  the  patriotic  deeds  of  the  Chief  American  Magistrate,  whose 
assassination  has  horrified  the  civilized  world. 

We,  colored  men,  natives  of  Mauritius,  have  placed  an  implicit  faith  in  all 
those  liberal  views  of  the  late  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'S  government,  acting  as 
barriers  against  the  lawless  attempts  of  a  slave-holding  community  to  destroy 
the  glorious,  free,  and  united  republic  of  George  Washington. 

Be  assured,  sir,  that  by  expressing  our  abhorrence  of  the  murder  of  Mr. 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  we  echo  the  opinion  of  our  colored  brethren  in  Mauritius. 
The  fiend-like  assassin  who  cruelly  butchered  your  late  illustrious  President 
at  the  time  when  the  Union  armies  were  successful  everywhere  and  the  slave 
empire  was  crumbling  to  the  dust,  has  not  only  deprived  the  United  States  of 
one  of  its  noblest  citizens,  of  one  of  its  most  virtuous  patriots,  but  also  the 
suffering  and  enslaved  colored  race  living  in  abjectness  in  your  country  of  their 
kind  and  stanch  protector. 

We  beg,  sir,  that  you  will  convey  to  the  authorities  of  your  great  and  free 
republic  the  expression  of  our  sentiments  of  admiration  for  the  chivalrous  con 
duct   of  your  late  lamented  and  deeply  regretted  President    in  the  hour  of 
triumph,  and  of  our  feelings  of  horror  and  disgust  on  hearing  of  his  assassination. 
We  subscribe  ourselves,  yours,  obediently, 

POLYXENES  VAUDAGNE,  President. 
TH.  LIONEL  JENKINS,  Vice-President. 
J.  D.  MURRAY. 
DUBOIS. 
E.  VAUDAGNE. 
ARTHUR  BENERS 
His  Excellency  Mr.  ADAMS, 

American  Ambassador  of  the  United  States. 


LONDON,  April  27,  1865. 

SIR  :  We,  the  undersigned,  speaking  the  feelings  of  a  large  number  of 
Germans  resident  in  England,  express  our  sincere  grief  at  the  destruction  of  the 
life  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  whose  very  forbearance  and  leniency 
in  the  hour  of  national  triumph  has  not  been  able  to  stay  the  hands  of  assassins. 

Whilst  deeply  deploring  that  the  joy  we  have  felt  at  the  recent  victories  of 
the  American  republic  should  thus  be  marred  by  the  untimely  and  violent  death 
of  its  Chief  Magistrate,  we  firmly  trust  that  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
who  have  carried  on  during  four  years  a  gigantic  war  in  the  cause  of  freedom 
and  civilization,  will  only  feel  nerved  to  further  exertions  in  rooting  out  the 
hateful  institutions  from  which  the  slaveholders'  rebellion,  with  all  its  attendant 
crimes,  has  sprung. 

47 


370  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

We  beg  you,  sir,  to  convey  these  sympathetic  sentiments  of  ours  to  the 
authorities  of  your  free  arid  great  republic,  and  we  subscribe  ourselves  yours 
obediently, 

KARL  BLIND. 
A.  HEINTZMANN. 
P.  H.  BERNDES. 
FERDINAND  FREILIGRATH. 
ERNST  ZUCH. 
E.  G.  RAVENSTEIN. 
NICOLAUS  TRUBNER. 
GOTTFRIED  KINKEL. 
His  Excellency  Mr.  ADAMS, 

United  States  Ambassador  in  London. 


SIR  :  We,  the  undersigned,  merchants  and  others  of  the  Greek  race  resi 
dent  in  London,  have  heard  with  the  profoundest  regret  of  the  cruel  assassination 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  your  great  republic. 

When  we  ourselves  were  struggling  for  our  freedom  against  our  oppressors, 
no  nation  was  more  generous  in  its  sympathy  for  our  cause  than  the  great  free 
republic  of  the  west :  gratitude,  therefore,  as  well  as  every  feeling  of  humanity, 
calls  upon  us  to  express  to  your  excellency,  and  through  you  to  the  people  which 
you  so  worthily  represent,  the  intense  feelings  of  horror  and  abhorrence  with 
which  we  have  heard  of  the  unprovoked  and  unprecedented  crime  and  of  our 
sincere  and  heartfelt  wishes  and  prayers  for  the  future  well-being  and  prosperity 
of  your  great  and  glorious  people. 

A.  A.  RALLI, 

9  Grace  Church  street. 
M.  E.  MAVROCORDATO. 
DEM.  F.  RANA. 
ALEXANDER  BALLI. 

AND  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  ELEVEN  OTHER  NAMES. 

His  Excellency  Mr.  ADAMS, 

Ambassador  of  the  United  States. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  Welsh  residents  in  London. 

SYMPATHY   WITH   AMERICA. 

At  a  meeting  of  Welsh  residents  in  London,  held  at  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  institution,  Aldersgate  street,  on  Monday,  the  8th  of  May, 
the  Rev.  Owen  Thomas,  Jewin  Crescent,  in  the  chair,  the  following  resolutions 
were  unanimously  adopted : 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       371 

I.  Moved  by  Rev.  Henry  Richard,  seconded  by  J.  Owen,  esq.,  Holloway 
and  supported  by  Rev.  W.  Reesr  Liverpool : 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  utter  abhorrence  of  the 
execrable  crime  by  which  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United 
States,  was  stricken  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  at  a  time  so  inexpressibly 
critical  and  momentous  in  the  history  of  that  country,  while  it  cordially  joins  in 
the  tribute  of  admiration  so  universally  paid  to  the  many  admirable  ([Utilities  of 
the  deceased  statesman,  the  honesty,  simplicity,  and  firmness  of  his  character, 
the  rare  self-control  which  he  showed  amid  the  excitement  of  conflict,  and  the 
moderation  and  mercy  with  which  he  was  prepared  to  use  the  advantages  of 
victory. 

II.  Moved  by  Mr.   John   Griffith,  seconded   by  Mr.  J.  Williams,  London 
city  mission,  supported  by  Dr.  Nicholas,  Dr.  Rees,  Swansea,  Rev.  W.  Lloyd, 
Aldcrsgate  street,  and  Thomas  Williams,  esq.,  Pendarran  : 

Resolved,  That  the  meeting  would  convey  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  the  assurance  of  its  profound  sympathy  under  the  appalling  calamity  that 
has  overtaken  them,  and  earnestly  hopes  they  will  not  suffer  themselves  to 
be  driven,  even  by  the  supreme  atrocity  of  this  act,  from  the  disposition,  so 
honorable  to  their  national  character,  which  they  had  previously  displayed,  to 
act  towards  their  vanquished  brethren  in  the  spirit  of  true  Christian  kindness 
and  conciliation. 

III.  Moved  by  Rev.  J.  Kilsby  Jones,  seconded  by  Rev.  H.  C.  Parry,  sup 
ported  by  Rev'ds  W.  Edwards  Aberdare,  D.  Davies,  London,  and   D.  Row 
lands,  B.  A.,  Llanbrynnmair : 

Resolved,  That  the  meeting  would  further  record  the  expression  of  its 
respectful  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  the  midst  of  the  awful  affliction  that 
has  befallen  her,  and  trusts  that  she  may  be  enabled  to  find  solace  in  the 
thought  that  the  father  of  the  fatherless  and  the  judge  of  the  widow  is  God  in 
his  holy  habitation. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting : 

OWEN  THOMAS,  Chairmen. 


His  Excellency  lion.  CHARLES  F.  ADAMS  : 

SIR:  We,  on  behalf  of  our  countrymen  resident  here,  hasten  to  tender, 
through  you,  to  the  American  people,  our  profound  sympathy  with  them  under 
the  heavy  affliction  they  have  sustained  in  being  deprived  of  their  deeply 
lamented  and  much  beloved  President. 

We  fondly  hoped  that  he  would  have  enjoyed  for  the  full  term  that  position 
and  those  honors  which  a  grateful  country  had  conferred  on  him,  and  that,  in 
the  increased  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  United  States,  he  would  have 


372  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

seen  the  desires  of  his  great  and  generous  soul  realized  and  continued  on  a  scale 
commensurate  with  the  high  destiny  and  splendid  fortunes  of  the  American 
republic. 

It  must  be  consoling,  under  this  bereavement,  to  recall  that  it  was  reserved 
for  him  to  see  his  country  emerge,  great  and  glorious,  from  the  perils  which 
menaced  her  existence  as  a  nation,  and  thus  disappoint  the  anticipations  of 
those  who  desired  her  dismemberment. 

We  feel  proud  that  our  countrymen  have  contributed  to  this  great  result, 
and  proved,  by  their  fidelity  and  heroism,  that  valor  and  gratitude  are  among 
the  many  virtues  which  Irishmen  cultivate  and  extend  to  their  friends  and 
benefactors  in  whatever  position  they  may  be  placed,  whether  in  social  or 
military  life. 

As  good  citizens,  they  have  been  true  to  the  national  cause,  and  we  refer, 
with  especial  satisfaction,  to  those  among  them  whose  names  will  enter  into 
the  history  of  your  great  republic,  associated  with  its  principles,  hallowed  by 
its  sacrifices,  and  identified  with  its  glory. 

We  beg  you,  sir,  to  be  the  interpreter  of  our  feelings  to  the  American 
people,  and  to  assure  them  that  our  attachment  has  been  unalterable,  neither 
springing  from  expediency  nor  inspired  by  self-interest,  but  that  it  is  the  warm 
impulse  of  a  people  whose  generous  sensibilities  are  among  the  most  prominent 
of  their  national  characteristics. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  a  meeting  of  the  Irishmen  of  London,  held  at  the 
Aruudel  Hall,  Arundel  street,  Strand,  on  Monday,  the  1st  of  May,  1865. 

O'DONOGHUE,  M.  P.,  WALTER  M.  O'DWYER. 

JOHN  FRANCIS  O'DONNELL.         FRANCIS  SCANNELL. 

RICHARD  ARCHER.  JAMES  W.  GILLIGAN. 

WILLIAM  DOYLE.  FRANCIS  J.  MORAN. 

ROBERT  E.  MURRAY.  C.  SAVAN  DUFFY. 

P.  B.  HALL. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  corporation  of  the  city  of  London,  in  the  province  of 
Canada,  held  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1865, 
the  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That,  in  view  of  the  lamentable  occurrence  which  has  taken 
place  in  the  neighboring  nation  of  the  United  States,  by  which  their  Chief 
Magistrate  has  been  deprived  of  life  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  we,  the  corpora 
tion  of  the  city  of  London,  deem  it  incumbent  upon  us  to  offer  to  our  sorrow 
ing  neighbors  this  expression  of  our  sympathy  for  the  great  loss  they  have 
sustained,  and  our  abhorrence  of  the  act  by  which  they  have  been  made  to 
suffer. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       373 

In  testimony  whereof,  I,  David  Glass,  esq.,  mayor  of  the  said  city  of  Lon 
don,  have  hereunto  set  my  hand,  and  caused  to  be  affixed  the  corporate  seal  of 
the  said  city,  on  this  eighteenth  day  of  April,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  DA\7ID  GLASS,  Mayor. 


Resolutions  adopted  at  a  large  public  meeting,  held  in  tlie  city  of  London,  Canada 
West,  on  Wednesday,  the  19 th  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1865. 

First.  That  we,  the  citizens  of  London,  Canada  West,  in  public  meeting 
assembled,  at  the  hour  when  the  solemn  obsequies  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  are 
being  performed  at  Washington,  are  moved  by  our  common  feelings  of  humanity 
and  our  regard  for  the  American  people  to  express  our  profound  sorrow  at  the 
sudden  and  mournful  death  of  the  late  excellent  and  humane  President  of  the 
neighboring  and  friendly  republic ;  and  we  hereby  record  our  heartfelt  sym 
pathy  with  the  nation  that  has  been  visited  by  such  an  appalling  calamity,  with 
the  widow  and  other  relatives  of  the  deceased  President,  who  are  plunged  into 
grief  by  his  assassination,  and  with  the  Hon.  W.  II.  Seward  and  his  family  in 
the  barbarous  cruelty  inflicted  on  his  person. 

Second.  That  we  regard  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  the 
attempted  assassination  of  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward,  whoever  were  the  agents 
and  whatever  were  their  motives,  as  most  cowardly,  bloody,  and  diabolical 
crimes,  a  daring  and  lawless  outrage  on  humanity,  and  a  lasting  disgrace  to  the 
civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Third.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  signed,  in  name  of  this  meeting, 
by  the  chairman  and  secretary,  be  forwarded  through  the  proper  channel  to 
Andrew  Johnson,  President  of  the  United  States,  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  widow  of 
the  lamented  late  President,  and  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State. 

DAVID  GLASS,  Mayor. 

WARREN  ROCK,  Secretary. 


Address  of  tke  Board  of  Trade  of  the  city  of  London,  Canada    West,  to  Mr. 

Johnson. 

OFFICE  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  TRADE, 

London,  C.  W.,  April  19,  1865. 

The  Board  of  Trade  of  the  city  of  London,  Canada  West,  desire  to  express 
their  deep  sympathy  with  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States,  in 
the  great  loss  the  nation  has  sustained  by  the  untimely  death  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  their  late  President,  who  has  fallen  in  the  prime  and  vigor  of  life  by 
the  hand  of  an  assassin.  They  feel  that  the  act  is  one  deserving  the  deepest 


874  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

execration  of  all  civilized  communities,  and  that  at  this  critical  period  of  the 
history  of  the  United  States,  it  is  a  great  calamity  to  the  government  and  people 
of  that  country  and  to  the  whole  civilized  world  The  Board  of  Trade  also 
desire  respectfully  to  offer  their  condolence  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  family, 
and  hope  that  with  the  blessing  of  God  they  will  be  sustained  under  this  trying 
bereavement. 

CHARLES  JAMES  POPE,  President. 
THOMAS  CHURCHER,  Secretary. 

ANDREW  JOHNSOJW, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


At  the  half-yearly  general  meeting  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  Com 
pany  of  Canada,  held  at  the  London  Tavern,  London,  on  Thursday,  the  27th  of 
April,  1865,  Edward  W.  Watkin,  esq.,  M.  P.,  in  the  chair,  it  was  moved  by 
Mr.  Fildes,  seconded  by  Mr.  Champness,  and  carried  unanimously,  in  solemn 
silence — 

That  this  meeting  of  holders  of  property,  much  of  which  is  protected  by 
the  laws  and  institutions  of  the  United  States,  desires  to  express  its  horror  and 
detestation  of  the  crime  of  assassination  by  which  the  invaluable  life  of  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN  has  been  sacrificed,  and  that  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward  placed  in 
extreme  jeopardy,  and  to  record  its  conviction  that  a  grievous  loss  has  thereby 
been  occasioned  not  only  to  the  United  States,  but  to  the  civilized  world  at  large. 

Certified  copy : 

EDWARD  W.  WATKIN,  President. 

JOHN  W.  GRANT,  Secretary. 


We,  the  local  board  of  health  for  the  town  and  district  of  Luton,  in  the 
county  of  Bedford,  do  hereby  desire  to  record  the  expression  of  sorrow  which 
we  and  this  town  and  district  have  deeply  felt  since  informed  of  the  diabolical 
assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  a  deed  the  nature  of  which  has  excited  and 
must  continue  to  excite  the  indignation  of  all  right-minded  people. 

We  strongly  unite  with  the  rest  of  our  countrymen  in  the  expression  of 
our  sympathy  and  good  feeling,  which  we  always  have,  and  shall  ever  entertain 
towards  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  more  so  at  the  present 
juncture,  when  we  contemplate  the  fearful  trials  and  difficulties  which  have 
been  placed  in  their  way,  but  which  can  only  retard  for  a  very  brief  period  that 
great  work  of  civilization-and  progress  which  has  eminently  characterized  them. 
Sprung  from  the  same  nation,  there  always  will  be  a  strong  manifestation  of 
interest  with  the  people  of  this  country  in  American  affairs,  and  upon  every 
matter  which  will  advance  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  the  American  people. 


EXPRESSIONS    OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  375 

We,  the  said  local  board  of  the  town  and  district  of  Luton,  do  hereby  like 
wise  most  sincerely  condole  with,  and  beg  to  express  our  sincere  and  heartfelt 
sympathy  with,  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  family  in  their  great  and  irreparable  loss, 
and  humbly  hope  that  an  inscrutable  Providence  may  support  them  under  the 
very  heavy  trial  which  they  are  now  undergoing,  and  which  we  hope  and  pray 
may  be  overruled  for  their  and  their  country's  good. 

Given  under  our  hand  and  official  seal  this  5th  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1865. 

[SEAL.]  WILLIAM  T.  PLEDGE,  Chairman. 

SAMUEL  TOYN. 
A.  V.  WEBSTER, 
FREDERICK  PRAIMAN 
JAMES  HIGGINS. 
JNO.  AMBERLAND. 
Countersigned: 

GEORGE  BAILEY, 
[SEAL.]  Clerk  of  the  said  Local  Boatd. 


At  Leith,  tne  second  day  of  May,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
five,  which  day  the  honorable  the  provost  magistrates  and  council  of  the  bor 
ough  of  Leith  being  assembled,  unanimously  resolved  to  record  their  abhorrence 
of  the  atrocious  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  their  deepest  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United  States 
under  the  calamity  which  has  befallen  them. 

Extracted  from  the  council  records  by — 

H.  H.  COUPE R,  Town  Clerk. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Leith  Chamber  of  Commerce,  incorporated  by  royal 
charter,  held  the  2d  day  of  May,  1865,  the  following  resolution  was  moved  by 
John  Warrack,  esq.,  chairman  of  the  chamber,  seconded  by  Adolph  Robinow, 
esq.,  and  unanimously  adopted  : 

The  Leith  Chamber  of  Commerce  desire  to  join  with  all  classes  of  their 
countrymen  in  expressing  their  indignation,  horror,  and  sorrow  at  the  assassina 
tion  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  resolve  to  communicate  to  the  American  people 
and  government  the  sympathy  of  the  chamber  for  the  loss  which  is  felt,  not 
by  the  United  States  alone,  but  by  the  whole  civilized  world. 

The  secretary  was  instructed  to  transmit  a  copy  of  the  above  resolution  to 
his  Excellency  Mr.  Adams,  the  United  States  minister  in  London. 

Signed  in  name  and  by  authority  of  the  chamber : 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  WARRACK,  Chairman. 


376  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

METHODIST  NEW  CONNECTION  CONFERENCE, 

Assembled  at  Lynden,  C.  W.,  June  13,  1865. 

Resolution  109:  That  we,  as  a  branch  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  beg  to 
express  our  feelings  of  detestation  and  abhorrence  at  the  spirit  that  planned, 
and  the  monster  in  human  form  who  perpetrated,  the  foul  act  of  assassinating 
the  honored  late  President  of  the  United  States ;  and  while  we  thus  give  utter 
ance  to  our  deep  feelings  of  sympathy  with  his  bereaved  family  and  nation,  most 
earnestly  would  we  pray  that  the  day  may  never  come  when  such  scenes  of 
horror  shall  be  repeated  in  any  nation ;  that  human  slavery  may  soon  be 
brought  permanently  to  an  end ;  and  that  the  commercial  interests  and  bonds 
of  Christian  brotherhood  which  now  so  closely  unite  the  American  and  British 
nations  may  never  be  lessened 

110.  That  the  secretary  of  this  conference  transmit  a  copy  of  the  above 
resolution  to  the  American  Secretary  of  State. 

[SEAL.]  WILLIAM  TINDALL, 

Secretary  of  Conference. 


Resolution  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Margate. 

We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Margate,  in  the 
county  of  Kent,  learn  with  deep  regret  the  death  of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  by  the  hand  of  a  cowardly 
assassin,  and  desire  to  express  our  warmest  sympathy  with  the  American 
nation  at  so  lamentable  and  horrible  an  event,  which  has  deprived  the  people 
of  the  greatest  ornament  of  their  country,  and  the  world  of  one  of  the  best 
friends  of  humanity. 

Given  under  our  common  seal  the  second  day  of  May,  A.  D.  1865. 

[SEAL.]  THOMAS  H.  KEBLE,  Mayor, 

WM.  BROOKE,  Town  Clerk. 


Resolution  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Morpeth. 

Resolution  passed  at  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  council  of  this  borough,  on 
the  fourth  day  of  May,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-five: 

"  That  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  councillors  of  Morpeth  desire  to  express 
their  feelings  of  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the  assassination  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  at  the  attempt  to  obtain  the  life  of  his  chief 
Secretary,  Mr.  Seward." 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       377 

Resolution  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Macclesfield. 

At  an  assembly  of  the  council  of  the  said  borough,  held  at  the  Town  Hall 
there  on  Thursday,  the  fourth  day  of  May,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-five — 

Resolved,  That  this  council  embraces  the  earliest  opportunity  (before  pro 
ceeding  with  the  business  of  this  day)  of  expressing  its  deep  and  profound 
sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  the  government  and  people  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  in  the  melancholy  bereavement  they  have  sustained  in  the 
brutal  and  cowardly  assassination  of  Mr.  President  LINCOLN,  and  begs  to  record 
its  horror  and  abhorrence  of  so  malignant  and  atrocious  a  crime. 

That  the  mayor  be  respectfully  requested  to  communicate  this  resolution 
to  his  excellency  Mr.  Adams,  the  minister  of  the  United  States,  and  to  desire 
that  he  will  be  pleased  to  transmit  the  same  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

[SEAL.]  JAMES  JACKSON,  Mayor.  • 


Extracts  from  the  minutes  of  the  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  borougli  of 
Maidstone,  in  the  county  of  Kent,  field  at  the  Town,  Hall  on  Wednesday,  the 
10/A  day  of  May,  1865 

Ordered,  That  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of 
Maidstone  view  with  horror  and  indignation  the  atrocious  assassination  of  the 
late  President  of  the  United  States,  and  desire  to  express  their  unmitigated 
regret  at  the  commission  of  so  foul  and  unprovoked  a  crime. 

Ordered,  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  forthwith  transmitted 
by  the  town  clerk  to  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  ambassador  in  London. 

Given  under  the  corporate  seal  of  the  said  borough,  this  10th  day  of  May, 
1865.  , 

[SEAL.]  CHARLES  ELLIS,  Ju.,  Mayor. 


His  Excellency  Hon.  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

of  the  Unite<l  States,  London  : 

We,  the  mayor  and  corporation  of  the  borough  of  Maldon,  in  council  assem 
bled,  desire  to  express  through  you  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  of 
America  the  feelings  of  sorrow  and  indignation  with  which  we  have  received 
intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN. 

18 


378  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Our  regret  at  his  untimely  end,  at  a  moment  when  his  life  appeared  to  be 
of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  welfare  of  the  state,  is  greatly  increased  by  the 
recollection  of  his  well-known  character,  but  especially  by  the  just  and  friendly 
sentiments  he  entertained  towards  England,  and  we  venture  to  hope  that  the 
general  expression  of  horror  which  his  violent  death  has  excited  throughout  our 
land  will  show  to  the  American  people  that  England  reciprocates  these  feel 
ings  of  kindness  and  good  will  to  their  fullest  extent. 

We  also  beg  to  offer  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  our  respectful  sympathy  in  her 
afflicting  bereavement,  and  we  trust  she  will  find  great  consolation  in  the 
thought  that  the  memory  of  the  late  President  will  long  be  affectionately 
cherished  by  the  people  who  twice  chose  him  to  fill  the  highest  office  in  the 
land. 

Given  under  our  common  seal  this  9th  day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  JAMES  BARRITT,  Mayor. 


Hon.  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS. 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

of  the  United  States  of  America 

May  it  please  your  excellency  :  We,  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  members 
of  council  of  the  burgh  of  Musselburgh,  in  Scotland,  participating  as  we  do  in 
the  feeling  of  distress  universally  existing  in  this  nation  on  account  of  the 
atrocious  crime  which  has  been  committed  in  the  country  which  you  represent, 
by  the  assassination  of  its  Chief  Magistrate,  grievously  aggravated  by  its  being 
perpetrated  on  one  of  sucli  commanding  talents  and  estimable  qualities  as 
President  LINCOLN  unquestionably  possessed,  deeply  sympathize  with  the  great 
people  of  whom  he  was  the  head,  and  especially  with  the  lady  who  has  by  this 
foul  deed  been  so  unexpectedly  and  sadly  rendered  a  widow,  as*vell  as  with 
the  family  who  have  been  deprived  of  their  honored  parent. 

We  embrace  also  this  opportunity  to  express  our  regards  towards  your 
excellency,  and  remain  yours,  very  faithfully, 

GEORGE  LAURIE, 
Provost  and  Chief  Magistrate. 

Signed  in  name  and  on  behalf  of  the  town  council  of  the  burgh  of  Mussel- 
burgh,  and  the  seal  of  the  burgh  affixed,  upon  this  llth  day  of  May,  1865 : 
[SEAL.]  GEORGE  LAURIE, 

Provost  and  Chief  Magistrate  of  Musselburgh. 
THOMAS  LEES,  Town  Clerk. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        379 

At  Montrose,  the  3d  day  of  May,  1865,  the  which  day  the  magistrates  and 
town  council  met  and  convened  in  council,  William  Mitchell,  esq.,  provost,  in 
the  chair,  the  following  resolution  was  proposed  by  the  provost  and  unanimously 
agreed  to : 

The  magistrates  and  town  councillors  of  the  royal  burgh  of  Montrose,  in 
the  county  of  Forfar,  having  heard  with  profound  regret  and  horror  of  the 
cowardly  assassination  of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  have  resolved  to  express  their  abhorrence  and 
detestation  of  the  cold-blooded  and  murderous  deed,  and  their  sincere  and 
earnest  sympathy  and  condolence  with  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in 
being  thus  bereft  of  the  services  of  a  man  whose  honest  devotion  to  what  he 
considered  the  principles  of  right  and  justice  had  won  for  him  an  eminent 
name  and  position  in  the  world's  history.  The  council  further  desire  that  a 
copy  of  this  minute,  signed  by  the  provost  and  chief  magistrate,  and  having  the 
corporation  seal  affixed,  be  forwarded  to  his  excellency  Mr.  Adams,  the  United 
States  minister  in  London,  to  be  communicated  to  the  proper  quarter. 

[SEAL.]  WM.  MITCHELL, 

Provost  and  Chief  Magistrate. 


CITY  OF  MANCHESTER. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  this  city,  held  the  3d  day  of  May,  1865, 
it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  council  seizes  the  first  opportunity  which 
has  arisen  since  the  painful  intelligence  was  received,  to  record  the  feelings  of 
horror  and  of  indignation,  as  well  as  of  deep  sorrow,  with  which  they  have 
heard  of  the  cruel  and  cold-blooded  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  to 
express  their  sincere  sympathy  with  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  in  the 
grievous  loss  which  they  have  thereby  sustained. 

That  the  mayor  be  respectfully  requested  to  communicate  this  resolution 
to  his  excellency  Mr.  Adams,  the  minister  of  the  United  States,  with  the  assur 
ance  that,  in  the  opinion  of  this  council,  the  sentiments  therein  expressed  are 
entirely  in  accordance  with  the  feelings  universally  entertained  by  the  inhabit 
ants  of  this  city,  and  to  desire  that  his  excellency  will  be  pleased  to  transmit 
the  same  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

J.  M.  BENNETT,  Mayor. 

JOSEPH  HERVEY,  Towti  Clerk. 


380  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  citizens  of  Manchester. 

ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  this  city,  convened  by  the  mayor, 
and  held  in  the  Town  Hall,  King  street,  on  Thursday,  the  4th  day  of  May, 
1865 — J.  M.  Bennett,  esq.,  mayor,  iu  the  chair — it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  citizens  of  Manchester,  now  assembled, 
desire  to  express  their  horror  and  detestation  of  the  deplorable  crime  which 
has  resulted  in  the  violent  death  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  American 
republic,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  of  the  attempt  to  murder  Mr.  Seward  and 
some  members  of  his  family,  and  they  desire  most  earnestly  and  respectfully  to 
convey  to  the  authorities  of  the  United  States  their  deep  sympathy  with  the 
American  people  in  the  heavy  loss  they  have  sustained. 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  meeting  desires  most  respectfully  to  pre 
sent  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  its  sincere  sympathy  and  condolence  on  the  melancholy 
loss  she  has  sustained  in  the  death  qf  her  husband. 

Resolved,  That  the  mayor  be  requested  to  transmit  the  resolutions  this 
day  adopted  to  his  excellency  the  Hon.  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  minister  at 
the  court  of  St.  James,  London. 

J.  M.  BENNETT,  Mayor. 


Resolutions  of  sympathy  with  the  Hon.  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State, 

Washington. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  citizens  of  Manchester,  held  in  the  Free  Trade 
Hall,  April  28,  1865,  to  express  sympathy  and  condolence  with  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  the  American  nation  on  the  assassination  of  the  late  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  : 

Moved  by  Dr.  John  Watts,  seconded  by  Mr.  Edward  Hooson — 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  also  desires  to  record  an  expression  of  pro 
found  sympathy  with  the  Hon.  William  H.  Seward  and  the  members  of  his 
family,  in  regard  to  the  atrocious  attempt  to  assassinate  that  distinguished  and 
able  statesman  while  lying  in  a  helpless  condition  on  a  bed  of  sickness ;  and 
this  meeting  earnestly  hopes  that  the  foul  attempt  may  not  have  proved  success 
ful,  but  that  Mr.  Seward  may  soon  be  restored  to  health  and  vigor,  to  render 
efficient  service  in  the  government  of  his  great  nation  under  a  restored  Union 
based  on  the  eternal  principles  of  freedom,  justice,  and  equal  rights  to  men  of 
all  races. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting: 

FRANCIS  TAYLOR,  Chairman. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF  CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  381 

His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America  : 

The  board  of  directors  of  the  Manchester  Chamber  of  Commerce  desire  to 
convey  to  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  the 
most  emphatic  terms,  the  expression  of  their  horror  and  indignation  at  the 
dastardly  assassination  of  the  late  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  republic,  as  also-  at 
the  murderous  assault  made  upon  Mr.  Secretary  Seward  and  his  son ;  and  they 
desire  to  assure  the  American  people  that  those  diabolical  outrages  have  evoked 
sentiments  of  the  deepest  execration  from  all  classes  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

The  directors  of  the  chamber  further  desire  most  respectfully  to  express 
towards  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  other  members  of  her  sorrowing  family,  their  pro 
found  sympathy  and  condolence  under  the  heavy  affliction  which  has  befallen 
them. 

Signed  for  and  on  behalf  of  the  directors : 

MALCOM  ROSS,  President. 

HUGH  FLEMING,  Secretary. 


Address  of  the  Union  and  'Emancipation  Society  of  Manchester  to  Mr.  Johnson. 

SIR  :  We  have  heard  with  profound  regret  that  your  late  distinguished 
President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  has  fallen  a  victim  to  a  vile  conspiracy,  and  that 
he  has  been  suddenly  removed  from  your  midst  by  the  hands  of  a,  cowardly 
assassin. 

We  have  watched  his  career  from  the  period  of  his  election  in  1860  down 
to  his  lamented  death,  as  well  through  all  the  darkest  hours  of  the  struggle  in 
which  your  country  has  been  engaged  as  at  the  time  when  success  seemed  to 
be  within  his  grasp,  and  we  have  ever  recognized  in  him  a  self-denying  patriot 
ism,  a  devotion  to  the  principles  of  right  and  justice,  and  a  determination  to 
surmount,  by  constitutional  means,  every  obstacle  which  stood  in  the  way  of 
the  final  triumph  of  those  principles.  His  unswerving  faith  never  forsook  him 
in  the  hour  of  depression  and  gloom,  and  he  has  left  behind  him  a  noble  exam 
ple  of  magnanimity  and  moderation  in  the  hour  of  victory,  which  cannot  fail  to 
secure  the  admiration  of  the  whole  civilized  world. 

Elected  on  the  basis  of  a  limitation  of  the  area  of  slavery  in  the  United 
States,  he  gradually  and  cautiously  developed  an  anti-slavery  policy,  which 
resulted  in  the  issue  of  an  emancipation  proclamation,  by  which  every  slave  in 
the  rebel  States  is  now  free ;  and  he  lived  to  see  adopted  by  Congress  an 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  abolishing  forever  slavery  in  the  United  States. 

He  has  not  been  permitted  to  witness  the  final  achievement  of  this  great 
work,  but  his  name  will  ever  be  associated  in  history  with  the  removal  of  this 
dark  stain  from  your  national  escutcheon. 


382  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

It  is  not  alone  or  chiefly  on  grounds  of  philanthropy  that  we  have  sympa 
thized  in  his  objects  and  aims.  From  the  period  when  we  beheld  a  section  of 
your  community,  when  defeated  at  the  ballot-box,  appealing  to  the  arbitrament 
of  the  sword,  without  even  the  pretence  of  a  grievance,  excepting  the  alleged 
danger  to  the  institution  of  slavery,  we  regarded  free  constitutional  government 
as  on  its  trial,  and  we  have  viewed  with  unvarying  satisfaction  the  uniform  con 
sistency  with  which  he  always  upheld  the  maintenance  of  the  Union  as  para 
mount  to  every  other  consideration. 

In  the  recollection  of  these  things  we  desire  now,  through  you,  to  express 
our  deep  sympathy  with  your  loyal  fellow-citizens  in  the  grievous  loss  you  have 
sustained — a  loss  which,  at  this  important  crisis  in  your  country's  history,  can 
not  fail  to  produce  serious  and  anxious  concern. 

In  the  midst  of  gloom,  however,  we  are  consoled  by  the  reflection  that  the 
world  is  ruled  by  principles,  not  by  men ;  and  that  while  the  most  distinguished 
statesmen  are  constantly  passing  away,  the  principles  which  they  have  pro 
pounded  are  immortal. 

Mr.  LINCOLN,  it  is  true,  has  departed,  but  he  has  bequeathed  to  posterity 
an  example  which  cannot  fail  to  exercise  a  powerful  influence  on  the  future  of 
your  country. 

The  Constitution  places  you  in  the  office  of  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Union 
at  a  solemn  crisis  in  your  national  affairs,  which  has  no  parallel  in  the  past 
history  of  the  nation;  but  we  cheerfully  recognize  the  fact  that  the  same  ballot 
which  secured  the  triumphant  re-election  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  also  placed  you  in 
the  distinguished  position  to  become  his  successor ;  and  our  faith  in  the  instincts 
of  a  great  people  forbids  us  to  doubt  that  the  noble  principles  which  animated 
him  will  ever  find  a  response  in  your  heart. 

For  and  on  behalf  of  the  Union  and  Emancipation  Society  of  Manchester: 

THOMAS  BAYLEY  POTTERS, 

President. 

FRANCIS  TAYLOR, 

For  self  and  other  Vice- Presidents. 

SAMUEL  WATT,  Treasurer. 
JOHN  H.  ESTCOURT, 

Chairman  of  Executive. 

JOHN  C.  EDWARD, 
EDWARD  OWEN  GREENING, 

Honorary  Secretaries. 

His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       383 

At  a  public  meeting  held  in  the  Free  Trade  Hall,  Manchester,  April  28, 
1865,  it  was  moved  by  Alderman  Hey  wood,  ex-mayor,  seconded  by  the  Rev. 
S.  A.  Steinthall,  and  passed  unanimously — 

That  the  address  to  President  Johnson,  expressive  of  sympathy  with  the 
American  people  in  the  loss  they  have  sustained  by  the  lamented  death  of 
President  LINCOLN,  be  adopted,  and  that  the  chairman  be  authorized  to  sign  it 
on  behalf  of  this  meeting. 

FRANCIS  TAYLOR,  Chairman. 


Address  of  the  Union  and  Emancipation  Society  of  Manchester  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

51  PICCADILLY,  MANCHESTER,  April  27,  1865. 

MADAM  :  It  is  not  for  us  to  invade  the  privacy  of  domestic  sorrow,  nor 
fitting  that  we  should  add  to  the  sharpness  of  your  grief  by  characterizing  as  it 
deserves  the  deed  which  has  deprived  you  of  a  husband  and  your  country  of  its 
Chief  Magistrate.  We  desire,  however,  to  express  our  deep  sympathy  with 
you  in  this  mournful  affliction,  and  our  earnest  hope  that  you  may  be  supported 
through  the  trial  by  the  consciousness  that  your  husband  though  called  to  the 
helm  in  the  midst  of  tempest  and  storm,  never  failed  to  respond  to  the  call  of 
duty,  and  that  throughout  a  period  of  unparalleled  difficulty  he  has  guided  the 
affairs  of  the  nation  in  a  manner  which  will  ever  connect  his  name  with  all 
that  is  noble,  magnanimous,  and  great  in  your  country's  history.  His  name 
will  be  associated  with  the  cause  of  human  freedom  throughout  all  time,*and 
generations  yet  unborn  will  learn  to  lisp  his  name  as  synonymous  with  liberty 
itself,  and  to  connect  the  atrocious  deed  by  which  his  career  was  closed  with 
the  expiring  throes  of  that  foul  system  of  slavery  against  which  his  life  was  a 
standing  protest,  and  the  fate  of  which  he  had  sealed. 

For  and  on  behalf  of  the  Union  and  Emancipation  Society  of  Manchester  : 

THOMAS  BAYLEY  POTTERS, 

President. 
FRANCIS  TAYLOR, 

For  self  and  other  Vice- Presidents. 

SAMUEL  WATT,  Treasurer. 
JOHN  H.  ESTCOURT, 

Chairman  of  Executive. 

JOHN  C.  EDWARD, 
EDWARD  OWEN  GREENING, 

Honorary  Secretaries. 
Mrs.  LINCOLN. 


384  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABKAHAM  LINCOLN. 

At  a  public  meeting  held  at  the  Free  Trade  Hall,  Manchester,  April  28. 
1865,  it  was  moved  by  the  Rev.  G.  W.  Conder,  seconded  by  Jacob  Bright 
esq.,  and  passed  unanimously — 

That  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  now 
read,  be  adopted,  and  that  the  chairman  be  authorized  to  sign  it  on  behalf  of 
this  meeting. 

FRANCIS  TAYLOR,  Chairman. 


At  a*  conference  of  the  British  Temperance  League,  held  in  the  city  of 
Manchester  on  the  17th  day  of  May,  1865,  Joseph  Thorp,  esq.,  in  the  chair,  on 
the  motion  of  the  Reverend  J.  C.  Street,  of  Newcastle,  seconded  by  the  Rev 
erend  William  Cain,  of  Manchester,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  conference  expresses  its  feeling  of  grief 
and  indignation  at  the  assassination  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  who  was  for  upwards  of  fifty  years  a  consistent  temperance  man, 
and  desires  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  to  the  people  of  that  country  its 
profound  sympathy  with  them  in  this  great  affliction ;  its  horror  and  detestation 
of  the  atrocious  crime  against  humanity  which  has  been  committed,  and  its 
fervent  hope  that  the  event  may  be  overruled  by  the  Almighty  for  the  preser 
vation  of  the  great  republic  and  the  complete  overthrow  of  human  slavery — 
these  being  the  objects  for  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  lived  and  worked,  and  for  fidelity 
to  which  he  died. 

JOSEPH  THORP,  President. 

WM.  J.  CLEGG, 

Secretary  to  the  Conference. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance  of  Manchester. 

27  DEVONSHIRE  STREET,  MANCHESTER. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  officers  and  representatives  of  the  twenty-nine  divisions 
under  the  Manchester  Grand  Division  of  the  Order  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance, 
England,  in  session  assembled,  April  29,  1865,  it  was — 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  Grand  Division  expresses  its  utter  abhor 
rence  at  the  revolting  and  cowardly  assassination  of  the  late  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  by  which  act  we  feel  that  America  has  lost  one  of 
its  brightest  ornaments  and  our  cause  one  of  its  noblest  champions,  and  desires 
to  offer  its  deepest  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  people  of  America  in 


EXPRESSIONS  OP  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       385 

the  sad  and  bereaving  dispensation  under  which  they  have  had  to  groan,  and 
prays  that  the  arm  of  Omnipotence  may  surround  and  sustain  them. 
Signed  on  behalf  of  the  Manchester  Grand  Division  : 
[SEAL.]  HENRY  HULME,  G.  W.  P. 

JOHN  HARRISON,  G.  S. 
Mrs.  LINCOLN  and  the  PEOPLE 

oj  the  United  States  of  America. 


Resolutions  adapted  by  the  Executive  of  the   United  Kingdom  Alliance  for  the 
Total  Suppression  of  the  Liquor  Traffic,  Manchester. 

OFFICES,  41  JOHN  DALTON  STREET, 

Manchester,  May  5,  1865. 

MADAM  :  1  am  instructed  to  convey  to  you  the  enclosed  copy  of  resolutions 
of  the  Executive  of  the  United  Kingdom  Alliance. 

In  performing  this  official  duty,  allow  me  to  add  that  no  words  can  express 
to  you  our  deep  and  tender  sympathy. 

May  God  bless  and  comfort  you  under  your  great  bereavement. 
Ever  very  faithfully  yours, 

THOS    II.  BARKER,  Secretary  U.  K.  A. 
Mrs  LINCOLN. 


Resolutions  of  sympathy  and  condolence  on  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln, 
adopted  by  the  Executive  of  the  United  Kingdom  Alliance. 

Resolved,  That  the  Executive  of  the  United  Kingdom  Alliance  for  the 
Legislative  Suppression  of  the  Liquor  Traffic  has  heard  with  feelings  of  pro 
found  horror  and  inexpressible  grief  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States  by  the  hands  of  a  reckless  murderer,  inspired  by  political  rancor. 

That  this  Executive,  while  recording  an  expression  of  its  deep  sympathy 
and  sorrowful  condolence  with  the  widow  and  nation  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
cordially  recognizes  the  great  personal  worth  and  noble  civic  virtues  of  that 
large-hearted  patriot  and  magnanimous  ruler,  twice  elected  by  the  people  as  the 
Chief  Magistrate  of  a  great  nation,  the  emancipator  of  four  million  slaves,  and 
the  savior  of  his  country  from  armed  rebellion,  anarchy,  and  ruin. 

That,  while  this  Executive  shares  most  earnestly  these  sentiments  enter 
tained  by  all  parties,  ranks,  and  classes,  it  feels  very  keenly  the  death,  by  the 
hand  of  a  murderer  moved  by  drink,  of  a  man  whose  long  adhesion  to  the  prin- 

49 


386  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

ciples  of  total  abstinence  and  prohibition,  and  whose  faithful  adherence  to  them 
even  during  the  war,  have  proved  that  to  these,  as  to  all  forms  of  enlightened 
philanthropy,  the  late  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  devoted  his 
high  intelligence  and  his  noble  heart. 

That  this  Executive  earnestly  hopes  that  the  fearful  civil  war  in  America 
has  now  ceased,  and  that  peace  will  speedily  be  proclaimed  and  permanently 
established  on  the  righteous  bases  of  union  and  nationality,  justice  and  freedom, 
with  equal  civil  and  political  rights  to  loyal  men  of  all  creeds,  races,  and  con 
ditions. 

AVILL1AM  HARVEY,  Chairman. 
SAMUEL  POPE,  Hon.  Secretary 
THOS.  H.  BARKER,  Secretary. 
MANCHESTER,  May  3,  1865. 


His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

SIR:  We,  the  inhabitants  of  Mossley,  in  public  meeting  assembled,  pray 
your  acceptance  of  our  heartfelt  condolence  at  the  heavy  loss  sustained  by  the 
government  and  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  death  of  their  truthful, 
righteous,  and  self-sacrificing  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

We  have  suffered  long  and  severely  in  consequence  of  the  cruel  war  which 
has  cursed  your  land ;  for  it  has  crippled  our  industry,  blasted  our  hopes,  and 
caused  many  of  our  sons  to  seek  a  home  among  strangers.  But  our  sufferings 
sink  into  insignificance  when  we  think  of  this  horrid  crime,  which  stands 
without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

Feeling  conscious  that  the  assassin's  blow  was  not  only  aimed  at  your  worthy 
predecessor  and  his  worthy  colleagues,  and,  through  them,  at  your  glorious  Con 
stitution,  but  also  at  the  cause  of  liberty  throughout  the  world,  we  share  your 
heavy  grief,  and  sincerely  pray  that  the  spirit  of  him  whose  name  will  be  ever 
dear  to  freedom's  worthy  sons  may  not  be  buried  with  him,  but  that  it  may 
influence  your  counsels  as  his  successor  until  the  last  remnant  of  slavery  shall 
be  annihilated  and  your  Union  cemented  by  love. 

We  are  happy  to  learn  that  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son  are  likely  to  recover. 

We  have  every  confidence  in  your  nation's  heart,  and  in  your  firmness, 
integrity,  and  heroism  as  President,  and  sincerely  hope  that  you  will  be  able  so 
to  temper  justice  with  mercy  that  the  future  of  your  country  may  be  unclouded, 

and  its  peace  unbroken. 

GEORGE  ANDREW,  Chairman. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  387 

MOSSLEY,  May  4,  1865. 

DEAR  WIDOWED  LADY  :  Permit  us,  as  subjects  of  a  widowed  Queen,  whose 
mighty  heart  and  spotless  life  have  not  only  made  our  native  land  more  dear  to 
us,  but  bid  us  long  to  see  the  reign  of  love  universal,  to  express  our  deep  sym 
pathy  with  you  in  your  great  affliction,  and  our  ardent  prayer  that  He  who 
overrules  all  events  may  fill  up  the  painful  void  in  your  heart  which  the  loss  of 
such  a  treasure  must  create,  and  so  control  the  spirits  of  men  that  your  beloved 
country  may  soon  become  what  your  beloved  husband  toiled  to  make  it — the 
abode  of  peace  and  purity,  liberty  and  love. 

We  have  suffered  deeply  in  consequence  of  your  dreadful  war.  It  has 
made  us  familiar  with  poverty  and  grief,  desolated  many  of  our  homes,  and 
blighted  many  of  our  prospects  ;  but  our  sufferings  are  nothing  to  yours. 

Dear  lady,  God  bless  you  and  yours  ! 

GEORGE  ANDREW,  Chairman. 
Mrs.  LINCOLN. 


The  address  of  the  inhabitants  of  Merthyr  Ti/dfil,  in  the  cuund/  of  Glamorgan, 

in  public  meeting  assembled. 

To  the  President  and  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America  : 

In  desiring  to  convey  to  you  our  expression  of  painful  sympathy  in  the 
heavy  loss  which  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  have  suffered 
by  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  we  express  our  unqualified  detestation  and 
execration  of  so  hideous  a  crime. 

We  are  the  more  deeply  shocked  that  the  event  has  occurred  at  a  moment 
when  the  triumph  of  the  United  States  seemed  on  the  point  of  completion  ;  and 
as  the  murderous  and  simultaneous  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward,  the  faithful  minis 
ter  of  President  LINCOLN,  who  so  well  supported  him  through  the  whole  of 
this  eventful  crisis,  betrays  the  object  of  the  crime,  we  are  constrained  to 
believe  that  their  death  was  intended  to  rob  the  people  of  the  United  States  of 
their  devotion  to  right  and  law,  and  to  postpone  the  time  when  the  long-desired 
peace  would  be  obtained. 

But  we  sincerely  hope  that  the  great  work  of  the  restoration  of  the  Union 
will  not,  by  this  deplorable  event,  suffer,  or  that  it  will  cause  it  to  be  long 
delayed.  The  death  of  him  who  so  wisely  and  efficiently  worked  for  that  great 
end  will,  we  confidently  trust,  have  only  the  more  striking  effect  of  strengthening 
the  Union  for  which  lie  died. 

In  the  invincible  respect  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  mani 
fested  for  law  and  freedom,  during  the  terrible  struggles  of  this  war,  we 
recognize  the  best  guarantee  of  a  future  obedience  to  the  authority  of  the 
government,  and  of  submission  to  the  will  of  the  people,  as  expressed  by  popu 
lar  representation. 


388  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

We  confidently  anticipate  they  will  express  most  unmistakably  that  the 
policy  of  which  their  late  President  was  the  embodiment  is  to  be  carried  out 
in  all  its  extent,  and  that  institutions  in  which  perfect  freedom  for  life,  for 
speech,  and  for  property,  will  be  extended  over  the  whole  of  the  United  States, 
so  that  integrity  and  worth,  not  color  and  class,  shall  henceforward  be  recognized 
as  the  proper  qualifications  of  those  who  govern. 

We  consider  that  the  long  services  of  Andrew  Johnson  are  sufficient  guar 
antees  that,  in  succeeding  the  late  President,  the  people  of  America  will  find  a 
man  eminently  qualified  to  carry  to  a  successful  issue  the  policy  inaugurated 
by  his  predecessor,  and  we  fervently  hope  that,  in  the  hands  of  Divine  Provi 
dence,  he  will  prove  to  be  the  humble  instrument  of  bringing  peace  and 
tranquillity  to  a  land  torn  by  warfare  and  bloodshed,  and  that  in  the  future 
relation  of  America  with  foreign  nations,  truthfulness,  honesty,  and  forbearance 
will  be  its  foremost  consideration. 

Finally  we  pray  that  the  ruthless  passions  which  have  been  engendered 
may  totally  cease,  and  that  under  a  united  people  the  remembrance  of  the 
fearful  struggles  of  civil  warfare  will  forever  be  buried  in  oblivion. 

JOHN  JONES,  High  Constable,  Chairman. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  inhabitants  of  Merthyr  Tydvil,  Wales. 

To  Mrs.  Lincoln,  widow  of  the  late  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United 

States  of  America : 

The  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  at  a  public  meeting  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Merthyr  Tydvil,  in  the  county  of  Glamorgan,  Wales : 

That  this  meeting  expresses  its  sincere  condolence  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  on 
her  sudden  and  mournful  bereavement,  and  wishes  to  convey  to  her  its  deep 
sympathy  under  her  heart-rending  trial. 

Dated  this  10th  day  of  May,  1865. 

JOHN  JONES,  High  Constable,  Chairman. 


MELBOURNE,  July  4,  18G5 — 58  Elizabeth  street. 

SIR  :  We,  the  undersigned,  on  behalf  of  the  few  remaining  Polish  and  Hun 
garian  refugees  resident  in  the  colony  of  Victoria,  beg  most  humbly  to  request 
you,  as  the  only  representative  of  the  American  United  States  government,  to 
accept  the  expression  of  our  most  deep  and  sincere  sorrow  at  the  untimely 
death,  by  a  most  cowardly  assassination,  of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
late  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

May  the  great  Providence,  which  has  chosen  to  visit  one  of  the  greatest 
nations  upon  the  earth  with  such  an  indescribable  calamity,  inspire  the  present 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       389 

and  many  generations  yet  unborn,  not  only  how  to  support  this  great  loss,  but 
to  venerate  the  sacred  memory  of  its  greatest  citizen  forever. 

We    again  beg   that  you  may  accept  this  from,  sir,  your  most    humble 
servants, 

GEORGE  G.  WOINARSKI, 
Late  Officer  in  the  Polish  and  Hungarian  Army. 

MARTIN  FARKAS, 
Late  Captain  in  the  Hungarian  Army. 
WILLIAM  BLANCHAED,  Esq., 

United  States  American  Consul,  Melbourne. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  city  of  Melbourne,  held  in  the  council 
chamber  in  the  Town  Hall,  Swanston  street,  in  the  said  city,  on  Monday,  the 
24th  day  of  July,  1865,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  this  council,  for  and  on  behalf  of  the  corporation  of  the  mayor, 
aldermen,  councillors,  and  citizens  of  the  city  of  Melbourne,  desires  to  record 
its  unmitigated  horror  and  detestation  of  the  atrocious  murder  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  the  late  President  of  the  United  States  of  America ;  to  express  its 
profound  sympathy  with  the  American  people  in  the  incalculable  loss  of  so 
great  and  good  a  citizen,  councillor  and  ruler ;  and  to  offer  its  deep  and  respect 
ful  condolence  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  under  her  most  grievous  and  terrible  bereavement. 

[SEAL.]  GEO.  WRAGGE,  Mayor. 

E.  G.  FITZ  GIBBON,  Town  Clerk. 


Extract  from  the  minutes  of  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  city  of  Montreal, 
held  on  Wednesday,  the  Wth  day  of  April,  1865. 

Present :  his  worship  the  mayor,  J.  L.  Beaudry,  esq. ;  Aldermen  Grenier, 
Rodden,  Contant,  Gorrie,  David  Rolland,  Stevenson,  McC ready ;  Councillors 
McGibbon,  Devlin,  Lamoureux,  Goyette,  McNevin,  Higginson,  McGauvran, 
Leduc,  Donovan,  Alexander,  Ogilvie,  Brown,  Isaacson,  Cassidy,  Bastien. 

Before  proceeding  to  business,  his  worship  the  mayor  stated  that  since  the 
meeting  was  called  a  great  calamity  had  befallen  the  American  people  in  the 
assassination  of  their  Chief  Magistrate,  and  his  worship  submitted  to  the  meet 
ing  whether  it  would  not  behoove  this  council  to  adjourn,  as  a  mark  of  respect 
to  the  memory  of  the  late  President.  It  was,  therefore, 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  in  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  late  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  as  a  mark  of  sympathy  with  the  great  public  calamity 
which  has  befallen  our  neighbors,  and  also  as  an  expression  of  the  profound 


390  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

regret  and  horror  felt  by  this  council  at  the  foul  crime  perpetrated  on  the 
revered  person  of  the  late  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States,  this  council 
do  now  adjourn. 

[SEAL.]  J.  L.  BEAUDRY,  Mayor. 

CHS.  SLACKMEYER,  City  Clerk. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  citizens  of  Montreal. 

MONTREAL,  April  20,  18G5. 

In  compliance  with  a  very  numerously  signed  requisition,  a  public  meeting 
of  the  inhabitants  was  called  by  his  worship  the  mayor,  and  held  on  the  19th 
instant,  at  which  the  following  action  was  taken  : 

1.  Moved  by  honorable  Thomas  Ryan,  seconded  by  honorable  A.  A.  Dorion, 
and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  citizens  of  Montreal,  in  public  meeting 
assembled,  desire  to  express  most  emphatically  the  sentiment  of  horror  and 
detestation  with  which  they  regard  the  great  crime  recently  perpetrated  at 
Washington,  by  the  base  and  cowardly  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late 
President  of  the  United  States. 

2.  Moved    by  honorable    T.  D.  McGree,  seconded    by  honorable   James 
Ferrier,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  we  regard  this  unprovoked  and  most  atrocious 
assassination,  the  greatest  crime  of  our  age,  as  committed  not  merely  against 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  but  against  our  common  humanity  and  common 
Christian  civilization. 

3.  Moved  by  honorable  P.  J.  0.  Chauveau,  seconded  by  honorable  L.  H. 
Holton,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  on  behalf  of  the  city  of  Montreal,  we  desire  to 
tender  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  the  assurance  of  our  sincere  sympa 
thy  and  condolence  with  them,  in  this  awfully  sudden  and  afflicting  loss  of  their 
Chief  Magistrate. 

4.  Moved  by  Benjamin  Holmes,  esq.,  seconded  by  Tancrede  Bonthillier, 
esq.,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  his  worship  the  mayor,  and  the  secretaries,  be 
requested  to  transmit  copies  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  to  the  honorable  John 
F.  Potter,  United  States  consul  general  for  British  North  America. 

J.  L.  BEAUDRY,  Mayor. 
F.  P.  POMINVILLE, 
WM.  J.  PATTERSON, 

Secretaries. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       391 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  New  England  Society  of  Montreal. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  this  society,  and  other  Americans,  held 
in  the  American  Presbyterian  church  on  Wednesday,  April  19,  1865,  in  com 
memoration  of  the  memory  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United 
States,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Whereas  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  has  perished 
by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  at  the  time  when  the  military  power  of  the  rebellion 
was  conquered,  and  when  his  wisdom  seemed  most  necessary  to  the  well-being 
of  the  country ;  and  whereas  the  Americans  resident  in  Montreal  are  deeply 
interested  in  anything  which  concerns  the  honor  or  welfare  of  the  United 
States  :  Therefore  resolved — 

1.  That  the  members  of  the  Montreal  New  England  Society,  and  oilier 
Americans  resident  in  Montreal,  tenderly  sympathize  with  the  government  and 
people  of  the  United  States,  and  bereaved  family,  in  deploring  this  calamitous 
event,  and  in  their  grief  at  this  sore  affliction,  and  that  as  an  evidence  of  our 
grief  we  wear  mourning  thirty  days. 

2.  That  in  the  acts  and  character  of  ABRAHAM- LINCOLN  as  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  a  time  of  unparalleled  difficulty,  we  recognize  the  true  patriot 
and  sagacious  statesman,  as  well  as  that  fidelity  to  sacred  trust,  that  regard  to 
individual  rights,  that  kindly  consideration  for  all  classes,  as  manifested  in  his 
reluctance  to  wage  war  until  forced  upon  him,  his  tender  care  for  the  soldiers, 
and  words  of  sympathy  to  their  relatives,  his  emancipation  proclamation,  and 
his  clemency  to  conquered  cities  and  captured  armies,  which  will  forever  link 
his  name  with  that  of  the  illustrious  Washington,  as  one  of  the  greatest,  wisest, 
noblest,  and  kindliest  men  of  the  race. 

3.  That  in  the  career  and  character  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  as  farm  laborer, 
boatman,  school  teacher,  lawyer,  legislator,  and  President,  we  recognize  the 
influence  and  power  of  American  institutions  to  develop  manhood,  and  to  confer 
honor  and  rewards  upon  the  capable  and  deserving. 

4.  That  although  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN    has  perished  by  the  hand  of  an 
assassin,  we  thank  God  that  he  was  permitted  to  live  to  see  the  arm  of  this 
most  gigantic  and  guilty  rebellion  broken ;  that  although  we  ardently  desired 
he  might  have  been  spared  to  carry  out  his  schemes  for  the  reconstruction  of 
government  in  the  conquered  and  returning  States,  yet  we  bow  in  submission 
to  God's  will,  entertaining  undoubting  faith  in  the  righteousness  of  the  Divine 
government,  and  the  speedy  and  thorough  pacification  of  the  country,  so  that  the 
United  States,  purged  of  its  heirloom  of  slavery,  and  strengthened  by  the  disci 
pline  of  war,  shall  be  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  the  home  of  the  free  and 
hope  of  the  oppressed,  the  refuge  for  the  poor  and  down  trodden  of  every  race 
and  creed. 


392  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

5.  That  seeing  in  this  dreadful  crime,  at  which  "  humanity  shudders  and 
civilization  grows  pale,"  a  fresh  proof  of  the  lawless  and  degrading  tendencies 
of  slavery,  we  pledge  ourselves  anew  to  aid  in  every  legitimate  wiiy  in  the  over 
throw  of  the  last  vestige  of  human  slavery  on  this  continent. 

6.  That  the  foregoing  resolutions  be  published  in  the  newspapers  of  this 
city,  and  that  a  copy  of  them  be  sent  through  the  United  States  consul  general 
to  the  United  States  government,  and  to  the  family  of  the  lamented  deceased. 

A  true  copy  of  the  original  minute  : 

P.  D.  BROWNE,  President. 

E.  F.  AMES,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

MOTTOES  ON  THE  SEAL  : 

C          Altius  Temliimis.  ") 

Travail  ct  Concorde.         I 

\  Canadian  Institute,  founded  S 

in  1844,  iuc-ornoruted  in 
I  1853.  J 

To  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States : 

May  it  please  your  Excellency :  With  profound  sentiments  of  affliction 
and  indignation  the  Canadian  Institute  heard  of  the  horrible  murder  that  has 
spread  consternation  among  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  execra 
ble  attempt  of  assassination  upon  the  person  of  the  honorable  Secretary  of 
State. 

The  premature  and  tragic  death  of  the  eminent  man,  so  universally 
respected  and  admired,  who  was  the  political  chief  of  the  great  nation  that  your 
Excellency  is  now  called  upon  to  govern,  is,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Canadian 
Institute,  not  only  a  terrible  national  calamity,  but  an  event  that  brings  sorrow 
and  mourning  upon  all  true  friends  of  liberty  and  progress,  and  upon  the  ene 
mies  of  slavery  and  tyranny  throughout  the  world,  and  sincere  grief  to  the 
believers  in  democratic  institutions ;  who  were  proud  to  see  one  of  the  most 
upright  and  blameless  men  that  ever  governed  a  nation  at  the  head  of  the  freest 
people  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

The  members  of  the  Canadian  Institute,  in  their  humble  sphere,  admired 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  as  much  for  his  rare  modesty  and  the,  self-denial  of  which 
he  gave  so  many  glorious  examples,  as  they  esteemed  him  for  his  elevated 
conception  of  political  and  private  probity,  which  even  his  enemies  could  not 
refuse  to  acknowledge  in  him. 

Slavery  had  already  sacrificed  enough  victims;  and  it  was  truly  lamentable 
that  the  great  chief  of  the  nation,  who  had  destroyed  the  monster,  should 
become  its  last  and  most  illustrious  martyr.'  It  is,  indeed,  deplorable  that  this 
great  and  renowned  patriot,  the  impersonation  of  national  unity,  of  fidelity  to 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       393 

the  Constitution  and  devotion  to  duty,  should  be  added  to  the  hecatomb  of 
sacrifices  of  defenders  of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws,  caused  by  the  accursed 
institution  of  slavery. 

The  Canadian  Institute,  watching  with  interest  the  various  events  in  the 
social  or  political  progress  of  a  people  towards  civilization,  ventures  to  express 
to  your  Excellency  the  great  pleasure  it  feels  at  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the 
glorious  American  republic.  The  consequence  of  this  act  will  be  the  blotting 
out  of  the  only  stain  upon  democratic  institutions,  which  have  been  so  often 
corrupted,  perverted,  and  turned  from  their  true  path  by  an  accursed  institution 
which  was  an  emphatic  denial  of  all  human  rights,  and  a  violation  of  every 
divine  law;  and  the  restoration  of  peace  in  the  United  States,  a  peace  that 
must  endure,  since  the  sole  cause  of  the  terrible  war  that  has  desolated  the 
great  country  has  disappeared  with  slavery. 

The  Canadian  Institute  rejoices  that  your  Excellency  escaped  the  assassin's 
dagger,  and  expresses  its  most  sincere  wish  for  the  success  of  your  administra 
tion  ;  it  hopes  you  may  overcome  the  existing  obstacles  in  the  way  of  a  perfect 
peace  and  reunion,  with  the  same  success  that  attended  your  illustrious 
predecessor,  and  wishes  you  may  fill  the  honorable  and  glorious  position  in  the 
history  of  the  United  States  which  was  promised  by  your  memorable  assur 
ances  of  devotion  to  the  integrity  of  your  country  and  to  its  glorious  and 
admirable  Constitution. 

L.  A.  DESSAULEES,  Clerk  of  the  Crown, 

GONZALVE  DOUTRE,  B.  V.  L., 

Committee. 

J.  J.  DURAND,  President  of  the  C.  I. 

LEO  SASSRON,  Secretary  Arc.  C.  I. 

JOS.  BOUCHARD,  Secretary  Cor.  C.  I. 
MONTREAL,  April  22, 1865. 


To  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  t/ie  United  States : 

SIR  :  We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Newark, 
in  the  county  of  Nottingham,  England,  in  council  assembled,  desire  through  you 
to  express  to  our  brethren  in  America,  on  our  own  behalf,  as  well  as  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town  of  which  we  are  the  municipal  representatives,  our  deep 
commiseration  on  the  melancholy  event  which  has  so  suddenly  and  unex 
pectedly  placed  you  in  your  present  high  and  difficult  position,  and  our 
profound  abhorrence  of  the  dastardly  crime  which,  at  so  important  a  period 
of  his  valuable  life,  has  deprived  his  country  of  the  services  of  your  distin 
guished  predecessor, 
so 


394  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Although  the  perpetrator  of  an  act  of  unparalleled  atrocity  appears  hitherto 
to  have  escaped  detection,  we  trust  that  he  may  soon  receive  the  just  reward 
of  his  villany,  and  that  through  Divine  assistance  you  may  be  enabled,  by  a 
wise  and  beneficent  policy,  to  effect  the  object  which  at  the  time  of  his  prema 
ture  removal  appeared  nearest  the  heart  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  namely,  the 
restoration  to  peace  and  prosperity  of  your  magnificent  but  now  afflicted 
country. 

Given  under  our  common  seal  at  the  council  chamber,  in  the  Town  Hall 
of  the  said  borough,  the  2d  day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  GILBIET,  Mayor. 


BOROUGH  OF  NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME,  IN  THE  COUNTY  OF  STAFFORD. 

At  an  assembly  of  the  council  in  the  Town  Hall,  on  Wednesday,  the  3d 
day  of  May,  1865,  it  was 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  council  desires  to  express  its  feelings  of 
horror  and  detestation  at  the  death,  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  of  President 
LINCOLN,  the  chosen  and  trusted  chief  of  the  United  States  of  America ;  and  to 
record  its  heartfelt  sympathy  and  condolence  with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  the 
government  and  people  of  those  States,  upon  .the  grievous  loss  they  have 
sustained. 

[SEAL.]  THOMAS  HARDING,  Town  Clerk. 


TOWN  CLERK'S  OFFICE,  GUILDHALL, 

Neath,  May  8,  1865. 

At  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Neath,  in 
the  county  of  Glamorgan,  holden  at  the  council  chamber  of  the  Guildhall  of  the 
said  borough,  on  Monday,  the  8th  day  of  May,  1865, 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  Alderman  Gvvyn,  seconded  by  P.  Charles,  esq., 
mayor,  it  was  resolved — 

1.  That  this  council  desires  to  record  the  sentiments  of  horror  and  detes 
tation  with  which  it  regards  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  the 
attack  on  Mr.  Seward,  the  American  Secretary  of  State  ;  and  wishes  to  offer  its 
sincere  condolence  to  the  widow  and  family  of  the  late  President,   and  to 
express  its  deep  sympathy  with  the  American  people  in  the  severe  loss  which 
they  have  sustained. 

2.  That  the  foregoing  resolution    be  transmitted    by  the   mayor  to  the 
American  minister  for  presentation  in  due  course. 

[SEAL.]  P.  CHARLES,  Mayor. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       395 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting   of  the  magistrates  and  town  council  of  the 
royal  burgh  of  Newburgh,  Fifeshire,  held  on  the  bth  of  May,  1865. 

The  magistrates  and  council  unanimously  agree  to  place  on  their  records 
an  expression  of  their  own  and  fellow-townsmen's  condemnation  and  abhor 
rence  of  the  barbarous  murder  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
and  also  an  expression  of  their  sincere  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United 
States  on  the  afflicting  calamity  which  has  befallen  them. 

That  the  chief  magistrate  be  requested  to  transmit  to  his  excellency  the 
American  minister  in  London  an  address  in  accordance  with  these  resolutions, 
and  also  that  a  copy  of  them  be  sent  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  with  an  expression  of  the 
magistrates'  and  council's  sympathy  with  her  under  her  severe  and  distressing 
bereavement. 

ANDREW  MILNE,  Chief  Magistrate. 

NEWHURGH,  May  10,  1865. 


Address  of  the  magistrates  and  town  council  of  the  burgh  of  Newburgh. 

To  his  Excellency  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

for  the  United  States  of  America,  London. 

May  it  please  your  excellency :  We,  the  magistrates  and  town  council  of 
the  burgh  of  Newburgh,  in  the  county  of  Fife,  North  Britain,  in  common 
council  assembled,  do  hereby  express  deepest  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the 
atrocious  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  at  the  dastardly  attempt  about  the  same  hour  on  Mr.  Seward, 
Secretary  of  State. 

We  desire  that  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  should 
understand  that  no  difference  of  opinion  on  the  merits  of  the  conflict  of  the  last 
four  years  avails  to  prevent  the  unanimous  condemnation  of  so  great  a  crime 
against  our  common  humanity.  No  fouler  crime  stands  chronicled  in  all 
history. 

We  hereby  offer  our  sincere  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United 
States  on  the  afflicting  and  heavy  loss  which  they  have  thus  sustained,  and 
trust  that  the  event  may  be  overruled  for  their  good. 

May  it  please  your  excellency  to  forward  this  humble  address  to  the 
proper  quarter,  in  order  that  the  American  people  may  know  they  have  the 
sympathy  of  the  council  and  inhabitants  of  this  burgh. 

Signed  by  the  chief  magistrate  at  Newburgh,  May  10,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  ANDREW  MILNE,  Chief  Magistrate. 


396  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  Neivmilns  Anti- Slavery  Society. 

NEWMILNS,  May  5,  1865. 

In  public  meeting  assembled  it  was  unanimously  resolved  to  present  the 
following  unto  the  honorable  Andrew  Johnson,  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America : 

HONORED  SIR  :  We,  the  members  of  the  Newmilns  Anti-Slavery  Society, 
having  early  espoused  the  side  of  humanity  in  the  great  struggle  going  on  in 
your  beloved  country  for  the  emancipation  of  mankind  from  bondage — a  bond 
age  which  made  the  humane  of  every  land  shudder  to  contemplate — proud  as 
we  were  over  him  who  undertook  the  task  to  grapple  with  this  gigantic  evil, 
what  are  we  to  think,  or  how  can  we  express  our  feelings,  when  we  know  that 
he  who  was  the  appointed  instrument  to  erase  from  the  land  of  America  the 
accursed  blot  which  had  so  long  stained  your  honored  and  will-be  respected 
flag,  and  he  who  with  calmness,  fortitude,  and  dignified  mercy,  held  in  the  one 
hand  the  palm  of  victory,  in  the  other  the  olive-branch,  crying  peace!  peace! 
being  struck  down  and  deprived  of  life  by  the  assassin's  hand,  when  on  the 
very  verge  of  seeing  his  long-wished-for  desire  successfully  consummated;  and, 
honored  sir,  in  our  lamentations  over  the  sad  event,  may  we  be  permitted  to 
congratulate  you,  upon  the  knowledge  we  have,  through  the  honorable  Mr. 
Adams,  the  American  ambassador,  London,  and  Mr.  Stodart,  Glasgow,  of  the 
high  attainments  you  possess  for  the  important  office  you  have  been  so  unex 
pectedly  called  upon  to  fill.  We  therefore  tender  unto  you,  and  along  with  you, 
our  sincere  sympathy  for  the  bereaved  widow  of  the  late  honored  and  respected 
President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  acknowledging  our  gratitude  to  God  for  the 
miraculous  preservation  of  the  honorable  Mr.  Seward  and  family ;  and  while 
we  mourn,  along  with  every  true  friend  of  humanity,  the  unparalleled  event  that 
has  befallen  your  country,  and  although  the  horizon  seemed  dark  for  a  time 
after  such  a  calamity,  we  are  again  hopeful  when  we  see  the  sun  emerging  from 
behind  the  cloud  in  your  own  likeness,  supported  by  General  Grant  and  the 
gallant  army,  Farragut  and  the  navy,  the  patriotic  people  of  America,  and  all 
who  stood  forward  so  nobly  in  time  of  need  in  defence  of  those  institutions  for 
the  good  of  mankind  contained  in  the  glorious  republic  of  America,  all  deserv 
ing  and  receiving  our  best  thanks. 

Signed  in  behalf  of  the  meeting  : 

MATTHEW  POLLOCK,  President. 
ALEXANDER  DYKES,  Secretary. 

Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  be  forwarded  to  the  honorable  Charles  Francis 
Adams,  American  ambassador,  London,  for  transmission  to  the  honorable 
Andrew  Johnson  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

M.  P. 
A.  D. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND   SYMPATHY.  397 

SALT  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE, 

Northwich,  Cheshire,  May  6,  1865. 

YOUR  EXCELLENCY  :  The  salt  trade  of  England,  represented  by  this  cham 
ber,  have,  perhaps  more  than  any  other  mercantile  community  of  this  country, 
cause  to  identify  their  interests  with  those  of  the  great  American  people. 

The  council  of  this  chamber  have  therefore  instructed  me,  by  unanimous 
resolution,  to  convey  to  your  excellency  their  profound  grief  and  heartfelt  sym 
pathy  with  the  American  nation  at  the  great  calamity  which  has  befallen  them 
through  the  dastardly  assassination  of  their  late  President. 

In  thus  representing  their  condolence,  this  chamber  pray  you  to  accept 
their  earnest  assurance  of  profound  respect  for  your  excellency. 

JOHN  MOORE, 

Secretary  of  the  Salt  Chamber  of  Commerce. 
His  Excellency  the  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  watch  committee  of  the  corporation  of  Newport,  in 
the  county  of  Monmouth,  held  at  the  council-house  on  Tuesday,  the  2d  day  of 
May,  1865,  E.  J.  Phillips,  esq.,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  the  following  resolution 
was  unanimously  agreed  to : 

That  we  view  with  the  greatest  horror  and  detestation  the  atrocious  crime 
by  which  the  President  of  the  United  States  has  been  deprived  of  his  life,  and 
that  our  deep  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  for  their  loss  be 
conveyed  with  this  resolution  to  the  United  States  consul  of  this  town. 

THOS.  WOOLLETT,  Town.  Clerk. 


BOROUGH    OF   NEWPORT,    ISLE    OF    WIGHT. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  resolution  passed  at  the  quarterly  meeting  of 
the  council  of  this  borough,  held  on  the  2(1  day  of  May,  1865,  at  the  Guildhall. 

Proposed  by  Mr.  Councillor  Pinnock,  seconded  by  Mr.  Alderman  Way, 
and  carried  unanimously — 

That  this  council  desire  to  record  their  abhorrence  and  detestation  of  the 
crime  which  has  deprived  the  American  nation  of  the  services  of  their  Presi 
dent,  and  respectfully  oner  to  the  government  and  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  their  heartfelt  sympathy. 

[SEAL.]  HY.  MEW,  Mayor. 


398  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  Nottingham,  in 
council  assembled,  held  the  1st  day  of  May,  1865,  it  was  unanimously  resolved — 

That  this  council  desires,  in  its  corporate  capacity,  to  express  its  extreme 
sorrow  and  indignation  at  the  assassination  of  the  late  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  to  convey  the  expression  of  its  condolence  and  sympathy 
at  the  loss  which  his  widow  and  that  nation  at  large  have  thereby  sustained. 

That  the  members  of  this  council  also  express  their  regret  at  the  attempt 
made  upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward  and  his  sons,  and  the  pleasure  with  which 
they  this  morning  receive  the  news  of  their  improved  condition. 

Given  under  the  common  seal  of  the  said  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses. 

[SEAL.]  WILLIAM  PAGE,  Mayor. 


At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Nottingham,  held  at  the  Exchange 
Hall  on  the  1st  day  of  May,  1865,  it  was  unanimously  resolved — 

That  this  meeting  regards  with  horror,  indignation,  and  abhorrence  the 
appalling  crime  which  has  put  an  end  to  the  life  of  President  LINCOLN,  while 
it  rejoices  that  the  dastardly  attempt  on  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward  has  riot  resulted 
in  his  death,  and  trusts  that  he  may  long  be  spared  for  the  benefit  of  his 
country. 

That  this  meeting  desires  to  record  its  profound  sympathy  with  the  people 
of  the  United  States  in  this  hour  of  national  bereavement,  and  more  especially 
with  the  widow  whose  grief  is  intensified  by  the  atrocious  nature  of  the  deed 
which  has  snatched  her  husband  from  her  side. 

That  this  meeting  devoutly  trusts  that  the  wise,  statesmanlike,  and  emi 
nently  conciliatory  and  Christian  policy  of  the  late  President,  so  peculiarly  suited 
to  bind  up  the  wounds  of  his  bleeding  country,  may  not  die  with  its  author,  but 
be  carried  forward  by  his  successor  to  the  speedy  establishment  of  an  enduring 
peace. 

Signed  by  order  and  on  behalf  of  the  meeting : 

WILLIAM  PAGE,  Mayor,  Chairman. 


Resolutions  passed  by  the  annual  assembly  of  the  United  MetJwdist  free  churches, 
held  in  Nottingham,  August,  1865. 


THE  AMERICAN  WAE  AND  SLAVERY. 


1.  Resolved,  The  members  of  this  assembly,  having  during  the  past  lour 
years  watched  with  intense  interest  and  painful  anxiety  the  progress  of  the 
civil  conflict  upon  the  American.continent,  would  now  express  their  gratitude 
to  Him  by  "whom  kings  reign  and  princes  decree  justice"  that  the  said  sanguin- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       399 

ary  struggle  has  closed,  and  upon  this  auspicious  circumstance  this  assemblv 
most  cordially  congratulates  both  the  government  and  people  of  the  United 
States. 

2.  Resolved,  This  assembly  is  exceedingly  grateful  to  have  observed  that 
God  in  his  providence  has  so  overruled  the  discussions  of  Congress  and  the 
conflict  of  armies  as  to  have  removed  from  among  the  American  people  that 
which  has  been  their  dishonor  and  scourge — chattel  slavery ;  and  upon  this 
issue  this  assembly  congratulate  not  only  the  American  nation,  but  also  all 
others,  believing  that  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  United  States  will  be  the 
prelude  to  its  abolition  all  over  the  world. 

3.  Resolved,  This  assembly  rejoices  at  the  seasonable  and  well-sustained 
efforts  which  have  been  made  by  the  American  people,  in  order  to  lessen  the 
distress  which  has  arisen  from  the  immediate  emancipation  of  the  slaves  of  the 
south,  by  the  feeding  and  clothing  of  the  aged  and  infirm  and  the  opening  of 
schools  for  the  education  of  the  young ;  and  this   assembly  recommends  the 
members  of  our  churches  to  do  what  they  can  by  the  contribution  of  both 
apparel  and  money,  in  order  to  further  the  object  of  the  "  freedmen's  aid  socie 
ties." 

4.  Resolved,  This  assembly  records  its  unmitigated   abhorrence  of,  and 
indignation  at,  the  crime  of  assassination  by  which  the  American  people  have, 
in  the  hour  of  returning  order  and  peace,  been  deprived  of  one  of  the  most 
praiseworthy  of  modern  rulers — the  patient,  sagacious,  and  philanthropic  ABRA 
HAM  LINCOLN. 

This  assembly  also  expresses  its  deep  and  sincere  sympathy  with  the 
Executive  and  people  of  the  United  States  upon  their  loss  ;  and  also,  in  har 
mony  with  the  promptly-presented  utterances  of  the  British  press,  platform, 
senate,  and  throne,  tenders  its  condolence  to  the  honored  widow  of  the  deceased 
President. 

This  assembly,  moreover,  trusts,  now  that  the  war  has  ceased  in  the 
triumph  of  the  northern  arms,  that  henceforth  England  and  America,  as  they 
are  one  in  origin,  language,  and  religion,  will  cultivate  towards  each  other  the 
most  amicable  relations,  and,  being  banded  together  not  only  as  profitable 
traders  but  true  friends,  will  by  their  powerful  example  and  moral  influence 
elevate  and  bless  the  world. 

5.  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  aforesaid  resolutions  be  communicated  to 
the  honorable  Charles  Francis  Adams  for  presentation  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  to 
his  Excellency  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  assembly  : 

WILLIAM  ROBERTS  BROWN,  President. 
MARMADUKE  MILLER,  Secretary. 


400  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Norwich,  in  Common  Hall  assembled,  on 
Tuesday,  the  2d  day  of  May,  1865,  pursuant  to  a  requisition  to  the  mayor, 
numerously  and  influentially  signed,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  the  sympathy 
of  the  city  of  Norwich  to  the  American  government  and  people  for  the  great 
loss  they  have  sustained  by  the  atrocious  murder  of  their  President,  the  follow 
ing  resolution  was  unanimously  passed,  and  the  mayor  was  requested  to  sign 
and  affix  the  corporate  seal  thereto,  and  forward  it  to  the  American  minister  in 
London : 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  the  greatest  regret  at  the 
calamity  brought  upon  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  by  the 
assassination  of  President  LINCOLN. 

That  this  meeting  regards  with  horror  and  detestation  the  crime  by  which 
the  President's  life  was  sacrificed,  and  that,  in  the  name  of  the  citizens  of 
Norwich,  this  meeting  begs  to  offer  to  the  government  and  people  of  the  United 
States  the  most  sincere  and  earnest  sympathy  under  the  loss  which  has  so 
suddenly  befallen  them. 

[SEAL.]  S.  E.  TUCK,  Mayor. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Neivcastle-upon- 

Tyne. 

At  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne,  held  in  the  council  chamber,  Town  Hall,  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  on 
Wednesday,  the  third  day  of  May,  1865,  Anthony  Nichol,  esq.,  deputy  mayor, 
chairman,  it  was  unanimously  resolved,  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Joseph  Cowen  the 
younger,  seconded  by  Mr.  Alderman  Laycock — 

That  this  council  desires  to  give  utterance  to  the  feelings  of  grief  and  horror 
with  which  it  has  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the 
murderous  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward,  and  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  President 
Johnson,  and  his  colleagues,  and  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  its  pro 
found  sympathy  and  heartfelt  condolence. 

[SEAL.]  ANTHONY  NICHOL,  Chairman. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  New- 

castle-upon-  Tyne. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 
convened  by  the  mayor  on  requisition  and  held  in  the  Town  Hall,  on  Thurs 
day  evening,  the  4th  of  May,  1865,  the  sheriff  of  Newcastle  in  the  chair, 

On  the  motion  of  the  Rev.  W.  Walters,  seconded  by  Councillor  Mawson, 
and  supported  by  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Street,  it  was  unanimously  resolved — 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.  401 

1st.  That  this  meeting  desires  to  give  utterance  to  the  feelings  of  grief 
and  horror  with  which  it  has  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN, 
and  the  murderous  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward,  and  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  to 
President  Johnson,  and  his  colleagues,  and  to  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
its  profound  sympathy  and  heartfelt  condolence. 

On  the  motion  of  Councillor  Benson,  seconded  by  Mr.  Ralph  Curry,  and 
supported  by  Councillor  Harford,  it  was  unanimously  agreed — 

2d.  That  copies  of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
honorable  C.  F.  Adams,  the  American  minister,  for  transmission  to  his  Excel 
lency  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  the  honorable  W. 
H.  Seward. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting  : 

WILLIAM  LOCHEY  HARLE,  Sheriff. 


To  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America  : 

The  following  resolution  was  adopted  by  the  sixty-ninth  annual  conference 
of  the  Methodist  New  Connection,  assembled  in  Salem  chapel,  Hood  street, 
Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  June  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five  : 

Resolved,  That  the  conference  of  the  Methodist  New  Connection,  assem 
bled  in  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  would  record  the  expression  of  its  devout  thanks 
giving  and  joy  on  the  termination  of  the  war  which  for  four  long  years  has  been 
waged  at  so  fearful  a  cost  of  human  life  and  human  treasure  between  the 
northern  and  southern  divisions  of  the  United  States  of  America.  While  in 
the  war  itself  the  conference  would  recognize  the  supreme  justice  of  Eternal 
Providence  in  making  a  nation,  however  mysteriously  and  by  whatever  means, 
yet  ultimately  and  surely,  responsible  for  the  legislative  or  social  wrongs  it 
either  authorizes  or  countenances,  it  would  nevertheless  and  equally  recognize 
tiie  mercy  of  that  Providence  in  the  conclusion  to  which  the  war  has  been 
finally  conducted,  in  that  a  great  nation,  so  intimately  allied  to  our  own  in  all 
the  interests  of  human  civilization  and  Christian  enterprise,  has  been  redeemed 
from  disorder  and  anarchy  by  the  triumph  of  the  national  wisdom  and  courage, 
and  especially  that  this  has  been  so  done  as  effectually  to  annihilate  the  evil 
out  of  which  the  war  really  though  not  ostensibly  sprang,  restoring  to  the 
position  and  privileges  of  manhood  four  millions  of  human  beings  who  had 
previously  been  held  as  mere  property  by  those  who  claimed  to  be  their 
owners. 

The  conference  also  desires  to  unite  with  the  whole  English  nation,  and, 
indeed,  with  the  entire  civilized  world,  in  giving  emphatic  utterance  to  its 

51 


402  ASSASSINATION   OF   A13KAHAM    LINCOLN. 

horror  and  abhorrence  of  the  fearful  crime  by  which  the  close  of  the  war  has 
been  signalized,  in  the  assassination  of  the  much  lamented  late  President  of 
the  United  States,  to  whose  practical  wisdom  and  singular  goodness  of  charac 
ter  may  be  largely  attributed  the  continuance  of  the  peaceful  relations  existing 
between  this  country  and  America,  amid  the  jealousies  and  perplexities  which 
the  war  occasioned,  as  well  as  by  whose  prudence  and  perseverance,  together 
with  the  prudence  and  perseverance  of  those  united  with  him  in  the  conduct 
of  public  affairs,  the  result  now  enjoyed  has  been  happily  reached. 

And  yet  the  conference  would  express  an  earnest  hope  that  no  irritation 
thence  resulting,  however  natural  and  reasonable,  will  be  allowed  to  influence 
the  regular  course  of  justice  in  dealing  with  those  who  have  taken  a  leading 
part  in  the  attempt  to  divide  the  Union,  by  establishing  a  separate  confederacy, 
and  that  in  fact  no  means  will  be  adopted  but  such  as  will,  under  the  superin 
tendence  of  the  Great  Ruler,  tend  to  conciliate  the  affections  and  interests  of 
the  parties  hitherto  so  much  divided,  and  so  restore  them  to  a  condition  of 
permanent  harmony  and  peace. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  conference  : 

WILLIAM  BAGGALY,  President. 
JOSHUA  POLLARD,  Secretary. 


Resolution  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  the  Executive.  Council  of  Newfoundland,  on 

Saturday,  May  6,  1865. 

That  the  council  avail  themselves  of  the  earliest  opportunity  of  expressing 
their  deepest  regret  and  horror  at  the  foul  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  ; 
and  on  behalf  of  the  people  of  this  colony  they  beg  to  tender  their  respectful 
sympathy  in  the  sorrow  that  has  so  justly  been  awakened  throughout  the  Ameri 
can  Union  at  the  loss  of  their  illustrious  head. 

Resolved,  That  his  excellency  the  governor  be  requested  to  transmit  a 
copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution  to  her  Majesty's  minister  at  Washington. 


THE    CITIZENS    OF    THE    SWISS    REPUBLIC    IN    NEW    SOUTH    WALES, 

To  the  honorable  the  President,  the  Senate,  and  the  House  of  Representatives  of 

the  United  States  of  America  : 

We,  the  citizens  of  the  Swiss  republic,  resident  at  New  South  Wales,  have 
been  requested  by  Signer  John  Baptist  Modini,  one  of  our  countrymen,  to 
assemble  in  order,  as  sons  of  another  free  republic,  to  condole  with  you,  the 
Congress  of  America,  on  the  very  sad  calamity  that  has  befallen  your  nation, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       403 

and  to  express  our  heartfelt  sorrow  and  sympathetic  grief  for  the  immense  loss 
you  have  sustained  by  the  atrocious  murder  of  your  great  devoted  champion  of 
liberty,  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

We,  by  birth  sons  of  another  free  republic,  cannot  refrain  from  giving 
expression  of  sympathy  for  your  great  loss,  being  ourselves  brought  up  under 
free  principles,  and  we  owe  it  to  ourselves  and  to  the  republic  of  which  we  are 
citizens  to  declare  our  abhorrence  of  the  crime  which  has  deprived  humanity 
of  one  of  its  greatest  ornaments. 

To  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family  we  offer  the  respectful  condolence  of  our  sympa 
thy  with  the  sufferings  which  it  is  some  consolation  to  know  are  in  a  degree 
shared  by  the  world  at  large,  but  which  are  assuaged  by  the  consideration  that 
Mr.  LINCOLN'S  work  and  best  efforts  had  already  gained  the  approval  and  admi 
ration  of  every  free  and  enlightened  people. 

J.  B.  MODINI. 

AUGUSTO  ANDREOLL 

ORIOLA  MIRO. 

LORENZO  BERTA. 

GIOVANNI  GAGLIARDI. 

FRANCESCO  GALLI. 

AND    FORTY    OTHER    NAMES. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  councillors,  being  the  municipal 
council  of  the  borough  of  Northampton,  held  at  the  Town  Hall  in  the  same 
borough,  on  the  1st  day  of  May,  1865 — present,  the  worshipful  the  mayor, 
Thomas  Osborn,  esquire,  in  the  chair — it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  council,  including  persons 
of  all  parties  in  the  state,  desire  to  record  the  deep  feeling  of  horror  with  which 
they  have  heard  of  the  late  atrocious  murder  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  the  attempted  assassination  of  his  Secretary  of  State; 
crimes  deserving  the  execration  of  mankind,  and  which  the  members  of  this 
council  doubt  not  will  prove  to  have  been  the  acts  of  the  guilty  perpetrators 
exclusively. 

The  council  desires  further  to  record  their  sympathy  with  the  widow  of 
the  murdered  Chief  Magistrate  under  her  bereavement,  their  condolence  with 
the  citizens  of  the  republic,  and  their  sincere  trust  that  under  the  providential 
guidance  of  the  Great  Disposer  of  events  the  path  of  mercy  and  conciliation 
on  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  entered  may  be  steadily  trodden  by  his  successor, 
and  that  the  great  and  kindred  nation  over  which  lie  is  summoned  to  preside 
may  speedily  recover  from  the  deep  wounds  of  civil  war,  and  enjoy  a  bright 


404  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

future  of  liberty,  peace,  and  prosperity  in  ever  closer  and  more  cordial  alliance 
with  our  own  branch  of  the  English  race. 

That  two  copies  of  the  above  resolutions  be  fairly  made  on  vellum,  authen 
ticated  by  the  signature  of  the  worshipful  the  mayor  and  the  common  seal  of 
the  borough,  and  sent  to  his  excellency  the  United  States  minister  in  this 
country,  with  a  request  that  he  will  forward  one  copy  to  the  proper  authority 
of  his  own  government  and  the  other  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

[SEAL.]  THOMAS  OSBORN,  Mayor. 


ABINGTON  TERRACE, 
Northampton,  May  19,  1865. 

RESPECTED  SIR  :  Your  well  known  courtesy  encourages  me  to  forward  the 
enclosed  lines  to  you,  at  the  request  of  an  invalid  sister,  whose  composition  they 
are,  as  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  that  great  and  good  man,  your  late  President. 
If  it  will  not  be  out  of  place,  and  should  meet  with  your  approbation,  my 
sister   desires  you  would    enclose  them   in  your   future  despatches    for  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  with  a  sincere  hope  that  they  may  afford  her  some  comfort  in  her 
heavy  affliction.     Trusting  you  will  pardon  the  liberty  I  have  taken, 
I  remain,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

WILLIAM  GRAY. 
C.  F.  ADAMS,  Esq.,  United  States  Ambassador. 


ACROSTIC  ON  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

A  nation — nor  one  only — mourns  thy  loss, 

Brave  LINCOLN,  and  with  voice  unanimous 

Raise  to  thy  deathless  memory 

A  dirge-like  song  of  all  thy  noble  deeds. 

High  let  it  rise  ;  and  I,  too,  fain  would  add 

A  loving  tribute  to  thy  priceless  worth, 

More  widely  known  since  banished  from  the  earth. 

Laurel  shall  now  thy  brow  entwine 
In  memory's  ever  faithful  shrine ; 
Nor  shall  it  fade  when  earth  dissolves. 
Caught  up  to  meet  thee  m  the  air, 
Old  age  and  youth  shall  bless  thee  there; 
Love  shall  her  grateful  tribute  pay, 
Nor  cease  through  heaven's  eternal  day. 
NORTHAMPTON,  ENGLAND.  GRACE  W.  GRAY. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF  "CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  405 

GOVERNMENT  HOUSE, 
Halifax,  Novia  Scotia,  April  17,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  ackowledge  the  receipt  of  your  communication  of 
Saturday,  the  15th  instant,  announcing  the  atrocious  assassination  of  President 
LINCOLN.  I  feel  I  need  not  assure  you  of  my  own  personal  sympathy  for  your 
countrymen  under  an  affliction  so  sudden,  and  accompanied  by  special  circum 
stances  so  appalling. 

The  adjournment  of  both  branches  of  the  legislature,  on  receipt  of  the 
melancholy  intelligence,  the  flags  hoisted  half-mast  on  all  forts  and  public  build 
ings,  together  with  the  unanimous  and  outspoken  feeling  of  the  press,  sufficiently 
attest  the  profound  and  painful  impression  which  the  intelligence  has  produced 
on  this  community. 

You  thus  have  at  least  the  sad  gratification  of  knowing  that  the  misfortunes 
of  your  countrymen  can  evoke  from  their  kindred  here  only  feelings  of  kindly 
sympathy  and  good  will. 

1  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 
RICHARD  GRAVES  MACDONNELL, 

Lieutenant  Governor. 
Judge  JACKSON,  United  States  Consul, 

Halifax,  Nova  Scotia. 


LEGISLATIVE  COUNCIL  CHAMBER, 

Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  April  15,  1865. 

SIR  :  By  the  direction  of  the  legislative  council  of  Nova  Scotia,  I  have  the 
honor  to  transmit  to  you  two  resolutions  passed  by  that  house  on  receiving  the 
sad  intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  to  request  that  you  will  forward  the  same  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Department  of  State  of  the  United  States. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

JOHN  C.  HILLBURTON. 
MORTIMER  M.  JACKSON,  Esq., 

United  State*  Consul,  Halifax,  N.  S. 


Resolutions  passed  hi/  the  legislative  council  of  Halifax. 

LEGISLATIVE  COUNCIL  CUAMUER, 

Halifax,  Nora  Scotia,  April  15,  1865. 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  house  has  heard  with  most  profound  regret 
that  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  has  fallen  by  the  hand  of 
an  assassin,  and  that  as  a  mark  of  sympathy  with  the  people  who  have  thus 


406  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

been  deprived  of  their  chief  ruler,  and  of  abhorrence  of  the  atrocious  crime 
that  has  been  committed,  this  house  do  now  adjourn. 

Resolved,  That  the  clerk  of  this  house  be  directed  to  forward  a  copy  of  the 
foregoing  resolution  to  the  consular  officer  of  the  United  States  resident  in  this 
city,  with  a  request  that  the  same  be  respectfully  transmitted  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Department  of  State  of  the  United  States. 

JOHN  C.  HILLBURTON, 
Clerk  of  the  Legislative,  Council  of  Nova  Scotia. 


THE  NEWS  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  ASSEMBLY. 

[From  the  Reporter.] 

The  house  of  assembly  met  this  morning  at  11  o'clock,  and  the  provincial 
secretary  immediately  moved  a  resolution  to  adjourn  until  Monday  next.  He 
said  :  I  need  not  say  that  this  house  has  been  deeply  shocked  by  the  intelli 
gence  which  has  just  been  received  of  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN.  Both 
branches  of  the  legislature  having  been  on  Thursday  last  informed  that  his 
excellency  would  come  down  at  three  o'clock  for  the  purpose  of  assenting  to 
several  bills  which  have  passed,  I  felt  it  my  duty,  proposing  as  we  do  to  adjourn 
this  house,  to  put  myself  in  communication  with  his  excellency,  who  entirely 
concurs  in  the  appropriateness  of  this  house  marking  its  sympathy  with  the  peo 
ple  of  the  United  States,  who  have  thus  lost  their  Chief  Magistrate,  and  its 
deep  abhorrence  of  the  crime  by  which  he  has  been  removed.  This  house  is 
aware  that  when,  exactly  four  years  ago  this  day,  the  first  intelligence  reached 
this  country  of  the  commencement  of  hostilities  in  the  American  republic,  this 
house  placed  on  record  its  sentiments  by  the  following  resolution  : 

"  Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  house  of  assembly  of  Nova  Scotia  have 
heard  with  deep  regret  of  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  in  the  United  States ; 
that  this  house,  without  expressing  any  opinion  upon  the  points  in  controversy 
between  the  contending  parties,  sincerely  lament  that  those  who  speak  their 
language  and  share  their  civilization  should  be  shedding  each  other's  blood,  and 
offer  up  their  prayers  to  the  Father  of  the  Universe  for  the  speedy  restoration 
of  peace." 

This  resolution  sufficiently  marked  the  feelings  with  which  this  house  viewed 
the  beginning  of  hostilities  which  have  so  long  and  so  terribly  distracted  the 
neighboring  republic.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  as  that  struggle  advanced, 
when  the  people  of  British  North  America  witnessed  the  heroic  resistance  that 
a  comparatively  small  number  of  men  in  the  southern  States  made  against  over 
whelming  odds,  a  large  amount  of  sympathy  was  excited  in  the  minds  of  many — 
that  sympathy  which  is  always  excited  when  a  small  body  is  seen  contending 
with  great  bravery  against  superior  numbers — in  favor  of  the  South.  But 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       407 

although  that  feeling  has  existed  to  some  extent — although  there  have  been  per 
sons  in  this  country  who  believe  that  the  material  interests  of  British  America 
would  be  promoted  by  a  separation  between  the  northern  and  southern  States, 
and  that  great  republic  being  thus  divided  into  two  governments ;  yet  I  am  con 
fident  that  there  is  not  a  British  subject  in  British  America  who  will  learn  the 
untimely  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  it  has 
occurred,  without  the  feeling  of  the  most  unfeigned  sorrow  and  the  most  profound 
regret.  It  is  well  known  that  President  LINCOLN  was  elected  the  President  of 
the  United  States  of  America  by  the  intelligent  and  freely  expressed  voice  of 
the  people  of  that  great  country  ;  and  no  man  who  has  observed  the  course  he 
has  pursued  can  entertain  a  doubt  that  he  has  regarded  it  us  a  conscientious 
duty — a  duty  from  which  under  no  circumstances  he  was  able  in  the  slightest 
degree  to  shrink  -to  maintain  the  sovereignty  of  his  government  over  the  entire 
country.  That  he  has  persistently  pursued  that  policy  with  an  inflexibility  of 
determination  and  strength  of  purpose  which  must  forever  mark  him  as  a  man 
of  commanding  talents  no  one  can  deny,  and  I  am  satisfied  that  the  sentiment 
of  the  people,  and  of  those  who  are  placed  over  the  people  throughout  British 
North  America,  will  agree  in  the  opinion  that  he  has  been  actuated  by  a  con 
scientious  discharge  of  what  he  believed  to  be  a  patriotic  duty  in  that  crisis  of 
his  country's  history.  Under  these  circumstances,  I  feel  that  it  is  right  that 
the  neighboring  governments  in  British  North  America  should,  as  far  as  their 
means  would  permit,  exhibit  on  the  present  occasion  their  deep  sympathy  with 
the  people  of  the  neighboring  States,  who  have  lost  their  chief  ruler,  and  at  the 
same  time  mark  their  deep  abhorrence  of  the  atrocious  crime  by  which  he  has 
been  removed.  I  have,  therefore,  to  olfer  to  the  house  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  house  have  heard  with  the  most  profound 
regret  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  has  fallen  by  the 
hand  of  an  assassin,  and  that  as  a  mark  of  sympathy  with  the  people  who  have 
thus  been  deprived  of  their  chief  ruler,  and  of  their  abhorrence  of  the  atrocious 
crime  that  has  been  committed,  this  house  do  adjourn  until  Monday  next. 

Mr.  Stewart  Campbell,  who  seconded  the  resolution,  said  :  On  any  ordinary 
occasion  I  should  regret  the  absence  of  the  learned  member  for  Colchester,  who 
occupies  a  position  in  this  house  which  would  peculiarly  call  upon  him  to  second 
any  resolution  demanding  the  united  action  of  all  parties  in  this  house.  But 
this  resolution  is  of  no  party,  and  requires  not  that  any  particular  individual 
should  second  it.  It  is,  indeed,  one  that  need  not  be  formally  seconded  by  the 
lips,  for  it  is  sustained  by  the  feelings  of  every  gentleman  around  these  benches. 
The  honorable  provincial  secretary  has  referred  to  the  awful  tragedy  of  which 
we  have  just  received  the  painful  intelligence,  in  terms  so  feeling  and  so  appro 
priate  and  just,  that  although,  according  to  parliamentary  usage,  I  have 
undertaken  my  present  duty,  but  little  observation  is  required  on  my  part  to 
confirm  or  indorse  those  sentiments.  We  all  feel,  sir,  that  an  occurrence  has 


408  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

taken  place  which,  at  the  present  age  of  the  world,  is  not  only  an  outrage  upon 
an  individual  and  a  nationality,  but  is  an  outrage  upon  mankind  and  the  civili 
zation  of  the  world  at  large ;  and  although  we  belong  to  another  empire  than 
that  in  which  this  dreadful  scene  has  been  enacted,  we  are  deeply  moved  by 
the  awful  fact  that  there  has  been  a  gross  outrage  committed  against  those 
feelings  which  are,  and  ever  will  be,  respected  in  every  country  that  prides 
itself  in  the  possession  of  the  privileges  of  civilization  and  the  blessings  of 
Christianity.  I  think  the  course  taken  by  the  government  in  adjourning  this 
house,  as  a  mark  and  testimony  of  its  feelings  on  the  present  melancholy 
occasion,  is  extremely  appropriate,  and  will  be  sure  to  meet  with  the  cordial 
approval  of  every  member  in  this  house,  and  of  every  man  in  this  country. 
The  resolution  passed  unanimously,  and  the  house  adjourned. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Oldham,  in  the  county  of 
Lancaster,  held  at  the  Town  Hall  in  Oldham,  on  Wednesday,  the  3d  day  of 
May,  18<J.~>.  it  was 

Resolved,  That  this  council  hereby  expresses  its  horror  at  the  crime  recently 
perpetrated,  in  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  Amer 
ica,  and  the  attempted  assassination  of  Mr.  Seward,  and  desires  to  lay  before 
the  United  States  their  wish  that  the  government  may  still  be  carried  on 
efficiently,  and  in  the  interests  of  peace,  notwithstanding  the  loss  sustained  by 
them  and  the  world. 

[SEAL.]  JOSIAII  RADCLIFFE,  Mayor. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Oldham. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Oldham,  in  the  county  of 
Lancaster,  held  at  the  Town  Hall  in  Oldham,  on  Wednesday,  the  3d  day  of  May, 
18G5,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  this  council  expresses  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  its  sincere  and  strong 
sympathy  with  her  in  the  sorrow  which  she  must  feel,  and  the  loss  she  has 
sustained,  by  the  foul  crime  that  has  been  committed  in  the  assassination  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  trusts  she  may  have  strength  to  bear  the 
great  sorrow  that  has  been  thrown  upon  her,  and  power  to  look  beyond  the 
present. 

[SEAL.]  JOSIAH  RADCLIFFE,  Mat/or. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       409 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Oldham,  in  the 
county  of  Lancaster,  convened  upon  a  requisition  to  the  worshipful  the  mayor, 
held  at  the  Town  Hall  in  Oldham,  on  Monday,  the  1st  day  of  May,  1865, 
Josiah  Radcliffe,  esq.,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  deep  and  unqualified 
abhorrence  of  the  foul  and  atrocious  crime  which  has  been  perpetrated  on  the 
person  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  the  diabolical  attempt 
to  assassinate  Mr.  Seward,  while  helpless  and  prostrated  on  a  bed  of  sickness. 
The  tragic  event  has  suddenly  deprived  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  a 
Chief  Magistrate  whom  they  had  learned  to  love  and  revere,  and  thus  plunged 
them  into  the  deepest  sorrow  and  distress.  It  has  also  caused  all  right-minded 
people  in  every  land  to  feel  the  strongest  horror  and  disgust  at  its  cowardly  and 
dastardly  character.  We  denounce  not  only  the  instrument  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S 
death,  but  all  who  may  have  aided  and  abetted  him,  and  any  who  may  be  so  lost 
to  honor  and  justice  as  to  approve  of  such  a  diabolical  deed.  We  desire  to 
acknowledge  our  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United  States,  who  have 
been  thus  ruthlessly  deprived  of  a  wise  and  good  ruler  at  a  time  when  his  mod 
eration  and  sagacity  were  so  needful  to  the  cause  of  peace.  While  we  an; 
conscious  that  the  cruel  act  which  we  all  deplore  is  so  eminenlly  calculated  to 
rouse  the  deepest  indignation,  still  we  trust  that  in  the  order  of  Providence  the 
same  wise  forbearance  which  President  LINCOLN  has  manifested  may  be  shown 
by  his  successor,  President  Johnson,  and  that  peace  and  harmony  may  be 
speedily  restored  to  the  whole  country. 

It  was  also 

Resolved,  That  in  accordance  with  the  deep  sorrow  which  animates  our  own 
breasts,  we  feel  constrained  to  express  our  heartfelt  sympathy  and  condolence 
with  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  her  sudden  and  overwhelming  bereavement,  and  we  trust 
she  may  be  enabled  to  derive  some  consolation  from  the  fact  that  she  has  the 
sympathy  of  the  whole  civilized  world,  and  from  the  consciousness  that  her 
husband  was  actuated  by  the  noblest  motives  and  the  most  generous  designs; 
that  he  harbored  no  resentment  in  his  lofty  soul,  but  sought  to  heal  the  wounds 
which  have  lacerated  his  country  by  kindness  and  conciliation,  and  by  a 
Christian  forbearance,  which  ought  to  have  disarmed  the  malice  of  all,  and 
which  have  won  for  him  the  approbation  of  mankind. 

It  was  further 

Resolved,  That  the  mayor  be  requested  to  forward  the  foregoing  resolutions 
to  his  excellency  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  minister  at  London,  as  the  expres 
sion  of  the  feelings  of  the  people  of  Oldham,  in  public  meeting  assembled,  on 
the  tragic  event  which  has  recently  been  enacted  in  the  United  States. 

JOSIAH  RADCLIFFE,  Mayor. 

62 


410  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  Ancient  Order  of  Foresters. 

Court  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  No.  3,212,  held  at  the  Roman  Arms, 
Roman  Road,  Old  Ford,  iu  the  county  of  Middlesex,  at  the  meeting  on  Tuesday, 
2d  May,  1865,  it  was  proposed  by  P.  C.  R.  Bro.  Walsham,  seconded  by  P.  C. 
R.  Bro.  Davis,  and  carried  unanimously — 

That  the  members  of  this  court,  who  are  in  connection  with  the  London 
United  District,  numbering  upwards  of  47,000  members,  and  a  branch  of  the 
order,  comprising  nearly  150,000  members,  in  all  parts  of  the  globe,  enforcing 
no  creed  in  religion  or  code  in  politics,  do  hereby  tender  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  many  of  whom  must  be  tied  to  them  by  the  bonds 
of  brotherhood,  their  expression  of  deep  sympathy  upon  the  loss  they  have 
sustained  by  the  death  of  their  President  by  assassination — a  crime  of  such 
deep  guilt  and  magnitude  that  it  is  justly  held  in  abhorrence  by  all  nations  and 
people  ;  and  further,  to  offer  Mrs.  Lincoln  their  sincere  condolence  and  regret 
that  she  should  be  deprived  of  her  husband  by  such  a  cowardly  and  inhuman 
act. 

It  was  further  proposed  by  P.  C.  R.  Bro.  Walsham,  seconded  by  P.  C.  R. 
Bro.  Davis,  and  carried  unanimously — 

That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  forwarded  the  Hon.  Charles 
Francis  Adams,  American  minister  in  London,  desiring  him  to  offer  it  for  the 
acceptance  of  the  Secretary  of  State  at  Washington,  and  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

Extracted  from  the  minutes,  this  3d  day  of  May,  1865. 

WM.  H.  WALSHAM,  Secretary. 


His  Excellency  the  Hon.  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America  : 

We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  citizens  of  Oxford,  in  council  assembled, 
express  through  you,  sir,  to  our  brethren  the  great  American  nation,  the  abhor 
rence  and  detestation  with  which,  in  common  with  the  whole  British  nation, 
and  indeed  the  whole  civilized  world,  we  regard  the  foul  crime  by  which  the 
late  President  has  been  deprived  of  his  life,  his  wife  and  family  of  a  faithful 
and  loving  husband  and  father,  and  his  country  of  a  true  citizen. 

We  pray,  sir,  that  under  your  auspices,  the  United  States  may  shortly  be 
restored  to  peace,  and  thus  be  reinstated  in  happiness  and  prosperity. 

Given  under  our  common  seal  the  18th  day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL.] 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       411 

The  Chancellor  of  Oxford  to  Mr.  Adams. 

ST.  JAMES  SQUARE,  May  6,  1865. 

SIR  :  As  chancellor  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  I  have  the  honor  of  trans 
mitting  to  you  an  address  under  the  seal  of  the  university,  unanimously  adopted 
by  convocation,  expressive  of  their  condolence  with  the  government  and  the 
people  of  the  United  States  on  the  calamity  which  has  recently  befallen  them 
in  the  assassination  of  the  President ;  their  abhorrence  of  the  act  of  the  assassi 
nation  ;  their  friendly  feeling  towards  a  kindred  nation,  and  their  earnest  prayers 
for  the  restoration  of  peace  and  national  prosperity  to  your  now  suffering  coun 
try.  It  is,  I  hope,  unnecessary  for  me  to  assure  your  excellency  of  my  entire 
personal  concurrence  in  the  sentiments  of  which  I  am  made  the  official  organ  ; 
but  the  departure  on  this  occasion  by  the  university  from  its  almost  invariable 
practice  will  afford  an  additional  proof,  if  any  were  required,  of  the  strength 
and  genuineness  of  the  feelings  which  this  atrocious  crime  and  lamentable 
catastrophe  have  evoked  from  all  classes  and  all  shades  of  political  opinions, 
from  the  sovereign  downward,  throughout  the  whole  of  the  United  Kingdom. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  your  excellency's  most 
obedient  servant, 

DERBY. 

His  Excellency  Hon.  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

Minister  of  the  United  States. 


Address  to  his  excellency  the  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  of 

the  United  States  of  America. 

May  it  please  your  excellency  :  We,  the  chancellor,  masters,  and  scholars 
of  the  University  of  Oxford,  request  your  excellency  to  convey  to  the  govern 
ment  and  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  the  assurance  of  our  sincere 
condolence,  on  the  occasion  of  the  appalling  calamity  which  has  recently  befallen 
your  country. 

It  is  not  the  practice  of  this  University  to  notice,  in  its  corporate  capacity, 
events  which  do  not  directly  affect  the  well-being  of  our  own  country.  But  at 
this  singular  and  lamentable  crisis  we  are  conscious  of  the  full  force  of  those 
recollections  of  the  past  which  must  at  all  times  lead  the  British  nation  to  regard 
with  a  community  of  interest  the  fortunes  and  destinies  of  a  friendly  and  a 
kindred  people.  In  accordance  with  these  sentiments,  it  is  the  anxious  desire 
of  the  university  to  express  to  your  excellency  the  abhorrence  with  which  we, 
together  with  the  whole  civilized  world,  regard  the  assassination  of  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States.  We  would  also  at  the  same  time  express,  in  common 
witli  all  ranks  of  our  countrymen,  our  earnest  hope  that  by  the  orderings  of  a 


412  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

merciful  Providence  the  American  people  may  speedily  enjoy  the  restoration  of 
internal  peace  and  national  prosperity. 

Given  at  our  house  of  convocation,  under  the  common  seal,  this  fifth  day 
of  May.  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  God  1865. 

[SEAL.] 


MAYOR'S  OFFICE,  CITY  HALL, 

Ottawa,  April  19,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  herein  a  copy  of  a  resolution  adopted 
unanimously  by  the  municipal  council  of  this  city,  the  same  being  but  an  imper 
fect  expression  of  the  most  sincere  sympathy  of  this  community  towards  the 
American  people,  on  the  melancholy  occasion  of  the  recent  tragical  death  of  the 
late  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  at  the  hands  of  an  assassin. 

I  would  also  beg  leave  to  express  my  regret  at  the  atrocious  attempt  made 
upon  your  own  life  and  others  of  your  family  and  household,  and  have  great 
pleasure  to  learn  this  day  by  public  report  of  the  certain  and  gradual  improve 
ment  in  the  condition  of  yourself  and  those  who  unfortunately  suffered  with 
you. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain  your  obedient  servant, 

M.  K.  DICKENSON, 

Mayor  of  Ottawa. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Resolutions  of  the  city  of  Ottawa. 

Resolved,  That  this  corporation  deems  it  its  duty  to  express  its  sincere 
regret  for  the  untimely  and  tragical  fate  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  which  calamitous  event  has  bereft  a  friendly  nation 
of  its  Chief  Magistrate  and  mankind  of  a  character  noble  for  his  integrity  and 
firmness.  And  that  as  an  expression  of  the  deep  sympathy  felt  by  this  com 
munity  for  the  afflicted  people  who  have  thus  suddenly  been  deprived  of  their 
chief  ruler,  the  mayor  be  requested  to  order  the  national  ensign  to  be  raised  on 
the  public  buildings  of  this  city,  and  the  citizens  of  Ottawa  are  hereby  respect 
fully  requested  to  follow  such  example. 

[L.  s.]  M.  K.  DICKENSON,  Mayor. 

Certified :  WM.  P.  LETT,  City  Clerk. 

CITY  HALL,  OTTAWA,  April  19,  1865. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       413 

Excerpt  from  minutes  of  the  meeting  of  the  magistrates  and  commissioners  of 
the  burgh  of  Patrick,  near  Glasgow,  Scotland,  held  on  the  8th  day  of  May\ 
in  the-  year  1865. 

Inter  alia,  it  was  unanimously  resolved,  on  the  motion  of  Allan  Arthur, 
senior  magistrate  of  the  burgh — 

That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  their  grief  and  abhorrence  at  the 
crime  by  which,  in  an  eventful  crisis,  the  United  States  of  America  have  been 
deprived  of  a  wise  and  good  President,  and  the  life  of  one  of  their  Secretaries 
of  State  has  been  endangered ;  their  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United 
States  in  the  trying  circumstances;  respectful  condolence  with  the  widow  and 
family  of  the  lamented  late  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN;  and  the  hope  that 
the  life  of  Mr.  Seward  may  be  spared  to  his  country  and  to  his  family. 

And,  further,  this  meeting  desire  to  express  the  fond  trust  that  under  the 
favor  of  Almighty  God  the  blessing  of  peace  may  soon  be  restored  to  those 
States,  so  long  suffering  the  horrors  of  war. 

That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  excerpted  from  the  minutes  by 
the  clerk  to  the  commissioners,  signed  by  the  senior  magistrate  in  the  name  of 
the  meeting,  and  sent  to  his  excellency  the  minister  of  the  United  States  in 
London. 

ALLAN  ARTHUR, 
Senior  Magistrate  of  the  Burgh  of  Patrick 

MAT.  WALKER,  Clerk. 


At  Pollokshaws,  and  within  the  council  chamber  there,  on  Friday,  the  5th 
day  of  May,  1865: 

At  a  meeting  of  the  magistrates  and  town  council  of  the  burgh  of 
Pollokshaws — present,  Provost  Austin,  Bailie  King,  Treasurer  Nicol,  Counsel 
lors  Watson,  Baird,  Mclntire,  Mackay,  Brownlie,  and  Steel — the  provost  in  the 
chair — Provost  Austin  moved  that  the  magistrates  and  town  council  express 
their  sympathy  with  the  community  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
especially  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  family,  on  the  melancholy  bereavement 
they  have  sustained  through  the  assassination  of  the  late  President  of  those 
States. 

This  motion  was  seconded  by  Bailie  King,  and  unanimously  agreed  to, 
and  the  clerk  was  instructed  to  forward  to  the  American  minister  in  London  a 
copy  of  this  minute. 

In  respect  whereof: 

WILLIAM  AUSTIN,  Provost, 

I  certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  copy. 

JOHN  KENART,  Town  Clerk. 


414  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

BOROUGH    OF    PORTSMOUTH. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Portsmouth,  hoklen  at  the 
council  chamber,  the  1st  day  of  May,  1865, 

The  mayor  having  addressed  the  council  in  reference  to  the  recent  death 
by  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  he  moved  therein, 
seconded  by  Louis  Arnoldus  Vandenberg,  esquire,  and  it  was  thereupon 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  council,  representing  the  feelings  of  all 
classes  in  the  borough,  has  heard  with  the  greatest  sorrow  and  indignation  of 
the  recent  death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  by  the 
hands  of  an  assassin,  and  of  the  attempt  made  at  the  same  time  on  the  life  of 
Mr.  Seward,  the  American  Secretary  of  State.  And  while  declaring  its  abhor 
rence  at  these  hateful  crimes,  it  desires  earnestly  to  express  its  deep  sympathy 
with  the  American  people  in  the  grief  and  distress  into  which  they  have  been 
plunged  by  those  sad  and  cowardly  events. 

It  was  then  moved  by  Mr.  Alderman  Scale,  seconded  by  W.  G.  Chambers, 
esq ,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  mayor  be  requested  to  forward  a  copy  of 
the  foregoing  resolution  to  Mr.  Adams,  the  representative  of  the  United  States 
to  this  country,  with  a  request  that  it  may  be  communicated  to  the  American 
government,  and  that  the  mayor  do  at  the  same  time  offer  the  sincere  condo 
lence  of  the  council  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  in  her  sudden  and  cruel  bereavement. 

Extracted  from  the  minutes  of  the  proceedings  of  the  council  of  the 
borough  of  Portsmouth,  the  9th  day  of  May,  1865. 

JOHN  HOWARD,  Town  Clerk. 


Address  of  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  town  council  of  the  burgh  of  Paisley,  in 

Scotland. 

SIR  :  That  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  town  council  of  the  burgh  of 
Paisley  have  received  the  intelligence  of  the  death  of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States,  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  and  of 
the  attempt  to  assassinate  the  honorable  William  H.  Seward,  an  illustrious 
member  of  his  government,  with  sentiments  of  detestation  and  abhorrence. 

That  they  desire,  for  themselves  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  burgh  they 
represent,  to  express  their  detestation  of  these  atrocious  crimes  whereby  the 
American  nation,  by  the  untimely  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  has  been  deprived  of 
an  upright  ruler,  and  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward  endangered,  and  their  deep  sympathy 
and  condolence  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  her  severe  affliction. 

They  have  also  to  express  their  sympathy  with  the  government  and  people 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       415 

of  the  United  Slates  in  being  deprived  of  their  Chief  Magistrate  at  a  momentous 
period  of  their  country's  history. 

They  would  express  a  hope  that  the  prospects  of  a  returned  peace  may 
not  be  impeded  by  the  lamented  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  that  the  measures 
to  be  adopted  by  your  government  may  tend  to  the  restoration  of  the  blessings 
of  peace. 

Signed  in  our  name  and  behalf,  and  by  our  authority,  and  the  common 
seal  of  the  burgh  affixed  thereto,  the  sixth  day  of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixty-five. 

[SEAL.]  DAVID  CAMPBELL, 

Provost  and  Chief  Magistrate  of  Paisley. 

His  Excellency  the  PRESIDENT 

of  the  United  States  of  America. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  tJie  town  council  of  the  cify  of  Perth. 

At  Perth,  and  within  the  Town  Hull  thereof,  Monday,  the  first  day  of  May, 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five,  at  ten  o'clock,  forenoon,  sederunt  in  council — 
John  Kemp,  csq.,  present,  lord  provost  of  the  city  of  Perth,  &c. — 

On  the  motion  of  the  lord  provost,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  town  council  of  the  city  of  Perth  record 
the  heartfelt  concurrence  with  which  they  and  the  people  of  this  locality,  in 
common  with  the  whole  British  nation,  reprobate  with  abhorrence  the  foul 
crime  which  has  recently  been  committed  in  and  against  the  United  States  of 
America  by  the  assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  the  twice  elected  President  of 
that  great  nation ;  and  that  the  council  express  their  participation  in  the  grief 
which  the  sad  event  has  universally  created.  The  crime  is  atrocious  from  every 
point  of  view,  eminently  dangerous  to  society,  and  deeply  distressing  to  the 
relatives  of  the  exalted  victim,  as  well  as  to  the  great  community  over  which  he 
presided  with  so  much  justice,  intelligence,  and  ability. 

And  resolved,  That  the  council  offer  their  condolence  and  sincere  expres 
sions  of  sympathy  with  the  American  people  and  relatives  of  the   deceased 
President,  by  forwarding  an  extract  of  the  present  resolutions  to  his  excellency 
the  American  ambassador  in  London. 
Extracted  by — 

WILLIAM  GREIG, 

Joint  Town  Clerk. 


41 G  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

The  improvement  commissioners  of  the  city  of  Peterboro',  in  the  county 
of  Northampton,  Old  England,  being  the  local  authority  of  the  city,  at  their 
meeting  held  on  the  2d  day  of  May,  1865,  unanimously  passed  the  following 
resolution: 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  grief  and  horror  at  the 
cruel  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  murderous  attack  upon  Mr. 
Seward,  and  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  United  States  government  an 
expression  of  profound  sympathy. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting : 

W.  STRONG,  Chairman. 


MILLFIELD,  PETERBORO',  May  13,  1865. 

SIR  :  At  a  public  meeting  held  here  on  the  12th  instant,  in  the  "Assembly 
Rooms,"  which  meeting  was  called  by  some  workiugmen,  (although  others 
assisted  at  the  meeting,)  "to  express  sympathy  with  the  people  of  America  in 
the  sad  loss  they  have  sustained  in  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,"  the 
following  resolutions  were  unanimously  passed.  As  secretary  of  the  committee 
calling  the  meeting,  I  am  requested  to  forward  them  to  you,  praying  you  to 
transmit  them  to  the  authorities  at  Washington  : 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting,  having  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President 
LINCOLN,  desires  to  express  its  profound  sorrow  at,  and  detestation  of,  the  deed 
by  which  he  was  striken  down. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  condole  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  this 
the  hour  of  her  sad  bereavement,  and  would  earnestly  pray  that  God,  the 
"  husband  of  the  widow,"  may  be  graciously  pleased  to  grant  her  the  rich  con 
solations  of  his  grace. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  to  the  people  of  America 
its  deep  sympathy  with  them  in  the  irreparable  loss  they  have  sustained  in  one 
so  wise,  so  honest,  and  so  generous  as  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  sincerely  hopes 
that  the  good  work  so  gloriously  inaugurated  by  him  may  be  carried  on  to  its 
final  issue. 

Allow  me  to  add  that  the  meeting,  although  not  so  numerous  as  it  would 
have  been  but  for  the  severity  of  the  weather,  (it  had  been  raining  incessantly 
during  the  whole  of  the  day,  and  during  the  time  of  the  meeting,)  from  250  to 
300  present,  was  very  enthusiastic  in  its  approval  of  the  principles  and  polity 
of  the  lamented  late  President,  and  rejoiced  with  joy  unfeigned  at  the  over 
throw  of  the  slaveocracy  of  the  South. 

With  deep  sympathy  for  yourself  in  this  trying  moment  of  your  country's 
history,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obedient  servant, 

II.  BEECH. 

Hon.  Mr.  ADAMS,  fyc.,  fyc. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  417 

PUDSEY,  NEAR  LEEDS,  May  4,  1865. 

The  local  board  of  surveyors  for  the  township  of  Pudsey,  near  Leeds,  in 
the  West  Riding  of  the  county  of  York,  at  their  public  meeting  yesterday, 
passed  the  following  resolution  with  a  deep  feeling  of  sorrow : 

Resolved,  That  this  board  desires  to  take  this  its  earliest  opportunity  to 
record  its  utter  detestation  of  the  atrocious  crime  of  assassination  committed  at 
Washington,  in  the  United  States  of  America,  on  the  honorable  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  in  consequence  of  which  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  their  noble 
and  beloved  Chief  Magistrate,  has  lost  his  life. 

And  this  meeting  wishes  to  express  its  profound  sympathy  with  the  people 
over  which  he  was  called  to  preside,  in  the  grievous  and  irreparable  loss  the 
nation  has  sustained  by  his  death  at  this  critical  period  of  their  country's 
history. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting : 

BENJAMIN  TROUGHTON,  Chairman. 

Hon.  C.  F.  ADAMS, 

American  Minister,  London. 


Resolutions  passed  in  the  borough  of  Preston,  in  the  county  of  Lancaster. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  said  borough,  held  on  the  27th  day  of 
April,  1865,  present  the  right  worshipful  Joseph  Isherwood,  mayor,  in  the 
chair,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  council  desire  to  express  their  utter 
abhorrence  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  to  condole  and  sympathize  with  the  American  nation  upon  the 
loss  they  have  sustained  through  the  sudden  and  lamented  death  of  their 
President. 

Given  under  the  common  seal  of  the  said  borough,  the  day  and  year  above 
mentioned. 

[SEAL.]  .  JOSEPH  ISHERWOOD,  Mayor. 

ROBERT  ASIICROFT,  Town  Clerk. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  public  meeting  held  in  Prrston  on  the  4th  of  May,  1865. 

Resolved,  That  the  inhabitants  of  Preston,  in  public  meeting  assembled, 
do  hereby  express  their  deep  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the  atrocious  assassina 
tion  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  dastardly 
attempt  about  the  same  hour  on  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State 
They  desire  to  express  their  profound  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  this 
53 


418  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

mournful  affliction,  and  with  the  American  government  and  people  in  the  loss, 
at  such  a  crisis,  of  one  so  recently  elected  a  second  time  to  the  office  of  Presi 
dent.  In  the  state  of  affairs  consequent  upon  the  recent  successes  of  the 
federal  arms,  the  kindly  feeling  and  the  evident  anxiety  to  smooth  the  way  to 
the  removal  of  animosities  displayed  by  President  LINCOLN  in  the  hour  of 
triumph,  render  his  removal,  in  the  opinion  of  this  meeting,  a  calamity  not  only 
to  America,  but  to  Europe. 

JOSEPH  TSHERWOOD, 

Mayor,  Chairman. 
His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States. 


Address  of  the  Preston  Anti- Slavery  Society. 

To  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States : 

SIR  :  Permit  us,  in  thought  and  feeling,  to  join  with  the  great  multitude  of 
mourners,  and  with  them  utter  our  deep  sorrow  over  the  loss  of  one  so  noble- 
hearted,  so  gentle  and  wise,  as  the  late  President  of  the  American  republic. 

We  are  shocked  at  the  atrocious  and  dastardly  mode  by  which  so  valuable 
a  life  was  destroyed,  and  can  only  attribute  it  to  the  corrupting  influence  of  the 
foul  system  of  slavery,  which  engenders  the  most  cruel  and  inhuman  passions 
We  desire  to  express  and  offer,  through  you,  our  deep  sympathy  with  the 
American  government  and  people  in  their  grief  over  this  cruel  deed,  which  is 
truly  the  crowning  enormity  of  that  catalogue  of  crimes  committed  in  the  name 
of  slavery.  With  them  we  execrate  the  brutal  assault  on  Mr.  Seward  and  his 
sons,  and  join  in  gratitude  for  their  spared  lives. 

Permit  us  to  hope  that  the  anti-slavery  policy  so  wisely  inaugurated  and  so 
firmly  executed  by  your  predecessor,  may  under  your  governance  be  practically 
completed,  until  in  America  shall  be  found  only  the  freed  man  and  the  citizen, 
and  unjust  prejudice,  disappearing  from  all  classes  of  society,  shall  follow  as  a 
shadow  the  departed  form  of  slavery. 

Our  sense  of  the  inestimable  worth  of  the  departed  checks  the  disposition 
to  congratulate  you  upon  your  ascension  to  the  presidential  chair ;  but  remem 
bering  your  manner  of  life  from  your  youth  up,  your  steadfastness  and  sufferings 
on  behalf  of  your  convictions,  and  the  gifts  with  which  you  have  been  so  liberally 
endowed,  and  have  so  diligently  cultivated,  we  beg  to  express  our  earnest  hope 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       419 

and  confidence  that  your  future  career  will  testify  your  worthiness  of  the  honor 
and  your  ability  to  sustain  the  responsibility  so  unexpectedly  conferred  upon  you. 
Accept,  sir,  for  yourself  and  the  great  republic  of  America,  our  best  wishes. 
Signed  for  and  on  behalf  of  the  Preston  Anti-Slavery  Society  : 

JNO.  McKEAN,  President. 
ROBT.  BENSON,  Treasurer. 
SARAH  J.  CLEMESIIA, 
EDWIN  COX, 

Honorary  Secretaries. 


Address  of  the  Preston  Anti-Slavery  Society. 
To  Mrs.  LINCOLN  : 

MADAM  :  We  desire  not  to  invade  the  privacy  of  domestic  sorrow — a  sorrow 
into  the  agony  and  solitude  of  which  only  one,  the  Divine  Comforter,  can  and 
does  fully  enter — but  we  wish  to  assure  you  of  our  sincere  and  deep  sympathy 
by  which,  in  some  degree,  we  share  your  grief,  and  of  our  earnest  hope  that  you 
may  be  sustained  in  this  time  of  bitter  trial  by  the  memory  of  the  Christian 
character  and  noble  life  of  the  late  Mr.  LINCOLN,  as  also  by  the  universal 
sympathy  which  his  untimely  loss  has  excited,  by  the  general  tribute  already 
offered  to  his  wisdom  and  nobility  as  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  American 
republic,  and  above  all,  by  that  religious  faith  which  he  so  truly  manifested, 
and  which  sheds  upon  his  grave  the  light  of  a  better  hope  exclaiming :  "  Blessed 
are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord ;  yea,  saith  the  spirit,  for  they  rest  from 
their  labors  and  their  works  do  follow  them." 

Signed  for  and  in  behalf  of  the  Preston  Anti-Slavery  Society  : 

JNO.  McKEAN,  President. 

ROBT.  BENSON,  Treasurer. 

SARAH  J.  CLEMESHA, 

EDWIN  COX, 

Honorary  Secretaries. 


SIR  :  Having  followed  the  fortunes  of  the  federal  government  and  people 
during  the  terrible  war  of  the  last  four  years  with  intense  and  undisguised 
sympathy,  we  cannot  now  refrain  from  expressing  our  profound  and  grateful 
joy  in  the  magnificent  triumph  which  has  crowned  the  northern  arms — a 
triumph  which,  in  sealing  forever  the  fate  of  the  most  infamous  of  rebellions, 
also  pronounces  the  final  doom  of  the  foulest  slavery  the  world  has  ever  known; 
a  triumph,  not  of  arms  merely,  but  of  principles — the  principles  of  "  liberty, 
equality,  and  fraternity."  Alas,  sir,  that  a  nation's  joy  should  be  so  suddenly 
eclipsed — that  a  short-sighted  malignity,  born  only  of  slavery,  should  rob  the 


420  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

world  of  a  man  so  true  and  noble-hearted,  so  just  yet  gentle,  so  sagacious  and 
humane,  as  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  While,  sir,  we  are  shocked  at  this  accursed 
deed,  and  execrate  the  foul  conspiracy  of  which  it  formed  but  a  part,  we  cease 
to  be  astonished  when  we  remember  that  the  history  of  the  slave  power  is  a 
history  of  crime  and  corruption,  of  Satanic  cruelty  and  baseness.  Having  first 
sought  to  murder  liberty,  we  do  not  wonder  that  its  guilt  should  culminate  in 
the  assassination  of  the  great  liberator.  But,  sir,  though  he  dies,  liberty  sur 
vives  !  It  lives  in  the  aspirations  of  a  race  uprising  from  beneath  the  burden  of 
centuries  of  wrong  and  misery.  It  is  seen  emerging  from  the  dismal  night  of 
a  dead  past,  rejoicing  in  its  native  air  and  the  early  morn  of  its  redemption. 
The  redeeming  sacrifice  has  indeed  been  precious,  but  around  its  altar  stand  a 
chastened  but  disenthralled,  a  purified  and  ennobled  people,  who  bow  the  head 
and  exclaim  with  their  martyred  chief:  "  The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true 
and  righteous  altogether;"  "for  the  Lord  knoweth  the  way  of  the  righteous, 
but  the  way  of  the  ungodly  shall  perish." 

We  rejoice,  sir,  that  the  control  and  governance  of  the  great  republic 
in  this  crisis  of  its  history  have  been  committed  to  one  who,  by  a  long  and 
honorable  career  of  public  service,  by  fidelity  to  constitutional  law  and  moral 
conviction,  has  merited  the  entire  confidence  of  the  American  people.  In  the 
presence  of  the  manifold  and  great  difficulties  involved  in  a  state  of  social  and 
national  transition,  our  congratulations  upon  your  ascension  to  the  presidential 
chair  may  fittingly  assume  the  form  of  sincere  desire  and  earnest  hope  that, 
endowed  with  wisdom  and  knowledge,  strengthened  by  conscious  rectitude  and 
the  love  of  truth,  you  may  tread  the  future  as  firmly  and  as  nobly  as  the  past, 
maintaining  justice,  yet  delighting  in  mercy,  healing  the  nation's  wounds,  and 
rebuilding  her  waste  places,  until  "  peace  be  in  her  walls,  and  joy  in  all  her 
palaces,  her  cottages  and  halls." 

Accept,  sir,  for  yourself  and  the  American  people,  this  assurance  of  our 
sympathy  in  your  joy  and  in  your  grief,  and  of  our  best  wishes  for  your  pros 
perity  and  welfare,  and  for  the  maintenance  and  increase  of  our  mutual  amity 
and  friendship. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  Preston  Union  and  Emancipation  Society: 

JNO.  HASLAN,  President. 

His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States. 


We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Pembroke,  in 
council  assembled,  are  anxious  to  express  to  you,  as  the  representative  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  the  feelings  of  disgust  and  abhorrence  with  which 
we  heard  of  the  assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  the  late  President  of  the  United 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       421 

States,  and  more  especially  at  a  time  when  the  councils  of  that  great  nation 
required  the  benefit  of  his  valuable  services  and  judgment. 

We  also  request  that  you  will  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  other  members 
of  the  family  of  the  late  President  the  expression  of  our  deep  and  heartfelt 
sympathy  with  them  under  their  present  bereavement  and  in  the  irreparable 
loss  which  they  have  so  suddenly  sustained ;  and  which  feeling  of  deep  sympa 
thy  is,  we  believe,  universally  entertained  throughout  the  United  Kingdom. 

We  further  venture  to  express  our  earnest  hope  that  the  most  friendly  feel 
ings  may  ever  exist  between  the  people  of  the  United  States  and  of  this  country. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  mayor  and  council,  and  under  the  corporate  seal 
of  the  said  borough,  this  9th  day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  JONAS  DAWKINS,  Mayor. 

His  Excellency  the  Hon.  C.  F.  ADAMS, 

Minister  of  the  United  States  of  America,  resident  in  London. 


Resolutions  of  the  independent  ministers  of  the  counties  of  Carmarthen,  Cardigan, 
and  Pembroke  on  the  death  of  President  Lincoln. 

A  resolution  passed  unanimously  at  the  annual  association  of  the  independent 
ministers  of  the  counties  of  Carmarthen,  Cardigan,  and  Pembroke,  held 
at  Maenclochog,  Pembrokeshire,  June  6,  18(55,  Rev.  Evan  Lewis  Bryn- 
berian  presiding ;  and  also  at  the  annual  association  of  the  independent 
ministers  of  the  counties  of  Glamorgan,  Monmouth,  Dadnor,  and  Brecon, 
held  at  Neath,  Glamorganshire,  July  5,  1865,  Rev.  Dr.  Rees,  of  Swansea, 
presiding. 

(These  two  associations  represent  289  ministers  and  438  churches.) 

That  this  conference  desires  to  inform  our  fellow-Christians,  and  especially 
our  fellow-countrymen  in  America,  of  our  deep  interest  in  the  past  history  and 
our  full  confidence  in  the  future  progress  of  the  United  States.  That  we 
acknowledge  in  the  late  war  the  righteous  judgment  of  God  on  the  northern 
and  southern  States,  and  also  on  Great  Britain,  in  the  distress  occasioned  by  the 
war,  and  see  in  it  an  instance  of  retributive  providence,  as  a  temporal  judgment 
for  the  commencement,  continuance,  and  defence  of  the  polluted  system  of 
slavery,  reducing  the  man  created  in  God's  image  to  the  status  of  the  animal. 

That  we  have  personally  and  socially  prayed  for  the  speedy  termination  of 
the  war  in  the  complete  overthrow  and  everlasting  destruction  of  the  slave 
system,  and  for  the  progress  of  liberty  and  virtue  in  America. 

That  we  congratulate  the  American  people  on  the  quashing  of  the  rebel 
lion  ;  and  desire  that  they  may  have  wisdom  from  above  in  the  reconstruction 
of  the  Union  on  principles  and  by  laws  acknowledging  that  men  of  all  colors 
and  languages  are  equal. 


422  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

That  in  common  with  the  whole  civilized  world  we  have  felt  deeply  indig 
nant  on  reading  the  account  of  the  treacherous  murder  of  the  benevolent 
President.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN;  and  while  deeply  sympathizing  with  the  sorrow 
ing  widow  so  mysteriously  bereaved  of  her  husband,  and  the  nation  so  suddenly 
deprived  of  her  leader,  we  earnestly  pray  that  that  "  righteous  man  has  not 
been  taken  away  from  the  evil  to  come." 

That  we  see  in  the  whole  history  of  the  "  irrepressible  conflict"  between 
slavery  and  freedom  in  the  States  a  fresh  proof  that  "  righteousness  exalteth  a 
nation,  but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people." 

And,  lastly,  we  trust  that  with  the  restoration  of  peace  there  will  be  a 
vigorous  renewal  of  those  philanthropic  and  religious  efforts  that  have  made 
America  so  conspicuous  in  the  past  for  moral  reformations  and  religious  revivals ; 
so  that  she  may  become  in  the  future  still  more  eminent  for  powerful  and  more 
enduring  revivals,  having  been  freed  from  the  curse  of  slavery,  that  defiled  with 
its  touch  everything  with  which  it  came  in  contact;  and  that  she  may  be  a  free 
country,  living  in  peace  at  home  and  in  peace  with  all  other  nations,  according 
to  the  wish  so  beautifully  expressed  by  the  ever  to  be  remembered  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN  on  his  reinauguration  as  President,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1865. 

EVAN  LEWIS,  Chairman. 
THOMAS  REES,  Chairman. 
SIMON  EVANS,  Secretary. 
ELLIS  HUGHES,  Secretary. 


BOROUGH    OF    PLYMOUTH. 

Record  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  councillors  of  the  borough  of  Plymouth. 

We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  councillors  of  the  borough  of  Plymouth,  in 
council  assembled,  desire  to  record  our  feelings  of  indignation  and  sorrow  at 
the  atrocious  crimes  by  which  the  United  States  of  America  have  been  deprived 
of  their  Chief  Magistrate,  and  the  life  of  a  principal  officer  of  state  has  been 
endangered,  and  to  join  our  voices  in  the  universal  condemnation  of  the  authors 
of  these  deplorable  events. 

We  desire  to  tender  to  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  the 
assurance  of  our  profound  sympathy  under  this  great  calamity,  and  to  offer  to 
the  widow  of  the  lamented  President  our  respectful  condolence  at  her  bereave 
ment.  We  earnestly  hope  that  in  this  universal  sentiment,  and  the  cordial 
recognition  which  has  found  so  world-wide  an  utterance  of  the  eminent  quali 
ties  and  kindly  nature  of  the  deceased,  they  may  derive  all  the  consolation 
which  human  sympathy  can  impart. 

We  confidently  trust  that  the  same  spirit  which  was  seen  to  animate  Mr. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       423 

LINCOLN  when  arrested  in  his  career  will  continue  to  guide  the  successors  to  his 
government ;  that  by  a  generous  and  conciliatory  policy,  peace  and  harmony, 
involving  the  recognition  of  justice  to  all  members  of  the  community,  may  be 
restored  to  a  distracted  nation,  and  that  the  intimate  relations  which  connect 
this  country  with  the  United  States  of  America  may  be  maintained  with 
increasing  friendship  and  cordiality. 

[SEAL.]  CHARLES  NORRINGTON,  Mayor. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  public  meeting  held  at  Plymouth,  May  3,  1865. 

At  a  public  meeting  held  at  the  Plymouth  Mechanics'  Institute,  in  aid  of 
the  freedmen  in  the  United  States,  Mr.  Charles  Norrington,  mayor  of  Plymouth, 
presiding,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted : 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  H.  A.  Greaves,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Rowe — 
That  while  this  meeting  deeply  deplores  the  severe  and  long-continued  war 
in  the  United  States,  it  records  its  gratitude  to  Almighty  God  that  the  conse 
quent  manumission  of  more  than  two  millions  slaves  has  prepared  the  way  for 
absolute  and  universal  emancipation. 

Moved  by  Mr.  Alfred  Rooker,  and  seconded  by  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Risk — 
That  this  meeting,  avowing  its  deep  indignation  at  the  recent  assassination 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  desires  to  express  its  deep  sorrow  at  the 
mysterious  event  which  has  suddenly  deprived  the  slaves  of  a  prudent  benefac 
tor,  and  the  state  of  a  ruler  who  had  inaugurated  a  policy  of  conciliation. 
Moved  by  the  Rev.  T.  C.  Page,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  S.  Elliot — 
That  this  meeting,  considering  the  sufferings  of  the   freedmen  in  their 
transition  from  slavery  to  freedom,  pledge  itself  to  render  them  such  assistance 
as  may  tend  to  mitigate  present  want  and  prepare  for  future  prosperity,  and  that 
gentlemen  and  ladies'  committees  be  constituted  to  give  effect  to  this  resolution. 
On  motion  of  Mr.  T.  C.  Brian,  seconded  by  Mr.  T.  Nicholson,  a  vote  of 
thanks  was  accorded  to  the  mayor  for  his  kindness  in  taking  the  chair.     Mr. 
Norrington  having  briefly  acknowledged  the  compliment,  the  meeting  closed. 


From  the  inhabitants  of  Plaistow,  Essex,  England,  in  public  meeting  assembled, 
to  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  : 

Permit  us,  as  a  small  portion  of  the  English  nation,  to  add  our  sentiments 
of  sympathy  and  sorrow  to  those  felt  by  you  on  the  recent  lamentable  events 
which  have  plunged  your  whole  community  into  intense  grief. 

The  base  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  with  the  attempted  murder 
of  a  chief  member  of  your  government,  is  one  of  those  events  which  merge  in 


424  ASSASSINATION  OP  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

common  unity  those  minor  political  differences  which  are  essential  to  the 
freedom  of  great  nations,  but  without  necessarily  inferring  antagonism.  Permit 
us,  therefore,  as  one  with  you,  to  offer  our  profound  sympathy  and  sorrow,  to 
unite  in  detestation  of  a  crime  disgraceful  to  humanity,  and  to  assure  you  that 
the  blow  struck  at  yourselves  recoils  on  us. 

But,  further,  we  heartily  sympathize  with  that  national  action  which,  as 
expounded  by  your  lamented  President,  had  for  its  result  the  emancipation  of 
slaves,  and  in  the  destruction  of  rebellion  the  destruction  also  of  that  system 
which  we  believe  to  have  been  its  moving  cause,  even  if  not  the  prompting 
cause,  also,  of  President  LINCOLN'S  assassination  and  the  murderous  attack  on 
Mr.  Seward.  That  as  a  united  and  universally  free  nation  your  present  position 
may  be  unendangered  by  recent  events  and  your  future  course  attended  by 
increasing  stability  and  glory  is  our  earnest  desire,  thus  expressed  through  the 
medium  of  your  official  representative  at  St.  James. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting : 

REV.  JOHN  FOSTER,  Chairman. 


From  the  inhabitants  of  Plaistow,  Essex,  England,  in  public  meeting  assembled. 

To  Mrs.  LINCOLN  : 

DEAR  MADAM  :  Many  words  in  your  present  grief  would  be  an  intrusion. 
We  have  expressed  in  another  form  our  sympathy  with  the  loss  sustained  by 
the  United  States  as  a  nation.  Here,  and  to  you,  we  would  only  say  that,  as 
men  and  women  of  kindred  race  to  your  own,  and,  therefore,  of  the  same  Christian 
family,  we  fully  share  in  the  grief  felt  by  those  more  immediately  near  to  you. 
Distance  does  not  create  division  in  a  common  sorrow ;  may  that  sorrow  felt 
most  keenly  by  yourself  be  assuaged  by  the  Great  Healer,  and  to  his  tender 
mercy  we  affectionately  commit  you  and  yours. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting : 

REV.  JOHN  FOSTER,  Chairman. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Port  Rowan,  province  of 

Canada. 

PORT  ROWAN,  April  24,  1865. 

SIR  :  In  conformity  with  a  numerously  signed  requisition  addressed  to  John 
B.  Hutchinson,  esquire,  reeve  of  the  township  of  Walsingham,  county  of  Norfolk, 
and  province  of  Canada,  a  large  and  influential  meeting  was  held  in  the  Town 
Hall,  in  the  village  of  Port  Rowan,  on  the  evening  of  Thursday,  the  20th  instant, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       425 

for  the  purpose  of  affording  the  inhabitants  of  said  township  of  Walsingham  an 
opportunity  of  expressing  their  sympathy  with  the  American  people,  and  of 
offering  their  condolence  to  the  late  President's  afflicted  widow  in  the  loss  of  so 
good  a  husband  and  father,  and  of  expressing  their  abhorrence  of  the  treacher 
ous  and  bloody  deed.  At  which  meeting  Hugh  Mabee,  esquire,  was  appointed 
chairman,  and  T.  A.  Hall,  esquire,  was  chosen  secretary,  when  the  following 
resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Moved  by  Henry  J.  Killmaster,  esquire,  and  seconded  by  P.  Bennett, 
esquire. — 

Resolved,  That  in  view  of  the  lamentable  occurrence  which  has  taken 
place  in  the  neighboring  nation  of  the  United  States,  by  which  their  Chief 
Magistrate  has  been  deprived  of  life  at  the  hands  of  a  blood-thirsty  assassin, 
we,  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  township  of  Walsingham,  deem  it  incumbent 
upon  us  to  offer  to  our  mourning  neighbors  this  expression  of  our  sympathy  for 
the  great  loss  they  have  sustained  in  thus  being  deprived  of  a  patriot  and  states 
man. 

Moved  by  John  A.  Backus,  esquire,  and  seconded  by  Benjamin  Killmaster, 
esquire — 

Rexolced,  That  this  meeting  desire  respectfully  to  offer  their  condolence 
to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  family,  and  hope,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  they  will 
be  sustained  under  this  trying  bereavement. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servants, 

H.  A.  MABEE,  Chairman. 
T.  A.  HALL,  Secretary. 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  city  council  of  Quebec. 

CITY  HALL,  Quebec,  April  22,  18G5. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  city  council,  held  on  the  21st  April  instant,  it 
was 

Resolved,  That  this  council  has  learned  with  the  most  profound  regret  (he 
death  of  the  honorable  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  caused  by  one  of  the  most  dastardly  outrages  recorded  in  history, 
and  that  as  a  token  of  respect  for  his  memory  and  of  sympathy  for  the  great 
nation  with  whom  we  are  on  friendly  terms,  and  which  is  now  plunged  into  the 
deepest  grief  for  the  loss  of  its  Chief  Magistrate  by  the  perpetration  of  the 
most  atrocious  murder,  this  council  do  immediately  adjourn,  and  that  a  copy  of 
this  resolution  be  transmitted  to  the  American  consul. 

Certified  : 

[HEAL.]  L.  A.  CANNON,  City  Clerk. 


426  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolution  of  the  town  council  of  Rochester. 

CITY  OF  ROCHESTER. 

At  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  said  city,  holden  at  the 
Guildhall,  of  and  within  the  said  city,  on  Friday,  the  twelfth  day  of  May, 
1865- 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  citizens  of  the  city  of  Roch 
ester,  in  council  assembled,  take  this  opportunity  of  giving  expression  to  our 
extreme  feelings  of  horror  and  regret  at  the  atrocious  crime  which  has  been 
recently  perpetrated  in  America,  whereby  the  United  States  of  America  have 
been  deprived  of  their  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  who  was  thus  suddenly 
cut  off  while  honestly  devoting  his  best  energies  to  the  service  of  his  country, 
and  whereby  the  lives  of  Mr.  Seward  and  some  of  his  family  have  been 
endangered,  and  we  desire  most  respectfully  to  convey  to  the  authorities  of 
America  our  deep  and  earnest  sympathies  with  them  in  the  great  loss  they  have 
sustained,  and  to  express  the  satisfaction  which  we  feel  in  the  intelligence  that, 
under  the  mercy  of  God,  the  ultimate  recovery  of  Mr.  Seward  may  reasonably 
be  anticipated. 


At  Rothesay,  the  8th  day  of  May,  1865,  the  magistrates  and  council  of  the 
royal  burgh  of  Rothesay,  in  council  assembled,  unanimously  resolved — 

That  this  council  desires  to  express  the  feelings  of  abhorrence  and  profound 
grief  with  which  they  have  received  the  painful  intelligence  of  the  assassin 
ation  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

That  this  council  heartily  sympathizes  with  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  who,  by  a  detestable  and  shocking  crime,  have  been  suddenly  deprived 
of  their  chief  ruler  at  a  momentous  crisis  in  the  history  of  their  great  country. 

That  this  council  record  their  high  respect  for  the  admirable  character  of 
the  lamented  late  President  LINCOLN  and  their  grateful  remembrance  of  his 
endeavors,  in  times  of  peculiar  trial  and  difficulty,  to  preserve  and  cultivate 
friendly  relations  with  Great  Britain. 

That  this  council  also  deeply  sympathize  with  the  late  President's  widow 
and  family  under  their  sore  bereavement,  earnestly  praying  that  they  may  be 
sustained  and  comforted  by  the  Almighty  and  Merciful  Disposer  of  all  events. 

Signed  in  name  and  by  appointment  of  the  magistrate  and  council  of 
Rolhcsay  by  the  provost  and  chief  magistrates  of  the  said  royal  burgh. 

[SEAL.]  CHARLES  DUNCAN. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       427 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  town  and  borough  of  Rochdale,  in  the 
county  of  Lancaster,  in  England,  held  in  the  council  rooms,  Rochdale,  on  the 
3d  day  of  May,  1865,  John  Tatham,  esq.,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  it  was 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  council  has  heard  with  profound  regret 
and  horror  of  the  dastardly  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  hereby 
expresses  its  deepest  abhorrence  of  such  a  deed,  and  its  sincere  sympathy  with 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  the  widow  and  family  of  the  late  Presi 
dent,  in  the  great  and  irreparable  loss  which  they  have  sustained. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  TATHAM,  Mayor. 


At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitant  householders  of  the  borough  of 
Rochdale,  in  the  county  of  Lancaster,  in  England,  convened  by  the  mayor  of 
the  said  borough,  on  a  requisition  to  him  for  that  purpose  signed  by  such 
inhabitants,  held  in  the  Public  Hall  in  the  said  borough,  on  Thursday,  the  4th 
day  of  May,  1865,  the  mayor  in  the  chair,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  give  utterance  to  the  feelings  of 
grief  and  abhorrence  with  which  it  has  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President 
LINCOLN  and  the  murderous  attack  upon  Mr.  Secretary  Seward,  and  to  convey 
to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  Mr.  Seward,  and  to  the  United  States  government  and  people 
an  expression  of  its  profound  sympathy  and  condolence. 

JOHN  TATHAM,  Mayor. 


At  a  public  meeting  held  at  the  Town  Hall  of  Ramsgate,  Kent,  on  Satur 
day,  May  6,  1865,  the  deputy,  Thomas  Whitehead,  esq.,  J.  P.,  in  the  chair,  the 
following  resolutions  were  unanimously  passed: 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  assembled  inhabitants  of  Ramsgate,  desire  to  give 
utterance  to  the  deep  indignation  and  profound  sorrow  with  which  we  have 
heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  murderous  attack  upon 
Mr.  Seward,  and  to  convey  to  Mrs  Lincoln  and  to  the  United  States  govern 
ment  and  people  an  expression  of  the  warmest  sympathy  and  heartfelt  con 
dolence. 

Resolved,  That  we  desire  to  add  to  this  expression  of  deep  condolence  our 
earnest  hope  that  the  wise  and  merciful  counsels  of  which  President  LINCOLN 
was  the  exponent  may  speedily  crown  the  dark  years  now  closed  by  this 
deplorable  event  with  a  lasting  peace  and  firm  prosperity. 

THOMAS  WHITEHEAD. 


428  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Reading,  in  the  county  of  Berks, 
holden  at  the  Town  Hall  there  on  Monday,  the  1st  day  of  May,  1865,  Charles 
James  Butler,  esq.,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  the  following  resolutions  were  carried 
unanimously : 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting,  having  heard  with  great  sorrow  and  indigna 
tion  of  the  assassination  of  Mr.  President  LINCOLN,  by  which  the  United  States 
have  been  so  suddenly  deprived  of  his  services,  desires  to  express  its  utter 
abhorrence  and  detestation  of  the  crime,  and  its  sincere  sympathy  with  the 
people  of  the  United  States  on  so  trying  an  occasion,  and  trusts  that  the  sad 
event  may  be  so  overruled  as  not  to  be  prejudicial  to  the  continued  prosperity 
of  the  best  interests  of  the  nation. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  signed  by  the  mayor 
on  behalf  of  this  meeting,  and  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Hon.  C.  F.  Adams 
for  transmission  to  his  Excellency  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting: 

CHARLES  JAMES  BUTLER,  Mayor. 


THE   ASSASSINATION    OF   PRESIDENT   LINCOLN. 
Resolutions  of  the  Rhyl  improvement  commissioners. 

At  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Rhyl  improvement  commissioners,  held 
this  day,  the  following  resolution  was  unanimously  agreed  to : 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires,  before  proceeding  to  the  business  of 
the  day,  to  express  its  detestation  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and 
of  the  wicked  attempt  made  on  the  life  of  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward,  and  to 
convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  its  deep  sympathy 
with  them  in  their  loss,  and  the  expression  of  our  hope  that  our  friendly 
relations  with  the  United  States  may  be  continued. 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  the  above  resolution  be  forwarded  to  the  United 
States  minister  in  London  for  transmission. 

The  common  seal  of  the  commissioners  affixed  by  order,  this  12th  day  of 
May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  PRYDDERCH  WILLIAMS, 

Clerk  to  tlie  Commissioners. 
TOWN  HALL,  RHYL,  North  Wales. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       429 

Excerpt  from  the  minutes  of  a  meeting  of  commissioners  of  supply  of  the  county 
of  Roxburg,  held  at  Jedburg,  the  1st  day  of  May,  1865. 

The  commissioners  of  supply  of  the  county  of  Roxburg,  at  their  meeting 
held  tliis  day,  unanimously  resolved  to  record  their  heartfelt  indignation  at  the 
atrocious  murder  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  attempt  to  assassinate  Mr.  Seward,  the  Secretary  of  State.  They  feel 
assured  that  throughout  the  whole  of  the  States,  as  in  every  civilized  country, 
the  sad  event  will  be  equally  deplored,  and  they  desire  by  this  resolution  to 
intimate  their  deep  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  people  of  the  States,  and 
to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  under  the  heavy  bereavement  which  this  disgraceful  crime  has 
occasioned. 

That  this  resolution  be  signed  by  the  chairman,  on  their  behalf,  and  there 
after  transmitted  to  the  American  minister  in  London,  with  a  request  that  the 
same  may  be  communicated  to  the  people  in  the  States,  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
in  such  a  way  as  he  may  think  proper. 

WILL.  OLIVER  RUTHERFORD, 

Chaif  man. 


TOWN  HALL,  RYDE. 

SIR:  We,  the  Ryde  commissioners,  incorporated  by  act  of  Parliament,  beg 
beg  to  express  our  great  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the  lamentable  assassination 
of  your  late  respected  President,  whereby  the  American  nation  has  lost  the 
services  of  an  enlightened  ruler  and  noble-minded  patriot. 

We  respectfully  tender  through  you  to  his  bereaved  widow,  and  to  the 
government  and  people  of  the  United  States,  our  heartfelt  sympathy  on  this 
melancholy  occasion ;  and  we  sincerely  hope  that  the  era  of  peace,  mercy,  and 
liberty,  which  your  late  illustrious  chief  so  happily  inaugurated,  may  be  carried 
by  his  successor  to  a  just  and  satisfactory  termination. 

Given  under  our  common  seal,  this  9th  day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  THOMAS  DASHWOOD, 

Chairman  of  the  Ryde  Commissioners. 

His  Excellency  Hon  C.  F.  ADAMS, 

Minister  of  the  United  States  to  the  Court  of  St.  James. 


At  a  public  meeting  held  in  the  Congregational  church,  George  street, 
Ryde,  on  Monday,  May  1,  1865,  the  pastor,  Rev.  George  Allan  Coltart,  in  the 
chair,  the  following  resolutions  were  carried  unanimously  : 

That  this  meeting  desires  to  record  its  horror  and  indignation  at  the 
atrocious  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  ;  to  express  its  sympathy  with  the 


430  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

American  people  in  this  terrible  calamity  with  which  they  have  been  visited, 
and  the  desire  that  it  may  be  overruled  for  the  welfare  of  the  whole  nation ; 
and  its  earnest  hope  that  He  who  has  declared  Himself  to  be  the  husband 
of  the  widow  may  grant  His  comforting  mercies  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

That  this  meeting  has  heard  with  the  deepest  solicitude  that  millions  of 
those  who,  by  the  event  of  the  war,  have  been  freed  from  slavery,  are  in  circum 
stances  of  great  physical  and  spiritual  destitution;  rejoices  in  the  formation  of 
organizations  called  the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society,  intended  to  supply  their  wants 
and  raise  them  in  the  social  scale ;  and  desires  to  make  such  contributions  as 
may  be  within  the  power  of  its  members  to  assist  this  good  work. 

GEORGE  ALLAN  COLTART, 

Chairman. 


BOROUGH  OF  SUDBURY,  COUNTIES  OF  SUFFOLK  AND  ESSEX. 

Resolutions  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Sudbury. 

At  a  meeting,  or  court,  being  a  quarterly  meeting  of  the  mayor,  aldermen, 
and  burgesses  of  the  said  borough,  held  at  the  Town  Hall  there  on  Friday,  the 
5th  day  of  May,  1865 — moved  by  Samuel  Higgs,  esq.,  mayor,  seconded  by  Mr. 
Alderman  Andrews,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  following  resolution,  on  the  subject  of  the 
lamented  late  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  be  now  adopted  by  this  meeting ;  and  that  a  copy  thereof,  under  the 
seal  of  this  corporation,  be  sent  to  the  Hon.  Charles  F.  Adams,  the  American 
minister,  to  be  forwarded  by  him  to  his  Excellency  the  President  of  the  United 
States : 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  this  council  desire  to  express  the  horror 
and  indignation  they  have  felt  at  the  atrocious  crime  by  which  the  late  excel 
lent  and  much-esteemed  President  of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  Mr. 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  has  been  deprived  of  life,  and  the  hope  they  also  entertain 
that  the  great  work  of  pacification,  on  which  his  heart  was  evidently  set,  may 
not  be  retarded  by  his  lamented  and  untimely  death. 

Given  under  the  seal  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses : 

[SEAL.]  SAMUEL  HIGGS,  Mayor. 


We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Stratford-upon- 
Avon,  in  council  assembled,  having  heard  with  feelings  of  indignation  and 
profound  sorrow  of  the  cruel  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  express  our  heartfelt  sympathy  with  the  American  government  and 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       431 

people  on  this  overpowering  calamity.  We  feel  deeply  grieved  at  the  distress 
ing  affliction  and  bereavement  which  has  thereby  fallen  upon  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and 
earnestly  pray  that  she  may  be  sustained  in  her  sad  trial,  and  that  comfort  and 
support  may  be  afforded  her  and  her  family  in  this  their  hour  of  need. 

The  murderous  attack  upon  Mr.  Sevvard,  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  the 
frightful  crimes  of  which  his  house  was  the  scene,  have  also  impressed  us  with 
the  same  feelings.  May  God  in  his  mercy  overrule  all  for  the  good  and  welfare 
of  the  American  people,  and  may  their  future  be  one  of  peace  and  prosperity. 

We  respectfully  request  his  excellency  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  minister, 
to  convey  this  expression  of  our  sentiments  to  those  whom  it  may  concern. 

Given  under  our  common  seal,  the  3d  day  of  May,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord, 
1865. 

[SEAL.] 


Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Scarborough,  in 
the  county  of  York,  held  in  the  Town  Hall,  on  Monday,  May  8,  1865. 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  council  desires  to  express  its  feelings  of 
horror  and  indignation  at  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  barbarous  attempt  on  the  lives  of  Secretary  Seward  and  his  son ;  and 
also  its  deep  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  with 
the  widow  and  family  of  the  President,  at  the  great  loss  they  have  sustained. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  council : 

AMBROSE  GIBSON,  Mayor. 


BOROUGH  OF  SHREWSBURY. 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses,  in  council 
assembled,  on  the  8th  day  of  May,  1865. 

That  this  council  desires  to  record  their  unanimous  concurrence  in  the 
feelings  of  horror,  detestation,  and  regret  entertained  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  this  kingdom,  at  the  late  atrocious  murder  of  the  Chief  Magistrate 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  in  those  sentiments  of  sorrow  and 
sympathy  which  have  already  been  expressed  on  this  most  melancholy  event 
by  our  most  gracious  Sovereign,  and  by  all  classes  of  her  subjects,  towards  the 
family,  the  friends,  and  the  fellow-countrymen  of  Mr.  President  LINCOLN. 

That  this  resolution  be,  duly  sealed  and  signed  by  the  mayor,  and  trans 
mitted  to  the  minister  of  the  United  States  in  this  country. 

[SEAL]  J.GREGORY  BRUYNE,  Mayor. 


432  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Excerpt  from  minutes  of  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  royal  burgh  of  San- 
quhar,  Dumfriesshire,  Scotland,  dated  May  10,  1865. 

"  The  council  record  that,  in  common  with  the  whole  community,  they 
have  heard  of  the  death,  by  assassination,  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
with  feelings  of  abhorrence  of  the  crime,  and  profound  sympathy  for  the  people 
of  the  United  States  in  the  calamity  which  they  have  sustained ;  and  they 
express  their  deepest  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  family  of  the 
deceased  President,  in  the  bereavement  which  they  now  mourn." 

Certified  to  be  a  true  excerpt,  by — 

W.  0.  MACQUEEN,  Town  Clerk. 


Extract  from  the  minutes  of  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  St.  Albaris, 
in  the  county  of  Hertford,  held  the  1.2th  day  of  May,  1865. 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  council  desires  to  express,  in  the  name 
of  the  inhabitants  of  this  borough,  their  feelings  of  sorrow  and  indignation  at 
the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  to 
convey  to  the  government  and  people  of  that  country  the  assurances  of  their 
deep  and  earnest  sympathy  under  this  most  grievous  calamity. 

[SEAL.]  B.  CAGG,  Town  Clerk. 


ASSASSINATION    OF    PRESIDENT    LINCOLN. 

BOROUGH  OF  SOUTHAMPTON,  Wednesday,  May  3,  1865. 

A  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Southampton  was  this  day 
held  at  the  Audit  House,  in  the  said  borough,  the  worshipful  the  mayor,  Thomas 
Bowman,  esq.,  in  the  chair. 

At  this  council  it  was  moved  by  Mr.  Alderman  Palk,  J.  P.,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Councillor  Stebbing,  J.  P.,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  council  have  heard,  with  just  indignation 
and  abhorrence,  of  the  atrocious  crime  committed  against  the  government  and 
people  of  the  United  States  of  America,  by  the  assassination  of  President 
LINCOLN,  and  hereby  express  their  deep  sympathy  and  condolence  with  that 
people  at  this  lamentable  termination  of  a  life  which,  during  his  presidency,  had 
been  devoted,  with  great  self-sacrifice,  to  the  good  of  those  over  whom  he  was 
called  upon  to  preside  as  Chief  Magistrate. 

The  council  desire  likewise  to  express  their  admiration  of  President 
LINCOLN'S  declared  feelings  of  kindness  and  mercy  upon  the  occasion  of  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        433 

remarkable  successes  so  conspicuous  during  the  latter  period  of  his  government, 
exhibiting  up  to  the  last  sad  closing  hour  of  his  existence  a  brilliant  example 
of  those  humane  principles  which  always  actuate  men  of  distinguished  attain 
ments. 

This  council  likewise  most  respectfully  tender  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family 
their  heartfelt  sympathy  and  condolence  at  the  sad  and  afflictive  bereavement 
which  they  have  been  called  upon  to  sustain  by  this  detestable  and  tragic 
event. 

That  the  foregoing  resolution  be  forwarded  to  his  excellency  the  American 
minister  in  London,  with  a  request  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  transmit  the 
same  to  the  government  of  his  country,  and  that  a  copy  be  forwarded  to  the 
American  consul  at  this  port. 

CHARLES  E.  DEACON,  Town  Clerk. 


BOROUGH    OF    SALFORD,    COUNTY    OF    LANCASTER. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  said  borough,  held  on  the  3d  day  of 
May,  18G5,  Wright  Turner,  esq.,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  it  was,  upon  the  motion 
of  the  mayor,  seconded  by  Mr.  Alderman  Davis, 

Resolved,  That  this  council  desires  to  give  utterance  to  the  feelings  of  grief 
and  horror  with  which  it  has  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN 
and  the  murderous  attack  upon.  Mr.  Seward,  and  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
and  the  United  States 'government  and  people,  an  expression  of  its  profound 
sympathy  and  heartfelt  condolence. 

WRIGHT  TURNER,  Mayor. 

GEORGE  BRENT,  Town  Clerk. 


AT  STIRLING,  the  4fh  day  of  May,  1865. 

Which  day  the  magistrates  and  town  council  of  the  burgh  of  Stirling  being 
convened,  infer  alia,  the  provost  moved  that  the  magistrates  and  town  council 
resolve  to  record  the  profound  sorrow  and  indignation  with  which  they  and 
the  whole  community  of  Stirling  have  heard  of  the  atrocious  assassination  of 
President  LINCOLN,  of  the  United  States  of  America,  their  respect  for  his 
private  and  public  character,  their  admiration  of  his  moderation  and  concilia 
tion  in  the  hour  of  success  and  triumph,  and  their  deepest  sympathy  with  the 
people  of  the  United  States  under  the  terrible  calamity  which  lias  befallen 
them.  Which  motion  was  unanimously  agreed  to,  and  the  clerk  was  instructed 
to  send  a  copy  of  this  resolution  to  the  American  ambassador  in  London. 

Extracted  from  the  records  of  said  burgh,  by— 

THOMAS  L.  GALBRAITH,  Ton-n  Clerk. 


434  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

STIRLING,  May  1,  1865. 

SIR  :  We,  the  commissioners  of  supply  and  landed  proprietors  of  the 
county  of  Stirling,  in  annual  meeting  assembled,  wish  to  express  to  you,  and 
through  you  to  the  people  and  government  of  America,  our  horror  and  detesta 
tion  of  the  great  crime  committed  in  the  base  and  cruel  murder  of  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States. 

We  feel  the  deepest  sympathy  for  the  loss  which  a  people  so  nearly  con 
nected  with  our  own  nation  has  sustained  in  the  unnatural  death  of  a  ruler  so 
good  and  so  honest,  at  a  time  when  his  value  had  come  to  be  so  thoroughly 
known  and  so  highly  appreciated,  not  only  at  home,  but  throughout  the  rest  of 
the  civilized  world. 

We  pray  that  God  may  so  direct  events  that  this  dreadful  crime  may  not 
prevent  peace,  freedom,  and  good  government  from  being  soon  established  in 
your  mighty  country. 

Signed  in  name  and  by  appointment  of  the  meeting,  by  Alexander  Gra 
ham  Speirs,  of  Culcrench,  convener  of  the  county. 

A.  G.  SPEIRS. 

His  Excellency  Hon.  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

of  the  United  States  of  America,  at  London. 


At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Stalybridge,  in 
the  counties  of  Lancaster  and  Chester,  duly  convened  by  his  worshipful  the 
mayor,  and  held  in  the  Town  Hall,  in  the  borough  of  Stalybridge,  on  Friday, 
the  5th  day  of  May,  18G5,  James  Sidebottom,  esq.,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  meeting  would  convey  the  expression  of 
its  heartfelt  feelings  of  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  together  with  the  govern 
ment  and  people  of  America,  under  their  great  affliction,  and  would  hail  with 
delight  the  carrying  out  of  the  conciliatory  policy  indicated  by  the  late  Presi 
dent,  and  the  restoration  of  peace  upon  a  just  and  enlightened  basis. 

JAMES  SIDEBOTTOM,  Mayor. 


SUNDERLAND,  May  2,  1865. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Sunderland,  in  the 
county  of  Durham,  the  right  worshipful  the  mayor  in  the  chair,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  meeting  express  its  profound  horror  and 
detestation  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  murderous  attack 
upon  Mr.  Seward.  That  it  believes  the  death  of  the  President  at  this  great 
crisis  of  American  history  is  an  unspeakable  loss  to  the  people  of  America,  and 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       435 

at  the  same  time  to  the  people  of  England  and  to  humanity  at  large.  That 
this  meeting  desires  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  to  the  United  States  gov 
ernment  and  people,  its  deepest  sympathy  and  heartfelt  condolence. 

EDWARD  T.  GOURLEY, 
Mayor  of  Sunderland  and  Chairman  of  the  Meeting. 


STAPLEHURST,  May  2,  1865. 

HONORED  SIR:  Amid  the  numerous  expressions  of  sorrow,  indignation,  and 
sympathy  which  you  are  now  receiving  from  the  metropolis  and  chief  towns  of 
Great  Britain,  in  reference  to  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  be  pleased 
also  to  receive  one  from  the  village  of  Staplehurst,  in  Kent. 

At  a  public  meeting  held  last  evening  it  was — 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  regards  with  intense  horror  and  indignation 
the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  desires  to  express  its  sympathy  with 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  the  government,  and  the  people  of  America  in  their  severe  trial. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  expresses  its  sympathy  with  Mr.  Andrew 
Johnson  in  the  responsible  office  to  which  he  is  thus  suddenly  called,  and 
sincerely  hopes  he  may  be  able  so  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  country  as  to 
complete  the  emancipation  of  the  slave,  and  secure  the  establishment  of  perma 
nent  peace. 

I  am,  sir,  with  much  respect,  yours  most  obediently, 

JOHN  JUL13,  Cfuiirman. 
His  Excellency  Mr.  ADAMS, 

United  States  Ambassador. 


STEWARTON,  AYRSHIRE,  N.  B.,  May  6,  1865. 

1.  Resolved,  That  the  inhabitants  of  Stewarton,  in  public  meeting  assembled, 
have  heard  with  grief  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  do  hereby 
express  their  unmitigated  horror  of  the  crime  which  has  so  suddenly  deprived 
the  United  States  of  America  of  an  upright  and  honored  ruler. 

2.  We  embrace  this  opportunity  of  assuring  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  of  our  deep  and  earnest  sympathy  with  them  under  this  grievous  dis 
pensation. 

3.  We  also  sympathize  most  deeply  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  family  of 
the  late  President,  and  earnestly  pray  that  they  may  be  sustained  under  the 
terrible  affliction  which  has  befallen  them,  and  that  their  personal  loss  may,  in 
the  providence  of  God,  become  a  national  gain. 

A.  POLLOCK,  Chairman. 


436  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolutions  passed  unanimously  at  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Helen  s, 
Lancashire,  convened  in  compliance  with  a  numerously  signed  requisition, 
and  held  at  the  Volunteer  Hall,  St.  Hden's,  on  the  3d  of  May,  1865. 

1.  Resolved,    That    the   inhabitants    of  St.    Helen's,    in    public    meeting 
assembled,  do    hereby    express   (heir   strongest   feelings    of  abhorrence    and 
indignation  at  the  atrocious  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  also  at  the  dastardly  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward,  the  Secretary  of 
State. 

2.  That  this  meeting  hereby  records    its   deepest    sympathy  with    Mrs. 
Lincoln  and  her  family  under  their  present  heart-rending  bereavement,  and 
trusts   that   the    universal   condolence    of  all    the    rightminded    and   virtuous 
throughout  the  world  may  be  some  solace  to  them  in  their  grievous  affliction. 

3.  That  this  meeting  desires  to  convey  to  the  people  of  the  United  States 
an  expression  of  heartfelt  sympathy  in  the  loss  they  have  sustained  by  the  cruel 
death  of  their  most  excellent  President. 

ROBERT  McNICOLL,  Chairman. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  and  borough 
of  Stroud,  held  at  the  Subscription  Rooms,  Stroud,  on  Friday  evening,  the 
5th  of  May,  1865. 

First  resolution  :  That  this  meeting  desires  to  record  the  sentiments  of 
grief  and  horror  with  which  it  regards  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN 
and  the  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward;  to  offer  its  sincere  condolence  with  Mrs. 
Lincoln  and  her  family,  and  to  express  its  deep  sympathy  with  the  American 
people  in  their  great  calamity. 

Second  resolution :  That  this  meeting  hopes  the  government  of  the  United 
States  will  ever  be  animated  by  the  spirit  of  moderation  and  conciliation  which 
characterized  the  late  President,  and  that  the  deplorable  struggle  in  which  the 
people  have  been  so  long  engaged  may  be  brought  to  an  early  conclusion,  and 
result  in  the  freedom  and  happiness  of  all  the  American  people. 

Third  resolution :  That  the  chairman  be  requested  to  forward  the  forego 
ing  resolutions  to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  minister  in  England,  as 
the  expression  of  the  feelings  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  and  borough  in 
public  meeting  assembled. 

S.  S.  DICKINSON,  Chairman. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       437 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  South 

Shields. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  South  Shields, 
in  the  county  of  Durham,  duly  convened  by  his  worship  the  mayor  at  the 
request  of  the  town  council,  and  held  on  the  10th  of  May,  1865,  William  James,- 
esq.,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  passed,  viz; 

On  the  motion  of  James  C.  Stevenson,  esq.,  seconded  by  the  Rev.  Robert 
E.  Hoopell- 

1.  That  the  dastardly  and  wicked  crimes  so  recently  perpetrated  in  the 
United  States  of  America    by    the   assassination  of  the    President   and  the 
cowardly  attack  upon    Mr.  Sevvard,  the  Secretary,  have    been  received  with 
horror  and  indignation  by  the  people  of  this  country  from  one  end  of  the  king 
dom  to  the  other,  a  feeling  in  which  the  inhabitants  of  this  the  borough  of 
South   Shields  most  sympathetically  concur,  in  common  with   the  Crown,  the 
Parliament,  and  the  people  at  large. 

On  the  motion  of  James  Mather,  esq.,  seconded  by  Mr.  Alderman  Glover — 

2.  That  great  as  the  loss  of  their  President  would  have  been  to  the 
United  States  at  any  period  of  the  civil  strife  in  which  that  country  has  been 
so  unhappily  engaged,  it  is  specially  now  to  be  deplored,  in  the  present  eventful 
crisis  of  the  contest,  when,  by  his  experience,  moderation,  character,  and  pru 
dence,  the  pain  and  animosity  engendered  by  the  war  might  have  been  alleviated* 
and  its  attendant  exasperation  tempered  and  removed,  to  the  probable  advan 
tage  and  satisfaction  not  only  of  the  northern  but  the  southern  States. 

On  motion  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  B.  Brasher,  seconded  by  Mr.  Alderman 
Moffett — 

3.  That  therefore  these  the  sentiments  and  resolutions  of  the  meeting 
and  the  sympathy  of  the  inhabitants  of  South  Shields  with  the  government 
and  people  of  the  United  States  on  their  sad  deprivation,  be    conveyed  by 
the  mayor  to  Mr.  Adams,  the  American  minister  in  London,  for  transmission 
through  him  to  the  proper  authority  in  America;  accompanied  at  the  same  time 
with  an  offer  of  our  heartfelt  condolence  to  the  unhappily  bereaved  widow  of 
the  murdered  President  on  the  irreparable  loss  which  she  has  sustained,  under 
circumstances  of  such  sudden  and  peculiar  atrocity. 

WM.  JAMES,  Mai/or. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  tlic  inhabitants  of  Southport. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Southport,  held  in  the  Town 
Hall,  on  Saturday,  the  6th  day  of  May,  18G5,  Samuel  Booth  royd,  esq.,  chairman 
of  the  Southport  improvement  commissioners,  in  the  chair,  the  requisition  and 
notice  calling  the  meeting  having  been  read  by  the  clerk  to  the  commissioners,  it 


438  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

was  moved  by  the  Rev.  B.  S.  Clarke,  seconded  by  W.  Gr.  Talbot,  esq.,  supported 
by  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Millson  and  W.  Halliwell,  esq.,  and  carried  unanimously — 

That  the  inhabitants  of  Southport,  in  public  meeting  assembled,  would 
record  their  deep  abhorrence  and  indignation  at  the  cruel  and  cowardly  assas 
sination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  the  murderous  attack  upon  Mr.  Secretary 
Seward  and  his  son. 

That  this  meeting  hereby  expresses  its  sincere  sympathy  with  the  people 
of  the  United  States  in  the  great  loss  they  have  so  unexpectedly  sustained  in 
the  death  of  their  Chief  Magistrate,  and  its  earnest  hope  that  the  fearful  war 
which  has  been  carried  on  for  four  years  in  that  country  may  speedily  be 
brought  to  an  end. 

That  this  meeting  respectfully  tenders  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  its  heartfelt  condo 
lence  in  the  deep  sorrow  into  which  she  and  her  family  are  plunged  by  this 
awful  occurrence. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  John  Chater,  seconded  by  R.  Craven,  esq.,  and  carried 
unanimously — 

That  the  preceding  resolution  be  engrossed,  signed  by  the  chairman  of  the 
meeting,  and  forwarded  to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Adams  for  presentation  to  the  Ameri 
can  government,  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  the  bereaved  widow  of  the  late  President. 

SAMUEL  BOOTHROYD. 


The  undersigned,  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Selby,  desire  to  give  expres 
sion  to  the  feelings  of  horror,  regret,  and  indignation  with  which  they  have 
heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  of  the  attempt  on  the  life 
of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward. 

The  undersigned  wish  to  convey  the  assurance  of  their  deep  sympathy 
with  the  people  and  government  of  the  United  States  under  the  death  of  one 
whose  character  had  won  the  respect  and  admiration  of  both  friends  and  ene 
mies,  and  of  their  heartfelt  condolence  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  on  the  irreparable 
loss  which  she  has  sustained. 

They  also  desire  to  express  their  satisfaction  at  the  prospect  of  a  speedy 
return  of  peace,  to  be  accompanied  by  the  extinction  of  negro  slavery  in 
America. 

JAMES  ANDUS,  Justice  of  Peace. 

HENRY  GREENE,   Curate  in  Charge. 

CHARLES  WILDHON,  Curate. 

JOHN  RHODES,    Wesleyan  Minister. 

GEORGE  ABBOTT,    H'eshyan  Minister. 

JOHN  D.  JULIAN,    Wesleynn  Minister. 

PARKINSON  MILLSON,  Primitive  Methodist  Minister. 

DAVID  CLEGG,   Independent  Minister. 

ROBERT  MORRELL,    Bank  Manager. 

WM.  SWENSEDGE,  JR.,  Merchant. 

AND   TWO   HUNDRED   AND   SIXTY   OTHIiR   NAMKS. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY".       439 

At  a  public   meeting  held  in  St.  Catharine's,  presided   over  by  William 
Eccles,  esq.,  mayor,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  passed  : 
Moved  by  Dr.  T.  Mack,  seconded  by  Rev.  Dr.  Cooney— 
That  we  feel  it  to  be  our  duty  to  express  our  heartfelt  sympathy  with  our 
neighbors  of  the  American  Union  in  the  great  loss  they  have  sustained  by  the 
untimely  death  of  their  beloved  President,  the  late  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
Moved  by  Rev.  Mr.  Burns,  seconded  by  Rev.  Mr.  Morton — 
That  we  recognize  with  religious  awe  and  humble  submission  the  will  of 
the  Almighty  in  permitting  such  a  man,  at  such  a  time,  to  fall  by  the  hand  of 
an  assassin. 

Moved  by  Delas  Beadle,  esq.,  seconded  by  Rev.  Mr.  Gary — 
That  Iris  virtues  as  a  private  citizen,  his  ability,  benevolence,  and  sterling 
integrity  as  the  head  of  a  great  people,  make  his  loss  a  calamity  not  to  the 
United  States  alone,  but  to  the  whole  brotherhood  of  civilized  nations. 
Moved  by  Hon.  J.  G.  Currie,  seconded  by  Rev.  Mr.  Howard — 
That  united  as  we  are  with  the  American  people  by  the  ties  of  kindred 
and  by  social  and  commercial  intercourse,  it  is  our  earnest  desire  and  our  fervent 
prayer  that  "  He  by  whom  kings  reign  and  rulers  decree  justice"  may  direct 
the  counsels  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  and  of  our  own  empire  so 
that  the  pacific  policy  propounded  by  the  late  President  may  be  pursued,  and 
that  peace  and  amity  between  these  two  great  Christian  nations  may  be  per 
petuated. 

Moved  by  Rev.  Mr.  Holland,  seconded  by  James  R.  Benson,  esq. — 
That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  family  and  relatives  of  the  deceased 
President  in  their  sad  and  unexpected  bereavement;  and  that  the  following 
gentlemen  be  a  committee  to  forward  an  address  of  condolence  to  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
accompanied  by  a  copy  of  the  resolutions  adopted  at  this  meeting,  viz  :  lion. 
J.  G.  Currie,  James  R.  Benson,  and  the  mayor. 


Address  of  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Catharine's. 

ST.  CATHARINE'S,  CANADA,  April  22,  1865. 

MADAM  :  On  behalf  of  a  large  and  influential  public  meeting  of  the  inhab 
itants  of  this  town,  we  beg  to  enclose  you  the  accompanying  resolutions,  and 
desire  to  address  you  in  this  hour  of  trial  and  sorrow,  and  to  tender  you  the 
heartfelt  sympathy  of  our  people  for  the  great  and  irreparable  loss  you  have 
recently  sustained  by  the  sad  and  sudden  death  of  your  late  husband,  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States. 

In  common  with  the  people  of  this  province,  we  have  ever  admired  the 
ability,  benevolence,  sterling  integrity,  and  private  worth  of  your  deceased 


440  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

husband,  and  we  feel  that  while  it  has  pleased  Almighty  God  in  His  wisdom, 
by  the  hand  of  death,  to  deprive  you  of  a  kind  husband,  and  your  family  of  an 
affectionate  parent,  the  United  States  have  lost  a  prudent  counsellor ;  and  we 
have  also  to  mourn  the  loss  of  one  whose  earnest  desire  it  always  was  to  pro 
mote  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  so  strengthen  the  ties  of  friendship  between 
the  United  States  and  the  British  empire. 

We  earnestly  pray  that  the  God  of  all  grace,  the  Father  of  the  fatherless, 
and  the  Comforter  of  all  that  arc  cast  down,  may  restore  you  at  an  early  day 
to  bodily  health,  and  vouchsafe  to  you  and  family  that  consolation  which  he  has 
promised  in  seasons  of  trial,  and  that  strength  which  will  enable  you  to  bear 
this  heavy  affliction  which  it  has  pleased  Him  to  send. 
We  have  the  honor  to  be  yours,  respectfully, 

WM.  ECCLES,  Mayor. 
J.  G.  CURRIE,  M.  S.  C. 
J.  R  BENSON. 
Mrs.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  Washington. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  public  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  town  of  Sherbrooke, 
province  of  Canada,  on  Wednesday,  the  IQth  day  of  April,  1865. 

SHERBEOOKE,  CANADA  EAST,  April  19,  1865. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  is  shocked  at  the  fearful  tragedy  which  took 
place  at  Washington,  the  capital  of  the  United  States,  on  Friday  night  last,  in 
the  fiendish  and  dastardly  murder  of  the  honorable  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  and  filled  with  the  most  painful  emotions  that  a  man 
holding  so  high  a  position,  upon  whose  life  so  many  hopes  were  resting,  and 
whose  character  was  such  as  to  give  promise  of  so  much  good,  should  fall  by 
the  hands  of  a  brutal  assassin,  in  the  presence  of  a  peaceful  audience. 

Rcesolved,  That  we  sincerely  sympathize  with  the  widow  and  family  of 
the  late  President  in  the  sudden  and  unexpected  death  of  one  so  near  and  dear 
to  them ;  who  amidst  the  unceasing  cares  and  responsibilities  devolving  on  him 
as  the  ruler  of  a  great  nation,  at  the  same  time  retained  those  social  and 
domestic  qualities  which  so  endeared  him  to  his  family,  and  to  all  those  privi 
leged  with  meeting  him  in  the  social  circle. 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  feel  for  and  deplore  the  loss  our  friends  and 
neighbors  in  the  adjoining  republic  have  sustained  in  the  removal  of  their  Chief 
Magistrate — a  man  eminently  qualified  for  his  high  position,  and  combining  in 
his  person  those  characteristics  which,  at  the  present  critical  juncture  of  their 
national  affairs,  rendered  him,  under  Almighty  God,  the  instrument  of  great 
good  to  their  country. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        441 

Resolved,  That  we  trust  the  mysterious  dispensation  of  Almighty  God,  in 
permitting  at  this  juncture  of  affairs  in  the  United  States  the  removal  of 
AimAHAM  LINCOLN  by  the  hand  of  death,  will  be  so  ordered  and  overruled  as 
not  to  prove  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  the  republic,  and  that  although 
the  leading  instrument  in  the  conduct  of  affairs  during  their  present  unhappy 
struggle;  to  an  issue  giving  promise  of  peace  has  been  removed  from  his  high 
position,  the  progress  of  true  freedom  will  be  onward,  and  the  principles  of 
liberty  perpetuated  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 

Resolved,  That  as  Canadian  citizens  connected  with  the  British  empire,  we 
but  express,  we  believe,  the  opinions  of  all  our  fellow-subjects  in  deploring  the 
removal  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  at  this  present  important  epoch  in  the  world's 
history,  believing  him  to  be  desirous  of  maintaining  friendly  relations  with  other 
nations  ;  and  that,  in  connection  with  the  honorable  Mr.  Seward,  he  was  prepared 
to  promote  and  advance  the  best  interests  of  the  world,  by  endeavoring  to 
perpetuate  the  good  feeling  and  friendly  intercourse  which  have  so  long  existed 
between  the  United  States  and  European  powers. 

Resolved,  That  we  feel  grateful  for  the  kind  interposition  of  Almighty  God 
in  preventing  the  cowardly  assassination  of  the  honorable  Mr.  Seward  and  his 
son,  on  the  evening  of  Friday  last,  and  trust  that  their  lives  will  be  spared  to 
prove  a  blessing  to  their  country  in  carrying  forward  to  completion  those  plans 
inaugurated  by  their  late  President  for  the  restoration  of  peace,  and  the  re- 
establishment  of  liberty  on  a  firm  basis. 

Resolved,  That  the  mayor  of  this  town,  as  chairman  of  this  meeting,  be 
requested  to  forward  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  Washington  on  behalf  of 
the  citizens  of  Sherbrooke. 

J.  G.  ROBERTSON,  Mayor. 


ST.  THOMAS,  CANADA  WEST,  April  19,  1865. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Thomas,  Canada  West,  on 
Wednesday,  the  19th  of  April,  1865,  the  mayor,  Thomas  Arkell,  esq.,  presided, 
and  the  following  resolutions  were  passed  unanimously. 

The  meeting  was  opened  by  religious  services,  in  which  the  ministers  of 
different  denominations  took  part. 

Moved  by  Doctor  Southwick,  cx-M.  P.  P.,  seconded  by  the  Reverend 
Doctor  Caulfield — 

1.  That  we,  the  mayor  and  inhabitants  of  St.  Thomas,  in  public  meeting 
assembled,  hereby  declare  our  unutterable  horror  at  the  crime  by  which*  the 
valuable  life  and  labors  of  the  excellent  late  President  of  the  United  States 
were  so  dreadfully  closed. 
M 


442  ASSASSINATION   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Moved  by  Daniel  Hauvey,  esq.,  seconded  by  his  honor  Judge  Hughes — 

2.  That  we  regard  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  the  diaboli 
cal  assault  on  Secretary  Seward  as  indelible  stains  upon  the  civilization  of  the 
age,  and  a  special  disgrace  to  our  race  and  language. 

Moved  by  Sheriff  Munro,  seconded  by  the  Reverend  Mr.  Cuthbertson — 

3.  That  we  desire  to  express  our  sincere  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the 
United  States  in  the  great  and  awful  loss  which  they  have  sustained  by  the 
murder  of  their  President — an  act  which  has  this  day  draped  that  nation  in 
mourning,  and  will  cause  a  shudder  of  horror  to  run  through  every  civilized 
nation  in  the  world. 

Moved  by  the  Reverend  Mr.  Ames,  seconded  by  W.  E.  Murray,  esq.,  of 
Aylmer — 

4.  That  we  express  our  deepest  sympathy  with  the  widow  and  family  of 
President  LINCOLN,  in  their  bereavement. 

Moved  by  Colin  McDougal,  esq.,  seconded  by  Mr.  Hodge — 

5.  That  the  proceedings  of  this  ineeting  be  engrossed  and  forwarded  to 
the  British  ambassador  at  Washington,  and  published  in  the  local  newspapers, 
the  London  Free  Press,  and  the  Globe  and  Leader,  of  Toronto. 

Moved  by  C.  D.  Paul,  esq.,  seconded  by  Nelson  Moore,  esq. — 
G.  That  the  mayor  leave  the  chair  and  Doctor  Southwick  take  the  same. 
The  thanks  of  the  meeting  were  then  given  to  the  mayor,  and  the  meeting 
was  closed  by  the  Reverend  Doctor  Caulfield  pronouncing  the  benediction. 
[SEAL.]  THOMAS  ARKELL, 

Mayor,  Chairman. 
THOMAS  HODGE,  Secretary. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of  Sheffield,  held  on  the 
3d  day  of  May,  1865,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  council  unites  in  the  universal  expression 
of  indignation  and  profound  sorrow  at  the  assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  the  late 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  desires  to  record  its  horror  and 
detestation  at  the  treasonable  and  wicked  act  which  has  deprived  that  country 
of  so  able  and  good  a  man,  at  a  time  when  his  services  were  so  important ;  and 
to  express  its  entire  sympathy  with  the  government  and  people  of  the  United 
States  of  America. 

This  council  also  desires  to  convey  the  expression  of  its  deepest  sympathy 
to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family,  and  begs  sincerely  to  condole  with  them  in  their 
heavy  bereavement. 

[SEAL.]  THOMAS  JESSOP,  Mayor. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       443 

Resolution  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Shef- 

Jield,  England. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Sheffield,  in  the  county 
of  York,  England,  held  on  Monday,  May  1,  1865,  Thomas  Jessop,  esq.,  in  the 
chair,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  meeting  condemns  in  the  strongest  possi 
ble  sense  the  dastardly  and  cruel  murder  of  President  LINCOLN,  in  the  hour  of 
his  clemency,  and  records  its  utmost  abhorrence  of  the  atrocious  miscreants 
who  planned  and  the  wretches  who  perpetrated  the  hideous,  detestable,  and 
unparalleled  crime ;  and  that  the  Right  Honorable  Earl  Russel  be  requested  to 
transmit  this  resolution,  in  the  manner  most  befitting  the  occasion,  to  the 
government  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  assuring  them  of  the  profound 
and  sincere  regret  of  the  inhabitants  of  Sheffield  at  the  bereavement,  and  their 
firm  hope  that,  as  in  the  past,  so  with  this  sad  occurrence,  the  United  States 
will  show  by  their  calmness,  wisdom,  and  energy,  that  though  of  appalling 
magnitude,  their  loss  is  not  irretrievable. 

THOMAS  JESSOP, 

Mayor  and  Chairman. 


Address  of  the  inhabitants  of  Sheffield,  England. 

SHEFFIELD,  ENGLAND,  May  1,  1865. 

MADAM  :  The  inhabitants  of  Sheffield,  in  public  meeting  assembled,  beg 
permission  to  approach  you  in  the  hour  of  your  grief,  to  assure  you  how  deeply 
and  tenderly  they  sympathize  with  you  in  your  great  sorrow. 

They  are  mournfully  reminded  of  the  bereavement  of  their  own  beloved 
sovereign,  and  are  well  aware  that  time  alone  can  heal  the  deep  and  terrible 
wound  which  has  been  inflicted  upon  you. 

Without  trespassing  further  upon  the  sanctity  of  your  sorrow,  they  desire 
to  express  the  fervent  hope  that  you  may  find  consolation  in  the  contemplation 
of  the  noble  and  righteous  life  of  him  who  has  been  so  suddenly  taken  away, 
in  the  thought  that  his  influence  over  the  minds  of  his  countrymen,  and  his 
power  to  promote  the  great  cause  for  which  he  would  willingly  have  died,  has 
been  increased  by  his  tragical  martyrdom ;  and,  above  all,  in  the  love  of  that 
God  whom  he  served,  and  who  lias  promised  "to  comfort  all  them  that  mourn," 
"to  be  the  Father  of  the  fatherless  and  the  husband  of  the  widow." 
Signed  on  In-half  of  the  meeting: 

THOMAS  JESSOP, 

Ma  i/or  and  Chairman. 
Mrs.  LINCOLN, 

Widow  of  Ids  E.rcellenn/  Abraham   Lincoln, 

late  President  of  the.  United  Stall's  of  America. 


444  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

THE  LATE  PEESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

Public  sympathy — Sheffield  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  Sheffield  Chamber  of  Commerce  and 
Manufactures,  held  at  the  office  of  the  chamber  the  27th  of  April,  1865,  the 
president  (Robert  Jackson,  esq.)  in  the  chair,  it  was  moved  by  Joshua  Moss, 
esq.,  seconded  by  W.  C.  Corsan,  esq.,  and  resolved— 

That  the  council  take  this  the  earliest  opportunity  of  expressing,  in  the 
strongest  terms,  the  horror  and  disgust  which  they  feel  at  the  outrage  recently 
perpetrated  in  Washington,  in  consequence  of  which  his  Excellency  President 
LINCOLN  has  lost  his  life,  and  the  lives  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward  and  other  per 
sons  of  distinction  have  been  greatly  endangered,  if  not  actually  destroyed. 

That  the  council  beg  also  to  express  their  deep  sympathy  with  the  Ameri 
can  people  in  the  loss,  at  such  a  crisis,  of  one  so  recently  selected  for  a  second 
time  to  fill  the  office  of  President.  In  the  state  of  affairs  consequent  upon  the 
recent  successes  of  the  federal  arms,  the  kindly  feeling  and  the  evident  anxiety 
to  smooth  the  way  to  the  removal  of  animosities  displayed  by  President  LINCOLN 
in  the  hour  of  triumph  render  his  removal,  in  the  opinion  of  this  council,  a 
calamity  to  all  sections  of  the  community. 

That  in  thus  giving  expression  to  their  feelings  of  disgust  and  abhorrence 
at  the  crime  which  has  been  committed,  and  their  sympathy  with  the  American 
people,  the  council  are  convinced  that  they  are  giving  utterance  to  the  feelings 
which  these  terrible  occurrences  have  excited  in  the  breast  of  the  whole  British 
nation. 

ROBERT  JACKSON, 
President  of  the  Sheffield  Chamber  of  Commerce. 


CUTLERS'  HALL,  Sheffield,' Ajjril  29,  1865. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  am  directed  by  the  Cutlers'  Company  to  send  you  the 
accompanying  resolution  passed  yesterday  by  the  company  on  the  assassination 
of  Mr.  President  LINCOLN,  and  have  to  request  that  you  will  forward  it  to  the 
proper  quarter. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  yours  faithfully, 

CHARLES  ATKINSON, 

Master  Cutler. 
Gr.  J.  ABBOT,  Esq.,  American  Consul,  Sheffield. 


Resolved,  That  this  company  desires  to  express  its  deep  sorrow  and  indigna 
tion  at  the  assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  and  to 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       445 

record,  in  common  with  the  whole  British  nation,  its  profound  sympathy  with 
the  government  and  people  of  America  at  the  very  serious  loss  they  have  sus 
tained  by  the  atrocious  crime  which  has  just  been  perpetrated. 


Address  of  the  Sheffield  Secular  Society. 

HONORED  MADAM  :  From  this  country  there  will  reach  you  addresses  of 
condolence  and  respect  from  all  classes.  The  English  nation  has  spoken  with 
one  voice  of  deep  and  sincere  sympathy  for  the  fate  of  your  illustrious  husband, 
of  detestation  of  the  vile  and  cowardly  murderer  who  struck  him  down,  iind  of 
grief  for  the  bitter  bereavement  you  have  sustained.  From  the  Queen  upon 
our  throne,  from  the  leaders  of  our  parliamentary  parties,  from  our  municipal 
and  public  bodies,  down  to  the  humblest  associations,  there  has  gone  forth  the 
most  earnest  and  unanimous  expression  of  sorrow  for  the  deplorable  loss  the 
great  American  republic  has  suffered,  in  the  violent  death  of  its  eminent  and 
honored  President;  and  the  Sheffield  Secular  Society  desires  to  put  upon  record, 
and  to  convey  to  you  and  to  your  family,  its  sincere  concern  for  this  the  most 
grievous  event  of  our  times.  Our  principles  teach  us  to  regard  reason  and 
liberty  as  the  two  great  forces  of  political  progress.  We  are  attached  to  that 
great  doctrine  of  democracy  which  regards  the  whole  people  as  entitled  to  equal 
conditions  of  personal  improvement,  of  social  prosperity  and  civil  equality  ; 
and  when  the  head  of  the  great  American  federation,  which  represents  these 
principles,  is  struck  down,  we  regard  it  as  a  crime  against  humanity  and  the 
liberties  of  the  human  race. 

Another  reason  why  we  regret  the  fate  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  why  we  honor 
his  memory,  is,  that  Mr.  LINCOLN  not  only  rose  from  the  people,  but  he  exalted 
the  people  among  whom  he  arose.  His  career  is  a  historic  proof  that  industry 
applied  to  study,  animated  by  honesty,  sustained  by  patience  and  perennial  good 
will,  may  result  in  a  commanding  capacity,  placing  the  possessor  on  a  level  with 
the  most  distinguished  statesmen  of  Europe,  and  higher  than  any  king.  The 
courage,  persistence  and  moderation  with  which  he  advanced,  and  the  impassa 
ble  heroism  with  which  he  became  the  deliverer  of  the  slave,  crowned  his  life 
with  a  kinglier  glory  than  any  which  attaches  to  any  name  in  the  history  of  men 

We  trust  that  these  considerations,  which  the  heart  of  the  English  nation 
ratifies,  will  be  to  you  and  to  your  family  some  consolation  in  this  hour  of  your 
sorrow. 

We  are,  honored  madam,  your  sincere  friends, 

JAMES  DODWORTH,  President. 
GEORGE  JACOB  IIOLYOAKE. 
II.  WM.  BELLS. 
(Signed  on  behalf  of  the  Sheffield  Secular  Society  ) 

Mrs.  LINCOLN. 


446  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolution  of  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  town   council  of  the  royal  burgh  of 

Selkirk. 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

We,  the  provost,  magistrates,  and  town  council  of  the  royal  burgh  of 
Selkirk,  for  ourselves,  and  as  representing  the  community  of  the  said  burgh 
beg  to  express  our  feelings  of  abhorrence  in  regard  to  the  assassination  of 
President  LINCOLN,  and  our  sympathy  with  the  American  people  under  the 
loss  they  have  sustained  by  the  sudden  and  violent  death  of  the  head  of  their 
government. 

Signed  by  the  magistrates,  by  authority  of  the  town  council,  and  the  seal 
of  the  burgh  affixed,  this  llth  day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  JOHNSTON,  Provost. 

THOMAS  UALYLEITH,  Bailie. 
GEORGE  LEWIS,  Bailie. 
JAMES  MILLAR,  Dean  of  Guild. 
BASIL  HENDERSIN,   Treasurer. 


Resolution    of  the    noblemen,    gentlemen,   and   commissioners  of  supply   of  the 
county  of  Selkirk,  in  public  meeting  assembled. 

Resolved,  That  this  meeting  do  record  an  expression  of  heartfelt  sorrow  and 
indignation  with  which  they  have  heard  of  the  assassination  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  feeling  assured  that  an 
event  so  terrible  in  its  nature,  and  so  calamitous  to  the  people  whose  chief  man 
has  been  thus  suddenly  cut  off,  has  excited  sentiments  of  the  deepest  horror  and 
commiseration,  not  in  this  kingdom  only,  but  in  every  civilized  country  through 
out  the  world.  They  desire  to  convey  this  expression  of  their  individual 
sympathy  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  to  the  widow  and 
family  of  the  late  President;  and  for  that  purpose  they  authorize  their  chairman 
to  sign  the  present  resolution,  in  their  name  and  on  their  behalf  and  to  trans 
mit  the  same  to  his  excellency  the  American  minister  in  London,  with  a  request 
that  he  will  communicate  it  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  and  to 
Mrs.  Lincoln  in  such  way  and  manner  as  he  may  think  proper. 

Signed  in  name  and  by  appointment  of  the  meeting,  by 

R.  WAITT,  Chairman. 

MAY  1,  1865. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       447 

Resolutions  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  the  corporation  of  Sligo,  held  on  Thursday, 

the  4fh  day  of  May.  1865. 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  members  of  the  corporation  of  Sligo,  in  council 
assembled,  hereby  tender  our  most  profound  sympathy  to  the  President  and 
people  of  the  United  States  of  America  on  the  great  loss  sustained  by  them  in 
the  death  of  their  late  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  that  we  regard  the 
means  by  which  his  life  was  sacrificed  with  horror  and  indignation. 

Moved  by  Alderman  Lyons ;  seconded  by  Alderman  McGill. 

Resolved,  That  the  resolution  this  day  adopted  be  suitably  engrossed  and 
signed  by  the  mayor,  with  the  corporation  seal  attached  thereto,  and  forwarded 
to  the  American  minister  at  London  for  presentation  to  the  American  govern 
ment. 

Moved  by  Councillor  Gillmor ;  seconded  by  Councillor  Doherty. 

[SEAL.]  W.  A.  WOODS,  ./.  P.,  Mayor  of  Sligo. 

S.  WHITTAKER,  Town  Clerk. 


Extract  from  minutes  of  proceedings  of  the  Board  of  Guardians  at  their  meeting 
$lh  of  May,  18C5,  the  right  honorable  John  Wynne,  P.  C.,  in  the  chair. 

Notice  having  been  given  on  last  board  day  by  H.  Griffith,  esq.,  D.  L.,  that 
an  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American  government  and  people 
on  the  late  atrocious  murder  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  attempted  murder  of 
Mr.  Secretary  Seward,  be  prepared  and  forwarded  for  presentation,  it  is  this  day 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  having  heard  with  feelings  of  the  deepest 
regret  the  great  loss  which  the  American  nation  have  sustained  in  the  death  of 
their  late  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  whose  honesty,  courage,  and  perse 
verance  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  the  high  position  he  occupied  have 
gained  the  highest  respect  and  esteem  for  him,  even  among  those  who  may 
have  differed  from  him  on  questions  of  state  policy,  and  by  whom  terms  of 
conciliation  tending  to  an  honorable  peace  with  the  southern  portion  of  the 
States  so  anxiously  awaited  in  these  countries  were  about  to  be  perfected,  we 
desire  to  express  our  heartfelt  sympathy  with  the  American  government  and 
people,  and  our  deep  abhorrence  of  the  atrocious  murder  committed,  as  well  as 
of  the  attempted  murder  of  Mr.  Seward;  and  we  also  tender  our  sincere  con 
dolence  to  the  bereaved  widow,  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  to  the  family  of  Mr.  Seward, 
and  add  our  earnest  prayer  that  the  death  of  the  brave,  good  man,  who  has 
died  for  his  country,  may  be  the  last  sacrifice  of  a  war  apparently  about  to 
expire,  and  that  peace,  on  a  substantial  basis,  may  speedily  follow. 

JOHN  WYNNE,  CfcawvwaH. 
DAVID  CLARK,  Clerk  of  Union. 

BOARD  ROOM,  SLIGO,  Mai/  10.  18(5.r). 


448  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Stourbridge  resolutions. 

Moved  by  Mr.  Henry  Hughes,  seconded  by  Mr.  William  Rollinson,  and 
carried  unanimously — 

That  this  meeting,  on  behalf  of  itself  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of 
Stourbridge,  takes  this  opportunity  of  giving  expression  to  its  feelings  of  con 
dolence  and  sympathy  with  the  family  of  the  late  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America  and  the  nation  at  large  on  the  occurrence  of  that  great 
calamity  to  themselves  and  to  the  whole  civilized  world,  the  assassination  of 
their  able,  beloved,  respected,  and  revered  Chief  Magistrate. 

STOURBRIDGE,  May  1,  1865. 


STOURBRIDGE  UNION. 

Moved  by  Mr.  Chance,  seconded  by  Mr.  Wood,  and  carried  unanimously — 
That  this  board  has  heard  with  the  deepest  regret  of  the  assassination  of 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States ;  and,  while  it  expresses  its 
utter  detestation  of  so  diabolical  an  act,  begs  to  offer  to  the  American  people  its 
sincere  condolence  on  the  heavy  calamity  which  has  befallen  their  nation. 
BOARD-ROOM,  WORKHOUSE,  April  20,  1805. 


UNION  AND  EMANCIPATION  SOCIETY. 

STAFFORD  AUXILIARY,  April  29,  1865. 

SIR  :  We,  the  undersigned,  on  behalf  of  the  committee  and  members  of 
the  above  society,  beg  respectfully  to  tender  to  your  excellency  our  most  sincere 
condolence  upon  the  loss  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  civilized  world 
have  sustained  by  the  atrocious  murder  of  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Trusting  that  Providence  will  direct  his  successor,  President  Johnson,  as 
an  instrument  for  perfecting  the  work  so  honestly  begun  to  a  speedy  termina 
tion,  when  the  South  may  see  that  to  be  prosperous  a  nation  must  be  both  free 
and  united, 

We  are,  sir,  yours  most  obediently, 

WM.  SILVESTER,  President. 
W.  J.  LAPWORTH,  Secretary. 
His  Excellency  the  AMERICAN  MINISTER  in  London. 


BOROUGH  OF  STOCKPORT  IN  THE  SEVERAL  COUNTIES  OF  CHESTER  AND   LANCASTER. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Stockport,  held  in  the  council 
chamber,  on  Wednesday,  the  3d  of  May,  1865,  William  Linton  Eskrigge,  esq., 
mayor,  in  the  chair,  it  was 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       449 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  council  of  Stockport,  at  its  first  meeting 
since  the  terrible  news  reached  this  country  that  President  LINCOLN  had  fallen 
the  victim  of  a  dastardly  assassin,  and  that  a  like  attempt  had  been  made  on  the 
life  of  Mr  Secretary  Seward,  unanimously  passes  a  vote  of  sincere  condolence 
with  the  United  States  of  America,  with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  with  Mr.  Secretary 
Seward,  expressive  of  the  horror  felt  by  the  council,  and  its  deep  sympathy 
with  those  afflicted  by  these  most  diabolical  acts. 

That  this  resolution  be  transmitted  to  the  envoy  extraordinary  and  minis 
ter  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  in  London,  with  a  request  that  he  will 
duly  communicate  it  to  his  government,  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  to  Mr.  Secretary 
Seward. 

The  common  seal  of  the  borough  of  Stockport  was  hereunto  duly  affixed 
in  the  presence  of — 

FSEAL.]  HENRY  COPPOCK,  Town  Clerk. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  Sunday  School  Union  of  Stockport. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  teachers,  superintendents,  and  representatives  of  the 
schools  composing  the  Sunday  School  Union  of  Stockport,  held  on  the  eighth 
day  of  May,  1865,  Mr.  Councillor  George  Barber  in  the  chair,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  Sunday  schools  of  Stockport,  embracing 
all  the  evangelical  denominations  of  the  Christian  church,  have  heard  with 
feelings  of  the  deepest  horror  and  the  most  inexpressible  grief  of  the  brutal 
assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
by  the  hand  of  a  vile  and  reckless  murderer. 

That  this  Union,  while  recording  this  expression  of  the  most  heartfelt 
sympathy  and  sorrowful  condolence  with  the  bereaved  widow  and  the  great 
American  republic,  most  cordially  recognizes  the  eminent  personal  worth,  the 
high-toned  religious  principle,  and  the  noble  civic  virtues  of  that  large-hearted 
father  of  the  American  people,  twice  elected  as  Chief  Magistrate  by  the  popular 
voice,  beloved  by  the  children  of  two  hemispheres,  admired  by  the  vast  army 
of  Sunday  school  teachers  in  the  free  countries  of  Europe  and  America,  and 
revered  by  the  great  and  good  of  every  clime,  as  the  heroic  emancipator  of  four 
millions  of  abject  bondsmen,  and  the  saviour  of  his  country  from  armed 
rebellion,  anarchy,  and  ruin. 

That  while  this  Union  cherishes  these  sentiments  with  the  deepest  emo 
tion,  it  feels  most  keenly  the  death,  by  the  hand  of  a  wretched  drunkard,  of  so 
good  a  man,  whose  persistent  advocacy  of  the  importance  of  an  education  based 
upon  religious  principles,  and  his  bright  example  as  a  steady  and  consistent 
abstainer  from  intoxicating  drinks,  alForded  strength  and  encouragement  to  our 
57 


450  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

bands  of  hope,  and  proved  that,  even  under  circumstances  of  the  most  severe 
trials  ever  imposed  upon  the  ruler  of  a  great  nation,  the  late  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America  devoted  the  full  strength  of  his  lofty  intelligence  and 
the  warmest  sympathies  of  his  noble  heart. 

While  our  Sunday  schools  are  bowed  with  sorrow,  feeling  that  each  has 
lost  a  friend,  the  prayer  is  raised  continually  that  this  fearful  rebellion  may 
be  speedily  brought  to  a  close,  and  that  a  permanent  peace  may  soon  be 
proclaimed,  established  on  the  only  righteous  basis,  viz :  that  of  union,  nation 
ality,  justice,  and  freedom,  with  equal  civil  and  political  rights  to  all  loyal  men, 
of  whatever  creed,  race,  or  condition,  and  the  inestimable  blessings  of  a  healthy 
religious  education  secured  to  all  rising  and  future  generations  of  the  republic. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  Union  : 

GEORGE  BARBER,  Chairman. 
JAMES  H.  MIDDLETON, 

Honorary  Secretary. 

STOCKPOBT,  May  8,  1865. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  vicar,  church  wardens,  and  vestrymen  of  the  parish 
of  St.  Martin  in  the  Fields,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  specially  convened  and 
held  at  the  vestry  hall  of  the  said  parish,  on  Friday,  the  5th  day  of  May,  1865 — 
present,  the  Reverend  William  Gelson  Humphrey,  B.  D.,  vicar,  in  the  chair — it 
was  moved,  seconded,  and 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  following  address  be  forwarded  to  his 
excellency  the  American  minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  viz : 

SIR:  We,  the  vicar,  church  wardens,  and  vestrymen  of  the  parish  of  St. 
Martin  in  the  Fields,  desire  to  express  to  you  the  strong  feelings  of  grief  and 
indignation  with  which  we  have  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN, 
and  the  attempted  murder  of  Mr.  Seward. 

We  are  not  without  hope  that  it  may  be  some  consolation  to  the  Ameri 
can  people,  and  to  the  widow  of  the  late  President,  in  this  their  bereavement, 
to  receive  the  sympathy  of  the  people  of  this  country ;  and  we  trust  that  the 
dreadful  events  which  have  called  forth  our  sympathy  will,  by  the  Divine 
Providence,  be  so  overruled  as  not  in  any  way  to  retard  the  restoration  of 
peace,  concord,  and  prosperity  in  the  United  States. 

W.  G.  HUMPHREY,  Chairman. 

Hon.  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

of  the  United  States  of  America. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       451 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  and  borough  of  Swan- 
son,  held  at  the  Guildhall,  in  said  town,  on  Thursday,  the  4th  day  of  May, 
1865,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  this  meeting  desires  to  manifest  its  profound 
abhorrence  and  indignation  at  the  great  crime  by  which  the  United  States  of 
America  have  been  deprived  of  their  late  Chief  Magistrate,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN; 
and  further  to  express  its  unfeigned  sympathy  with  the  government  and  people 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  widow  and  family  of  the  late  President,  in  the 
depth  of  their  calamity  and  bereavement. 

J.  CLARKE  RICHARDSON,  Mayor. 


SWANSEA  WORKINGMEN'S  INSTITUTE. 

At  a  special  general  meeting  held  at  the  institute  on  Tuesday,  May  9,  1865, 
Mr.  Benjamin  Davies  in  the  chair,  it  was 

Unanimouly  resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  Swansea  Workingmen's 
Institute,  being  desirous  of  manifesting  their  sincere  regret  at  the  revolting  act 
whicli  has  deprived  the  American  republic  of  an  able  President,  and  society  at 
large  of  one  of  its  brightest  ornaments,  beg  to  tender  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the 
government  and  people  of  the  United  States  their  heartfelt  sympathy  in  their 
present  hour  of  sorrow. 

And  it  was  further 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  resolution  just  passed  be  forwarded, 
through  the  medium  of  the  American  minister  at  London,  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and 
government  and  people  of  the  United  States. 


ST.  MARYLEBONE,  April  27,  1865. 

At  the  vestry — present,  Mr.  Churchwarden  Baddely  in  the  chair— 
Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  vestry  of  Saint  Marylebone,  having  heard 
with  the  profoundest  regret  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  beg  respectfully  and  earnestly  to  convey,  at  the  earliest  possible  oppor 
tunity,  to  his  excellency  the  American  minister  the  expression  of  their  horror 
at  the  detestable  and  cowardly  crime  that  has  been  committed,  and  their  deepest 
sympathies  with  the  American  people  and  his  excellency  in  the  lamentable 
national  catastrophe  which  has  befallen  them. 
Extracted  from  the  minutes: 

W.  E.  GREENOCK,  Vexlry  Clerk. 


452  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

PARISH  OF  ST.  PANCRAS,  IN    THE  COUNTY    OF  MIDDLESEX. 

At  a  general  meeting  of  the  vestrymen  of  the  said  parish,  held  at  the  vestry 
hall,  King's  road,  Pancras  road,  on  Wednesday,  the  10th  day  of  May,  1865 — 
Mr.  Churchwarden  Robson  in  the  chair,  and  sixty-eight  other  vestrymen  pre 
sent — it  was  moved  by  John  R.  Collins,  esq.,  pursuant  to  notice,  seconded  by 
Henry  Farrer,  esq..  F.  S.  A.,  and 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  vestry  desires  to  express  its  feelings  of 
grief  and  horror  at  the  untimely  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  by  the  hands  of 
an  assassin,  and  to  avow  its  high  appreciation  of  the  great  ability,  moderation, 
and  patriotism  displayed  by  him  as  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  at  a  period  of  extraordinary  civil  commotion.  This  vestry  desires 
further  to  express  its  deep  sympathy  with  the  widow  and  family  of  the  late 
President,  and  also  with  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  being  thus  ruth 
lessly  deprived  of  the  guiding  influence  of  so  high-principled  a  statesman  at  a 
time  of  national  difficulty  and  distress,  and  would  fervently  hope  that  the  wise 
and  moderate  policy  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  may  be  adopted  by  both  President 
and  people  in  the  pacification  of  their  distracted  country. 

The  common  seal  of  the  vestry  of  the  parish  of  St.  Pancras,  Middlesex, 
affixed  hereto  by  order  of  the  said  vestry. 

[SEAL.]  FRANCIS  PLAW,  Vestry  Clerk. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  corporation  of  the  borough  of  Stockton,  in  the  county 
of  Durham,  held  at  the  Town  Hall  in  the  said  borough,  on  the  5th  day  of  May, 
1865 — present,  the  mayor;  Aldermen  Wren,  Craggs,  Ord,  Jackson,  and  Rich 
ardson  ;  Councillors  Grey,  Trowsdale,  Brashay,  Thompson,  Knowles,  T.  Wren, 
jr.,  Henderson,  Bigland,  Clough,  T.  Nelson,  Barnes,  J.  Smith,  W.  Nelson,  T. 
Harrison,  Brown,  and  Appleton — it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  council  of  the  borough  of  Stock 
ton  have  learned  with  feelings  of  horror  and  detestation  of  the  awful  crime 
committed  on  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  murderous  attack 
on  Mr.  Seward,  and  they  desire  to  record  their  sense  of  these  cruel  and  cold 
blooded  villanies,  and  to  express  their  sincere  and  heartfelt  feelings  of  sorrow 
and  regret  for  the  calamity  that  has  befallen  that  country,  and  for  the  grievous 
loss  which  its  citizens  have  sustained. 

And  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  American  ambassador  be  requested  to  convey  to  Mrs. 
Lincoln  and  the  American  nation  the  expression  of  their  profound  sympathy 
and  condolence  for  this  lamentable  and  grievous  occurrence. 

[SEAL  J 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       453 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Stockton-on- 
Tees,  in  the  county  of  Durham,  held  at  the  Borough  Hall  in  Stockton-on-Tees 
aforesaid,  on  the  5th  day  of  May,  1865 — Joshua  Byers,  esq.,  mayor,  in  the 
chair — the  following  resolutions  were  passed  : 

That  the  inhabitants  of  Stockton-on-Tees,  in  a  public  meeting  called  by 
the  mayor,  would  express,  in  the  strongest  manner  possible,  their  abhorrence 
of  the  dastardly  crimes  which  have  suddenly  deprived  the  United  States  of 
America  of  their  President  and  seriously  endangered  the  life  of  his  chief  secre 
tary,  and  their  deep  sympathy  with  the  government  and  people  of  that  country 
in  the  affliction  into  which  the  loss  they  have  sustained  has  plunged  them. 

That  this  meeting  deeply  regrets  that  President  LINCOLN  should  have  been 
cut  off  at  the  time  when  his  firm  but  conciliatory  policy  was  about  to  reap  the 
noblest  fruit,  and  when  his  earnestness,  simplicity,  and  clear  insight  into  reali 
ties  would  have  enabled  him  successfully  to  carry  on  the  work  of  reconstruction, 
and  devoutly  hopes  that  those  upon  whom  his  labors  must  now  devolve  may 
succeed  in  speedily  and  happily  overcoming  every  obstacle  and  effecting  that 
reconstruction  on  the  immovable  basis  of  freedom  and  justice. 

That  this  meeting  would  express  its  earnest  desire  that  the  sympathy  for  the 
government  and  people  of  the  United  States  of  America,  called  forth  by  the 
astounding  intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  their  Chief  Magistrate,  and  the 
remembrance  of  his  conciliatory  bearing  towards  this  country,  may  tend  to 
cement  the  friendship  between  England  and  America. 

That  this  meeting  learns  with  sincere  gratification  that  the  Queen  of  the 
realm  has  with  such  promptness  and  characteristic  kindness  written  with  her 
own  hand  to  the  widow  of  his  late  Excellency  President  LINCOLN,  a  letter  of 
condolence  and  sympathy  with  her  in  her  great  affliction  and  bereavement. 

That  this  meeting  respectfully  requests  the  mayor  to  sign  and  afterwards 
forward  the  foregoing  resolutions  expressing  our  sympathy  with  the  American 
government  and  people  to  the  American  ambassador  in  London.- 

JOSIIUA  BYERS,  Chairman. 


In  memoriam. 

OFFICE  OF  THE  GRAND  SCRIKE  OF  THE  GRAND  DIVISION 

SONS  OF  TEMPERANCE  OF  NEW  BRUNSWICK,  B.  N.  A. 

At  the  regular  session  of  the  Grand  Division  Sons  of  Temperance  of  (he 
province  of  New  Brunswick,  British  North  America,  held  at  the  city  of  St. 
John,  on  Wednesday  evening,  26th  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1865,  on  motion  of 
Representative  William  Wcdderburn,  P.  G.  W.  P.,  seconded  by  Representative 
William  H.  A.  Kcans,  grand  scribe,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted : 


454  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Whereas  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United 
States,  has  suddenly  been  cut  off  in  the  zenith  of  his  great  career  by  the  hand 
of  an  assassin ;  and  whereas  we  deeply  feel  for  the  affliction  in  which  our 
brethren  and  the  people  generally  of  the  United  States  have  therefore  been 
involved — 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  members  of  the  Grand  Division  of  New  Brunswick 
Sons  of  Temperance,  while  we  acknowledge  allegiance  only  and  loyalty  to  the 
crown  of  Great  Britain,  take  the  first  opportunity  afforded  us  to  express  our 
deep  and  sincere  sympathy  with  our  brethren  in  the  Order,  and  the  people 
generally  of  the  United  States,  upon  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  their 
honored  and  beloved  Chief  Magistrate. 

Resolved,  That  irrespective  of  our  individual  political  sympathies  and  asso 
ciations,  we  have  recognized  in  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  a  true  friend  of  virtue,  and 
one  who  has  publicly  expressed  his  hearty  approval  of  the  cardinal  principles 
of  our  Order  and  of  all  similar  institutions ;  as  a  pure-minded  and  upright 
magistrate,  an  able  statesman,  a  devoted  Christian,  an  honest  man. 

Resolved,  That  we  abhor  and  denounce  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN  as  a  deed  which  can  only  become  memorable  for  its  ineffable  infamy, 
as  a  treason  against  the  commonwealth  of  nations,  a  crime  against  Christianity 
and  civilization,  and  a  wickedness  unparalleled  in  the  pages  of  history  for  the 
horror  and  villany  of  its  conception,  and  the  inhuman  character  and  circum 
stances  of  its  commission. 

Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  resolutions,  suitably  engrossed  and  under  the 
seal  of  this  Grand  Division,  be  transmitted  to  the  British  minister  at  Washing 
ton,  to  be  laid  before  the  American  government  in  such  manner  as  he  shall 
deem  best,  to  the  widow  of  the  late  President,  to  the  most  worthy  scribe  of  the 
Order,  and  the  press  of  this  city  for  publication. 

Extracts  from  the  minutes. 

[SEAL.]  W.  H.  A.  KEANS,  Grand  Scribe. 


Address  of  the  colored  people  of  Bermuda. 

SAINT  GEORGE'S,  BERMUDA,  April  28,  1865. 

SIR  :  We,  the  undersigned,  beg  leave  to  submit  to  you,  the  lawful  repre 
sentative  of  the  United  States  of  America  for  Bermuda,  our  expressions  of 
sympathy  on  our  part,  and  in  behalf  of  the  colored  people  of  this  community, 
on  the  melancholy  intelligence  which  has  reached  us  of  the  death  of  the  good 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  at  Washington,  on  the  15th  instant,  by  assassination. 
Knowing  his  many  virtues  as  a  man,  while  in  office  as  Chief  Magistrate  of 
America,  we  consider  his  untimely  removal  a  loss  of  no  common  degree,  not 
only  to  the  people  of  his  country,  but  to  many  foreign  to  his  domains. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       455 

We  do  not  make  these  expressions  as  a  mere  formal  observance,  but  are 
prompted  by  purer  motives.  We  feel  that  a  great  and  good  man  has  passed 
from  us. 

We  therefore  most  respectfully  tender  to  you,  and  through  you  to  his 
bereaved  family  across  the  "ocean's  foam,"  our  heartfelt  sympathy  and  con 
dolence  in  this  hour  of  trial  and  affliction,  when,  by  the  hand  of  a  ruthless 
assassin,  a  wise  and  patriotic  ruler  has  been  stricken  down,  at  a  time  when  his 
work  was  near  its  consummation. 

We  remain,  dear  sir,  with  profound  respect,  your  very  obedient  servants, 

J.  T.  RICHARDSON, 
E.  B.  M.  FRITH, 
J.  H.  RAINEY, 
JOSEPH  H.  THOMAS, 
BENJAMIN  BURCHALL, 

Committee. 
C.  M.  ALLEN,  Esq., 

United  States  Consul. 


SAINT  GEORGE'S,  BERMUDA,  May  11,  18G5. 

SIR  :  It  has  fallen  to  my  lot  to  have  the  honor  of  presenting  you  with  the 
enclosed  address  from  the  three  divisions  of  the  order  of  the  Sons  of  Temper 
ance  located  in  these  islands  ;  and  while  I  regret  the  delay  the  said  divisions 
have  shown  in  the  discharge  of  so  important  a  duty,  do  conceive  it  would  have 
been  a  greater  blunder,  a  greater  omission,  to  have  neglected  it  altogether. 
Therefore  trusting  you  will  pardon  their  error  in  this  respect, 
I  am,  sir,  yours  respectfully, 

GEORGE  OXBORROW, 

General  Deputy  Grand  Worthy  Patriarch,  Sons  of  Temperance. 
C.  M.  ALLEN,  Esq., 

United  States  Consul. 


SAINT  GEORGE'S,  BERMUDA,  Mai/  11,  186f). 

SIR  :  We,  the  undersigned,  representing  the  divisions  of  the  Sons  of  Tem 
perance  in  Bermuda,  convey  to  you  the  following  resolutions,  expressive  of  the 
sympathy  felt  by  that  body  in  reference  to  the  lamentable  occurrence  which 
has  so  lately  afflicted  the  American  nation,  by  the  cruel  assassination  of  its 
President. 

Resolved,  That  recognizing  the   hand  of  Almighty  God  in  this  afflictive 


456  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

stroke,  the  divisions  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance  in  the  Bermuda  islands  have 
received  the  intelligence  of  the  brutal  murder  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  with  feelings  of  horror  and  detestation. 

Jtesolved,  That  to  the  bereaved  wife  and  family  of  the  late  chief  ruler  of 
the  American  nation  we  tender  our  sincere  sorrow  and  sympathy  for  his  un 
timely  death.  Allow  us,  in  conclusion,  to  convey  to  you  our  deep  regret  at  this 
unfortunate  event. 

We  are,  sir,  yours,  very  respectfully, 

[L.  s.]  GEORGE  OXBORROW,  G.  D.  Grand  W.  Patriarch, 

JOSEPH  M.  IIAYWARD,  Treasurer, 

Star  of  Hope,  No.  190,  St.  Georges. 

[L.  s.]  CHARLES  W.  B.  FOYARD,  D.  G.  W.  Patriarch, 

BENJAMIN  P.  ELDRIDGE,  R.  S., 
NEIL  McK.  McLEOD,  W.  P., 

Reid  Division,  No.  1 92,  Hamilton. 
JOS1AH  W.  FRITH,  W.  P, 
JOSEPH  H.  FRITH,  R.  S., 

Argus,  No.  210,  Warwick. 
C.  M.  ALLEN,  Esq., 

United  States  Consul. 


Address  of  the  municipal  council  of  the  city  of  Sydney,  N.  S.  W. 

MADAM  :  We,  the  municipal  council  of  the  city  of  Sydney,  in  the  British 
colony  of  New  South  Wales,  desire,  on  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  this  city,  to 
express  to  you  our  deeply  felt  sympathy  on  the  lamentable  occurrence  which 
has  led  to  the  untimely  death  of  your  husband,  the  late  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America. 

If  any  consolation  can  be  experienced  on  such  an  occasion,  when  the  almost 
universal  feeling  is  that  of  the  deepest  sorrow,  it  must  arise  from  the  knowledge 
that  in  the  history  of  your  country  there  does  not  exist  a  name  which,  from  its 
association  with  the  momentous  events  of  his  time,  will  be  more  honored  and 
reverenced  than  that  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

The  unostentatious  simplicity  and  uprightness  of  his  character  in  private 
life ;  the  wise  and  useful  influence  which  he  exercised  over  the  public  institu 
tions  of  his  country  ;  his  worthy  ambitious  desire  to  support  and  maintain  the 
Constitution  of  the  State,  and  the  undeviating  firmness  and  admirable  sagacity 
which  he  evinced  during  the  extraordinary  struggle  of  the  past  few  years,  have 
exhibited  to  the  world  one  of  those  great  and  attractive  characters  which  com 
mands  the  profoundest  respect  from  every  rank  of  life.  The  unhappy  event 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       457 

which  has   removed  such  a  man  from  the  social   circle,  and  has  deprived  the. 
nation  of  such  valuable  aid  and  guidance,  must  excite  the  most  heartfelt  sym 
pathy  for  the   relatives  and   friends  who   mourn   his  disastrous  fate,  and  the 
deepest  regret  that  his  country  should  have  lost  so  noble  and  devoted  a  patriot. 

We  earnestly  hope  that  the  condolence  which  has  been  offered  you  from 
all  parts  of  your  own  land  and  from  foreign  nations  may  tend  in  some  degree 
to  assuage  your  great  affliction,  while  we  are  confident  that  the  people  whom 
your  husband  so  wisely  governed  will  bear  his  name  in  honored  remembrance, 
and  that  it  will  stand  side  by  side  with  the  greatest  in  the  history  of  the  New 
World. 

[SEAL.]  JOHN  WOODS, 

Mayor  of  the  City  of  Sydney. 

Adopted  by  the  municipal  council  of  the  city  of  Sydney,  this  seventeenth 
day  of  July,  A.  D.  1865. 

CHARLES  W.  WOOLCOTT,  Town  Clerk. 
Mrs.  LINCOLN. 


New  South  Wales  branch  of  the  Irish  National  League. 

COMMITTEE  ROOMS,  106  KING  STREET, 

Sydney,  July  22,  1865. 
To  the  honorable  the  President,  the  Senate, 

and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

The  members  of  the  New  South  Wales  branch  of  the  Irish  National 
League  have  instructed  us,  their  central  committee,  to  condole  with  you  (the 
Congress  of  America)  on  the  calamity  that  has  befallen  your  nation,  and  to 
convey  to  you  their  heartfelt  sorrow  and  sympathy  for  the  loss  which,  in  com 
mon  with  the  cause  of  freedom  throughout  the  world,  you  have  sustained  by 
the  foul  murder  by  the  hand  of  aji  assassin  of  that  great,  energetic,  untiring, 
and  devoted  champion  of  freedom,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

We,  as  inhabitants  of  New  South  Wales,  are  actuated  to  this  expression  of 
sorrow  for  America's  great  loss  by  the  feeling,  among  others,  that  as  possessors 
of  free  institutions  we  were  greatly  benefited  by  the  talent,  energy,  and  Christian 
virtues  displayed  by  one  in  the  proud  position  of  President  of  the  greatest 
republic  of  modern  times. 

In  the  high  and  responsible  position  in  which  he  was  placed,  his  powers 
were  great  for  the  accomplishment  of  good  or  evil,  and  how  those  powers  were 
used  is  manifest  to  the  world.  By  the  etforts  of  the  great  mind  with  which  he 
was  endowed,  he  overcame  obstacles  which  to  the  most  experienced  statesmen 

58 


458  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

in  Europe  seemed  insurmountable  ;  he  suppressed  a  rebellion,  more  formidable 
than  the  annals  of  any  other  country  can  record ;  united  and  brought  into 
amicable  intercourse  many  who  were  previously  actuated  in  their  opposition  by 
the  influence  of  party  spirit  or  sectarian  prejudices,  and  by  his  powerful  abilities 
he  brought  his  country  safe  and  triumphant  from  that  terrible  ordeal  through 
which  she  has  been  passing  for  the  last  four  years. 

The  members  of  the  Irish  National  League  are  also  actuated  in  this  far-off 
land  of  Australia  by  gratitude,  which  is  a  national  characteristic,  to  express 
their  feelings  on  the  present  occasion ;  they  cannot  and  do  not  forget  that  when 
a  code  of  the  most  ill-conceived  laws  deprived  them  of  freedom  and  prosperity 
at  home,  and  even  seemed  to  threaten  the  total  extirpation  of  their  race ;  when 
unable  to  meet  their  landlords'  call,  they  were  expelled  from  the  homes  in  which 
they  were  born  ;  when  they  appeared  deserted  by  the  world,  and  nothing  seemed 
to  remain  but  death  from  cold  and  starvation  by  the  wayside,  it  was  then  that 
America,  noble  America,  with  outstretched  arms  welcomed  them  to  her  shores 
and  bestowed  upon  them  her  fertile  plains  and  teeming  valleys,  where  now, 
beside  the  grand  and  majestic  rivers  that  beautify  and  fertilize  your  country, 
they  reside  in  freedom  and  happiness,  with  honor  and  credit  to  themselves,  a 
lasting  memorial  of  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  that  Constitution  and  that 
country  whose  laws  they  acknowledge  and  respect. 

For  these  among  other  reasons  we  desire  to  express  our  warmest  sympa 
thy  with  America,  and  to  pay  a  tribute  of  respect  and  admiration  to  the  memory 
of  the  great  departed.  In  conclusion,  we  beg  to  express  a  hope  that  the  united 
exertions  of  America's  patriotic  sons  will  secure  her  peace  and  happiness,  and 
that  the  mighty  republic  of  the  west,  the  great  home  of  freedom,  the  United 
States  of  America,  may  continue  to  retain  her  exalted  position  as  one  of  the 
great  and  free  nations  of  the  world. 

JOHN  ROBETSON,  President. 

OWEN  HARUHER, 

PATRICK  O'DOND,  Vice-Presicknts. 

THOMAS  McCAFFERY,  Treasurer. 

P.  J.  GROG  AN,  Secretary. 

JAMES  P.  GARY  AN, 

WILLIAM  DOLMAN, 

RICHARD  MOONELY, 

J.  J.  CURRAN, 

MICHAEL  R1LEY, 

JAMES  COLEMAN, 

LAWRENCE  MORAN, 

JAMES  BUTLER, 

J.  I.  McDERMOT,  Commillee. 


EXPBESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       459 

Resolution  passed  by  the  council  of  the  corporation  of  the  city  of  Toronto,  Canada. 

TUESDAY,  April  18,  18G5. 

Resolved,  That  this  council,  on  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  Toronto,  deplore 
the  impious  act  that  has  convulsed  society,  in  the  death,  by  violence,  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States  of  America.  Esteeming  the  same 
a  national  calamity,  they  mournfully  sympathize  with  his  countrymen,  and 
recognizing  in  them  a  great  co-operating  Christian  power,  feel  deeply  sensible 
of  the  melancholy  gloom  it  must  create.  And,  further,  that  in  honor  of  the 
dead  the  business  of  the  city  be  suspended  for  two  hours  from  noon  on  Wednes 
day,  to-morrow. 

Truly  extracted  from  the  journals  of  the  council: 

F.  H.  MEDCALF,  Mayor. 
[SEAL.]  JOHN  CARR,  City  Clerk. 

A.  T.  McCORD,  Chamberlain. 


His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Tewksbury,  in 
England,  desire  to  give  utterance  to  our  feelings  of  grief  and  horror  at  the 
assassination  of  your  late  distinguished  predecessor,  President  LINCOLN,  and  the 
attempted  murder  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward,  and  to  convey  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  an  expression  of  our  sympathy  and  good  will,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  add  our  sincere  condolence  with  the  widow  and  family  of  the  late  emi 
nent  statesman. 

Given  under  our  common  seal,  at  the  Tolsey,  in  the  said  borough,  this  15th 
day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  W.  ALLARD,  Mayor. 


We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  ancient  borough  of  Thetford, 
in  council  assembled,  having  received  with  great  sorrow  the  intelligence  of  the 
assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  desire  to  express  our  utter  abhorrence  at  the 
detestable  crime,  and  beg  to  offer  to  the  American  nation  our  sincere  condolence 
and  sympathy  upon  the  loss  it  has  sustained. 

Given  under  our  common  corporate  seal,  this  22d  day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL:]  W.  P.  SALTER,  Mayor. 

His  Excellency  the  MINISTER  from  the  United  States. 


460  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Tynemouth,  in 
the  county  of  Northumberland,  held  in  the  Town  Hall,  on  the  2d  day  of  May> 
1865,  the  mayor  in  the  chair,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Tynemouth, 
in  public  meeting  assembled,  desire  to  express  their  feelings  of  sorrow  and 
indignation  at  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
and  at  the  attempt  made  upon  the  life  of  his  chief  secretary. 

That  while  deeply  lamenting  the  removal  of  President  LINCOLN,  at  a  time 
when  his  influence  was  most  urgently  needed  to  secure  a  happy  and  peaceful 
termination  of  the  war  in  America,  this  meeting  sincerely  hopes  that  the  states 
man  upon  whom  the  conduct  of  national  affairs  of  America  has  now  devolved 
may  succeed  in  attaining  that  most  desirable  result. 

That  a  copy  of  the  preceding  resolutions,  signed  by  the  mayor  on  behalf 
of  this  meeting,  be  forwarded  to  the  American  government  through  their 
ambassador  in  London. 

That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions,  signed  by  the  mayor,  be  also 
forwarded  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  with  an  expression  of  the  deep  and  sincere  sympa 
thy  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  borough  with  herself  and  her  family  in  their 
great  sorrow  and  bereavement ;  and  another  copy  to  Mrs.  Seward,  coupled  with 
the  expression  of  an  earnest  hope  that  Mr.  Secretary  Seward  may  eventually 
recover  from  the  attack  made  upon  his  life. 

GEORGE  JOBLING, 
Mayor  of  Tynemouth,  Chairman. 


VANCOUVER'S  ISLAND,  VICTORIA,  April  22,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  the  copy  of  a  resolution  adopted  by  the 
legislative  assembly  of  Vancouver's  Island,  on  the  20th  instant,  expressing  their 
sympathy  in  the  calamity  which  has  befallen  the  United  States  of  America,  in 
the  death  of  their  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  in  which  expression  of  sympa 
thy  I  fully  join. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

A.  E.  KENNEDY,  Governor. 
ALLEN  FRANCIS,  Esq., 

United  States  Consul,  &;c.,  fyc.,  §c.,  Victoria. 


Resolution  passed  by  the  legislative  assembly  of  Vancouver's  Island,  on  the  20f/t 

day  of  April,  1865. 

Resolved,  That  this  house,  taking  into  consideration  the  great  calamity 
which  has  befallen  the  United  States  of  America,  and  the  rest  of  the  civilized 
world,  in  the  assassination  of  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  does  adjourn  till 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       4(H 

to -morrow  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  great  departed,  the  chief 
of  a  nation  connected  by  the  nearest  ties  with  our  own,  and  glorying  in  the 
same  origin,  the  same  traditions,  and  the  same  freedom. 

R.  W.  TORRENS, 

Clerk  of  the  House. 


To  her  most  gracious  Majesty  the  Queen  : 

We,  your  Majesty's  faithful  subjects,  the  members  of  the  legislative  assem 
bly  of  Victoria,  in  Parliament  assembled,  crave  leave  to  approach  your  Majesty 
with  fresh  assurances  of  our  loyalty  and  affection. 

We  desire  to  express  our  abhorrence  of  the  foul  crime  by  which  the  United 
States  have  been  deprived  of  their  late  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  our 
profound  sympathy  with  the  American  government  and  people  in  their  national 
calamity. 

We  desire  also  to  record  our  unfeigned  condolence  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  her 
deep  affliction  ;  and  we  humbly  beg  that  your  Majesty  will  be  graciously  pleased 
to  communicate  these  our  heartfelt  sentiments  to  the  government  at  Washington. 

FRANK  MURPHY,  Speaker. 


To  her  most  gracious  Majesty  the  Queen  : 

We,  your  Majesty's  faithful  subjects,  the  members  of  the  legislative  coun 
cil  of  Victoria,  in  Parliament  assembled,  crave  leave  to  approach  your  Majesty 
with  fresh  assurances  of  our  loyalty  and  affection. 

We  desire  to  express  our  abhorrence  of  the  foul  crime  by  which  the 
United  States  have  been  deprived  of  their  late  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
and  our  profound  sympathy  with  the  American  government  and  people  in  their 
national  calamity. 

We  desire  also  to  record  our  unfeigned  condolence  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  her 
deep  affliction;  and  we  humbly  beg  that  your  Majesty  will  be  graciously  pleased 
to  communicate  these  our  heartfelt  sentiments  to  the  government  at  Wash 
ington. 

PALMER,  President. 


Resolutions  adopted  at  the  annual  conference  of  the  Welch  Baptist  Association, 
held  in  Victoria,  county  of  Monmouth,  May  30,  1865. 

.'Resolved,  That  this  association  takes  the  earliest  opportunity  of  expressing 
its  intense  sorrow  and  deep  abhorrence  at  the  assassination  of  the  late  President 
of  the  United  States,  the  honest  and  upright  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  its  heart 
felt  sympathy  with  the  American  people  in  the  peculiarly  trying  circumstances 


462  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

in  which,  by  this  sad  event,  they  have  been  placed  ;  its  ardent  desire  for  their 
peace  and  prosperity,  and  the  maintenance  of  their  amicable  relations  with 
Britain  and  all  other  European  states  ;  and  its  fervent  gratitude  to  God  for  the 
prospect  of  a  speedy  termination  of  the  war,  and  the  total  abolition  of  slavery 
throughout  their  land. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  conference  : 

WILLIAM  ROBERTS,  Moderate. 

TIMOTHY  THOMAS,  Secretary. 


MEETING  OF  AMERICAN   RESIDENTS. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  American  residents  of  Victoria,  V.  I.,  held  at  the 
consulate  of  the  United  States  of  America,  on  Tuesday,  April  18,  1865,  it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  by  the 
chairman  to  draught  resolutions  expressive  of  our  feelings  in  regard  to  the 
assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  to  make  the  necessary 
arrangements  for  a  suitable  observance  of  the  sad  event,  and  to  pay  proper  respect 
to  his  memory. 

In  compliance  with  the  foregoing,  Messrs.  A.  H.  Guild,  J.  A.  McCrea, 
G.  Sutro,  Julius  Lowey,  and  S.  A.  Moody  were  appointed  such  committee,  and 
on  motion  the  president  and  secretary  were  added  to  the  same.  The  meeting 
then  adjourned. 

ALLEN  FRANCIS,  Chairman. 
JNO.   P.  COUCH,  Secretary. 


NOTICE.  . 

The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  matter  of  making  arrangements 
on  behalf  of  the  American  residents  of  Victoria  to  take  some  suitable  notice  of 
the  death  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States  and  to  pay  proper  respect  to 
his  memory,  beg  leave  to  report  that  the  Hon.  S.  Garfield  has  kindly  consented 
to  address  the  people  of  Victoria  on  the  subject  of  the  recent  national  calamity 
at  the  Victoria  theatre,  at  3  o'clock  this  (Wednesday)  afternoon,  April  19. 

The  committee  respectfully  recommend  those  so  disposed  to  close  their 
places  of  business  throughout  the  day,  and  pay  every  respect  to  the  occasion. 
The  committee  also  desire  to  extend  a  cordial  invitation  to  every  resident  of 
Victoria  to  attend  the  meeting  at  the  theatre.  Ladies  are  expected  to  attend. 

THE  COMMITTEE. 

Mr.  Garfield  concluded  his  oration  amid  prolonged  applause,  and  moved 
the  adoption  of  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions,  which  were  carried  by 

acclamation : 

• 

Whereas  it  has  pleased  the  Almighty  Ruler  of  the  universe,  in  the  all-wise 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        463 

dispensation  of  His  providence,  to  afflict  the  people  of  the  United  States  by 
permitting  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  their  Chief  Magistrate,  to  be  stricken  down  in  the 
prime  of  life  and  in  the  midst  of  usefulness  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin ;  and 
whereas  the  intelligence  of  this  great  calamity,  not  only  to  our  country,  but  to 
the  cause  of  truth  and  humanity  throughout  the  world,  has  been  received  by  us 
with  feelings  of  the  most  profound  sorrow,  we  deem  this  hour  of  our  country's 
bereavement  a  fit  and  proper  occasion  to  express  the  deep  sympathy  we  feel  for 
her  affliction,  as  well  as  the  grief  which  afflicts  our  hearts  at  this  sudden  and 
lamentable  event.  But  how  shall  we  give  expression  to  our  sorrow  1  In  what 
words  shall  we  speak  of  the  mighty  dead  who  lias  fallen,  or  bewail  his  loss  ? 
To  us,  on  these  distant  shores,  he  was  not  only  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  our 
beloved  country,  but  the  embodiment  and  representative  of  the  principles 
we  cherish,  and  which  we  had  hoped,  through  him,  to  see  carried  out  and 
established.  Called  to  preside  over  the  destinies  of  our  country  at  the  most 
critical  period  of  its  history,  and  all  inexperienced  as  he  was  in  the  administra 
tion  of  government,  many  doubted  his  ability  to  cope  with  the  mighty  difficulties 
and  dangers  which  encompassed  the  nation.  Questions  the  most  momentous 
and  altogether  new  in  the  country's  history  were  presented,  and  upon  their 
solution  depended  not  only  its  welfare,  but  its  existence  as  a  nation.  To  meet 
these  successfully  required  the  greatest  wisdom,  firmness,  and  moderation. 
But  He  who  holds  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand  the  destinies  of  nations  mistakes 
not  His  agents  in  the  accomplishment  of  His  vast  designs ;  and,  therefore, 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  found  to  possess  the  necessary  qualifications  to  conduct 
his  country  through  the  trying  ordeal  to  which  she  has  been  subjected;  to 
preserve  the  stability  of  the  government,  and  at  the  same  time  vindicate  the 
correctness  of  the  principles  upon  which  it  was  founded.  He  brought  to  the 
discharge  of  his  great  and  arduous  duties  a  heart  so  honest  and  sincere,  a 
wisdom  so  practical  and  sound,  and  a  moral  courage  so  steady  and  unwavering, 
as  to  eminently  fit  him  for  his  exalted  position.  But  his  most  distinguished 
trait  was  his  humanity — humanity  in  its  largest  sense.  His  was  the  heart  to 
feel  that  every  man  was  his  brother.  Surely,  in  the  great  day  of  reckoning  his 

name  will  lie  found  "foremost  in  the  Book  of  Life,  as  one  who  loved  his  fcllow- 

i 

man."  But  time  will  not  permit  us  further  to  allude  to  his  deeds  and  virtues. 
His  work  was  accomplished,  and  he  has  passed  from  his  labors,  and  however 
much  we  deplore  his  loss,  we  can  but  bow  in  all  humility  to  the  fiat  of  Him 
who — 

Deep  in  unfathomable  mines 

Of  never-failing  skill, 
Treasures  up  His  vast  designs, 
And  works  Ilia  sovereign  will. 

We,  therefore,  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  residing  in  Victoria,  Vancou 
ver's  Island,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  our  sense  of  our  country's  loss,  have 


464  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Resolved,  first,  That  while  humbly  bowing  to  the  decrees  of  an  all-wise 
Providence  which  has  permitted  our  beloved  country  to  be  afflicted  by  the 
death  of  its  Chief  Magistrate  at  a  period  so  momentous  in  its  history,  our 
hearts  are  filled  with  the  deepest  grief,  and  with  our  country  we  mourn  in  its 
affliction. 

Resolved,  second,  That  in  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN — the  wise,  the 
noble,  the  good — the  nation  has  suffered  a  great  and  irreparable  loss,  and  the 
kindly  nature  of  the  departed  President  has  enshrined  his  name  deeply  in  the 
affections  of  his  afflicted  countrymen,  who  feel  that  liberty  wept  when  LINCOLN 
fell. 

Resolved,  third,  That  we  feel  the  keenest  sorrow  for  the  bereaved  widow 
and  family  of  the  deceased  President,  and  tender  to  them  our  warmest  sympa 
thy  in  their  great  distress. 

Resolved,  fourth,  That  we  bow  in  humble  submission  to  the  inscrutable 
decrees  of  Almighty  God,  and  invoke  His  blessing  upon  William  H.  Seward, 
Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  we  fervently  hope 
that  he  may  be  speedily  restored  to  his  wonted  health  and  faculties,  and  that 
our  country  may  long  continue  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  his  known  wisdom  and 
ability. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  lield  hi/  tlie  working  classes  of  Wigan. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  working  classes,  held  in  the  Public  Hall,  Wigan,  on 
the  17th  day  of  May,  1865,  the  following  resolutions  were  enthusiastically 
adopted : 

1.  That  this  meeting  tenders  its  heartfelt  sympathy  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  upon 
the  loss  of  her  noble  and  devoted  husband,  and  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  in  their  sudden  deprivation  of  a  wise,  just,  and  merciful  head;  that, 
expressing  its  utmost  abhorrence  and  detestation  of  the  foul  and  treacherous 
assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Sec- 
'  retary  Seward,  it  at  the  same  time  expresses  its  conviction  that  it  was  but  the 
culminating  point  of  a  crime,  if  possible,  of  still  darker  hue — the  attempt  to 
perpetuate  the  bondage  of  millions  of  men,  and  to  achieve  the  destruction  of  a 
great  nation ;  that  it  expresses  its  gratitude  to  Almighty  God  for  the  termina 
tion  of  the  rebellion,  and  the  destruction  of  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the 
United  States;  rejoices  at  the  complete  falsification  of  the  statements  that 
American  institutions  were  a  failure,  and  expresses  its  warmest  wishes  for  the 
welfare  of  the  great  American  republic,  and  its  desire  that  the  bond  of  brother 
hood  between  the  two  people  (England  and  America)  may  grow  ever  stronger, 
and  the  possibility  of  war  between  them  ever  more  remote. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       465 

2.  That  the  chairman  be  requested  to  send  the  foregoing  resolution  to 
Mr.  Adams,  the  American  minister  in  London,  desiring  him  to  forward  it  to 
the  American  government  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  meeting : 

TIMOTHY  COOP,  Chairman. 


White  Chapel  district,  comprising  the  parishes  of  White  Chapel,  Spitalfields, 
Oldgate,  Minor  ies,  Saint  Catharine,  Mile  End,  New  Town,  Norton  Folgate, 
Old  Artillery  Ground,  and  Tower. 

OFFICE  OF  THE  BOAHD  OF  WORKS,  WHITE  CHAPEL  DISTRICT, 

51  Great  Alie  street,  White  Chapel,  East  London,  May  1,  1865. 
SIR  :  The  board  of  works  for  the  White  Chapel  district,  at  their  meeting 
held  this  day,  have  directed  me  to  communicate  to  your  excellency,  as  the  rep 
resentative  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  of  America  in  this  country, 
their  feelings  of  abhorrence  and  disgust  at  the  assassination  of  the  late  President 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  of  the  attempt  upon  the  life  of  the  Secre 
tary  of  State,  and  also  to  express  their  feelings  of  warm  sympathy  with  the 
people  of  America  for  the  loss  of  a  Chief  Magistrate  who,  under  circumstances 
of  the  most  trying  description,  by  his  ability,  kindness  of  heart^  and  honesty  of 
purpose,  did  so  much  to  endear  himself  to  all  over  whom  he  was  called  upon 
to  preside. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  excellency's  most  obedient  servant, 

ALFRED  FURNET,  Clerk. 
Hon.  CHARLES  FKANCIS  ADAMS, 

Minister  of  the  United  States  of  America, 

Upper  Portland  Place,  West. 


We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  citizens  of  the  city  of  Winchester,  in  town 
council  assembled,  desire  to  express  our  extreme  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the 
foul  assassination  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  to 
convey  our  sympathy  and  condolence  at  the  loss  which  that  nation  and  his 
widow  have  thereby  sustained.  We  also  express  our  regret  at  the  attempt 
made  upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son,  and  the  pleasure  with  which  we 
have  received  the  intelligence  of  their  improved  condition. 

Given  under  our  corporate  seal  this  4th  day  of  May,  18G5. 

[SEAL.]  WM.  BUDDEN,  Mayor. 

His  Excellency  the  Hon.  C.  F.  ADAMS,  American  Minister. 
59 


4(50  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  city  of  Worcester,  hold  en  this  2d  day 
of  May,  1865,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  this  council  has  heard  with  great  sorrow  and  indignation  of 
the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  atrocious 
attempt  on  the  lives  of  other  persons  connected  with  the  government  of  that 
country,  and  feels  the  deepest  sense  of  horror  at  such  detestable  crimes.  The 
council  also  wishes  to  assure  the  family  of  the  late  President,  and  the  American 
people,  of  its  heartfelt  sympathy  with  them  under  their  irreparable  loss. 

RICH.  WOOF,  Town  Clerk, 


Address  of  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Walsall,  in  the 
county  of  Stafford,  to  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

The  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Walsall,  in  council 
assembled,  unanimously  desire  to  express  to  the  government  and  people  of  the 
United  States  of  America  their  abhorrence  of  the  foul  and  cowardly  crime  which 
has  lately  deprived  the  States  of  the  life  of  their  President,  and  embittered  the 
happiness  which  all  must  feel  at  the  prospect  of  approaching  peace.  The 
council  desire  also  to  express  their  deep  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her 
family  under  the  terrible  bereavement,  and  their  earnest  wishes  for  tranquillity 
and  prosperity  to  their  brethren  of  the  States. 

Given  under  the  common  seal  of  the  borough  the  3d  day  of  May,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  THOS.  HAZLEDINE,  Mayor. 

SAM'L  WILKINSON,  JK,  Town  Clerk. 


TOWN  HALL,  WELLS,  May  1,  1865. 

Third  quarterly  meeting  of  the  council.  Moved  by  Dr.  Purnell,  seconded 
by  Mr.  Welsh,  and 

Resolved,  That  the  council  has  heard  with  horror  and  indignation  of  the 
atrocious  outrages  which  have  unhappily  deprived  the  United  States  of  America 
of  their  President,  and  threaten  a  similar  calamity  in  the  death  of  his  Secretary 
ol  State,  and  they  take  the  earliest  opportunity,  in  the  name  of  the  municipality 
which  they  represent,  of  recording  their  detestation  of  these  outrages,  and  of 
expressing  their  regret  at  the  loss  which  the  American  people  have  sustained, 
and  of  sympathy  in  the  calamities  whicli  have  thus  befallen  them. 

Extracted  from  the  minute  book  of  the  proceedings  of  the  council  of 
Wells  : 

W.  J.  S.  FOSTER,  Town  Clerk. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        407 

Resolution  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  Warwick. 

We,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  burgesses  of  the  borough  of  Warwick,  in 
council  assembled,  desire  to  give  expression  to  the  feelings  of  horror,  indignation, 
and  regret  with  which  we  have  heard  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN, 
and  beg  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  United  States  government  and  people 
an  expression  of  our  sincere  and  deep  sympathy  and  heartfelt  condolence  at  the 
melancholy  event. 

Given  under  our  common  seal  the  ninth  day  of  May,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-five. 

[SEAL.]  THOMAS  13.  DALE,  Mayor. 


CITY  OF  WATERFORD,  IRELAND, 

Council  Chamber,  May  2,  1865. 

Resolved  unanimously,  That  this  council  take  the  present  opportunity  of 
expressing  its  unfeigned  sorrow  and  intense  indignation  at  the  foul  and  atrocious 
assassination  of  his  Excellency  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  attempted  murder  of  the  Hon.  William  H.  Seward,  the  Secre 
tary  of  State ;  and  that  we  most  respectfully  desire  to  convey  to  the  American 
people  and  government,  as  well  as  to  the  bereaved  widow  and  family  of  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN,  our  warmest  sympathy  and  heartfelt  condolence  on  the  sad  and 
melancholy  event,  and  for  the  irreparable  loss  they  have  sustained  by  such  a 
vile,  treacherous,  and  cowardly  assassination. 

That  copies  of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  transmitted  to  the  Hon.  Mr. 
Adams,  the  American  minister  at  London,  the  Secretary  of  the  United  States 
government,  and  the  widow  and  family  of  the  late  Mr.  LINCOLN. 

[L.  s.]  JOHN  LAWLER,  Mayor. 

JOHN  O'BRIEN,  Town  Clerk. 


TOWN  CLERK'S  OFFICE,  WATERFORD,  IRELAND, 

Monday,  May  8,  1865. 

SIR  :  By  direction  of  the  right  worshipful  the  mayor  of  Waterford,  I  have 
the  honor  to  transmit  to  your  Excellency  a  copy  of  a  resolution  unanimously 
adopted  at  a  meeting  of  the  citizens,  in  reference  to  the  late  melancholy  event 
which  unhappily  deprived  your  government  of  its  head. 

Permit  me,  sir,  to  offer  you  the  assurance  of  my  sincere  sympathy  and 
condolence,  which  I  feel  in  common  with  all  classes  of  my  fellow-citizens. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  excellency's  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

GEORGE  J.  BRISCOE,  Secretary. 
The  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

/on,  D.  C. 


468  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

CITY  OF  WATERFORD,  IRELAND. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Waterford,  held  at  the  Town  Hall,  on 
Thursday,  the  4th  instant,  to  express  the  sympathy  and  condolence  with  the 
people  of  America,  shared  in  by  all  classes  of  the  city  of  Waterford,  the  right 
worshipful  John  Lawler,  mayor,  in  the  chair — 

Resolved,  una  voce,  That  we,  the  citizens  of  Waterford,  feel  called  upon  to 
unite  in  the  very  general  expression  of  indignation  and  horror  at  the  cowardly 
and  most  atrocious  assassination  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  also  the  similar  brutal  attack  on  the  life  of  Mr.  Secretary 
Seward  ;  and  we  request  that  our  chief  magistrate,  John  Lawler.  esq.,  will 
forthwith  transmit  to  Mr.  President  Johnson  the  expression  of  these  our  senti 
ments,  as  well  as  of  our  deep  and  sincere  sympathy  with  the  people  of  America 
for  their  sufferings  under  so  dreadful  a  national  calamity  as  this  heinous  act  has 
given  rise  to. 

Resolved,  una  voce,  That  although  at  the  risk  of  intrusion  on  her  intense 
grief,  we  cannot  allow  ourselves  to  separate  without  offering  to  Mrs  Lincoln 
our  deep  sympathy  and  sorrow  for  the  very  sad  and  sudden  bereavement  which 
she  has  endured  in  the  loss  of  her  husband,  whom  we  have  recognized  to  have 
been  so  good  a  man  while  holding  the  reins  of  the  American  government. 

To  attempt  on  our  part  to  afford  consolation  would,  we  feel,  be  an  impossi 
bility  ;  but  we  most  humbly  and  prayerfully  commend  her  to  the  care  and  pro 
tection  of  Him  who  alone  can  dispense  full  and  adequate  comfort  and  consola 
tion  under  the  severest  circumstances  of  affliction,  whether  of  a  national  or  a 
domestic  character. 

By  order  of  the  mayor  : 

GEORGE  J.  BRISCOE,  Secretary. 

TOWN  CLERK'S  OFFICE,  TOWN  HALL, 

Waterford,  Ireland,  Monday,  the  %th  of  May,  1865. 


ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  public  meeting  convened  by  the  mayor  of  Warrington, 
in  pursuance  of  a  numerously  signed  requisition,  and  held  at  the  public  hall, 
in  Warrington,  Lancashire,  on  the  2d  May,  1865. 

That  we,  the  inhabitants  of  Warrington,  view  the  atrocious  assassination  of 
his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
attack  on  the  life  of  the  honorable  William  Henry  Seward,  Secretary  of  State, 
with  feelings  of  indignation  and  sincere  sorrow.  We  feel  assured  that  through 
out  the  civilized  world  there  can  be  but  the  one  sentiment  of  horror  at  so 
revolting  a  crime :  and,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  our  fellow-countrymen,  we 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       469 

desire  to  express  our  deep  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  under 
this  great  national  calamity. 

That  this  meeting  wishes  to  express  its  heartfelt  condolence  with  the 
widow  and  family  of  the  late  President,  and  trusts  that  they  may  be  sustained 
by  a  merciful  Providence  under  their  sad  and  mournful  bereavement. 

That  our  best  thanks  be  given  to  the  mayor  for  convening  this  meeting, 
and  that  he  be  requested  to  send  copies  of  both  resolutions  to  Mr.  Adams,  the 
American  minister  in  London. 

[L.  s.]  PETER  SMITH,  Mayor. 


At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Wakefield,  in  the* 
county  of  York,  held  at  the  Court-house  in  Wakefield,  on  the  first  day  of  May, 
1865,  the  worshipful  the  mayor  in  the  chair,  it  was  unanimously  resolved — 

1.  That  the  inhabitants  of  Wakefield,  in  public  meeting  assembled,  express 
their  strongest  hatred  and  grief  at  the  horrible  murder  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  also  at  the  foul  attempt  to  kill  Mr.  Sevvard  and 
his  sons  ;  and  they  hereby  express  their  earnest  sympathy  with  the  American 
people  and  government  in  the  loss  they  have  thus  sustained. 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  Robert  Bownas  Mackie,  seconded  by  Mr.  Ralph 
Linfield,  supported  by  the  Rev.  James  Bewglass,  LL.D. 

2.  That  this  meeting  records  its  deep  sorrow  and  heartfelt  sympathy  with 
Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  family   in  their  fearful  affliction,  caused  by   the  cruel 
murder  of  Mr.  LINCOLN. 

On   motion  of  the   Rev.   Goodwyn  Barmby,   seconded   by   Mr.  William 
Kitching. 

3.  That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  by  the  mayor  to  the 
honorable  C.  F.  Adams,  the  ambassador  of  the  United  States  to  Great  Britain, 
with  a  request  to  forward  the  same  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  and  the  honorable  Mr.  Seward. 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  William  Ralph  Milner,  seconded  by  Samuel  Holds- 
worth,  M.  D.,  supported  by  Mr.  William  Thomas  Lamb. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting    held   bij    the.    inhabitants  of  the   borough   of 

I  Volvcrhampton. 

TOWN  HALL,  WOLVEKIIAMPTON, 

May  5,  1865. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  borough  of  Wolverhampton, 
in  the  county  of  Stafford,  held  at  the  Town  Hall  on  Friday,  the  5th  day  of 


470  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

May,  1865,  John  Ford,  esq.,  mayor,  in  the  chair,  the  following  resolutions  were 
unanimously  passed  : 

That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  detestation  and  abhorrence  of  the 
horrid  crime  of  assassination  by  which  the  valuable  life  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States  has  been  sacrificed,  and,  on  behalf  of  the  inhabitants  of  Wolver- 
hampton,  to  offer  to  the  government  and  people  of  that  country,  and  to  the 
family  of  the  late  Chief  Magistrate,  its  heartfelt  sympathy  in  the  great  calamity 
that  has  befallen  them. 

That  this  meeting  also  desires  to  record  the  deep  regret  of  the  inhabitants 
of  this  borough  at  the  attempted  assassination  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward,  and 
their  earnest  wishes  for  his  complete  recovery. 

That  the  mayor  be  respectfully  requested  to  forward  copies  of  the  fore 
going  resolutions  to  the  honorable  E.  M.  Stanton,  the  Secretary  of  War  at 
Washington,  and  also  to  the  honorable  C.  F.  Adams,  the  United  States  minister 
in  London. 

JOHN  FORD,  Mayor. 


WOODSTOCK,  April  20,  1865. 

May  it  please  your  Excellency  :  In  accordance  with  a  resolution  adopted 
at  a  public  meeting  held  yesterday  in  this  town  for  the  purpose  of  expressing 
horror  at  the  committal  of  a  deed  which  makes  every  civilized  mind  shudder, 
and  sympathy  for  the  bereaved  family  and  the  people  in  the  neighboring 
republic  in  the  lamentable  and  untimely  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  by  the  hand  of  a  cruel  and  relentless  assassin,  I  beg, 
respectfully,  to  transmit  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  said  meeting,  with  the 
respectful  request  that  your  excellency  may  be  pleased  to  transmit  the  resolu 
tions  to  the  proper  authorities  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
Yours,  &c., 

T.  McWHENNIE,  Mayor. 
His  Excellency  the  Rt,  Hon.  CHARLES  STANLEY  MONCK, 

Governor  General  of  the  Province  of  Canada. 


Moved  by  the  Rev.  Win.  J.  McMullen,  seconded  by  the  Rev.  U.  S. 
Griffin,  and 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  citizens  of  Woodstock,  having  heard  of  the  assassi 
nation  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  do  hereby  record 
our  sincere  grief  and  inexpressible  horror  at  the  unnatural  tragedy  by  which 
our  neighbors  of  the  American  republic  have  been  deprived  of  a  President  who 
has  proved  himself  so  well  qualified  to  fill  in  such  a  national  crisis  the  distin- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND   SYMPATHY.  471 

guished  position  to  which  his  fellow-countrymen  had  a  second  time  called  him. 
We  deplore  his  untimely  end  by  a  hand  so  worthless,  not  only  as  a  great  public 
calamity,  falling  at  a  time  so  critical  on  a  friendly  neighboring  nation,  but  also 
as  it  heavy  blow  inflicted  on  the  cause  of  humanity  itself,  with  which  the  name 
of  ABHAHAM  LINCOLN  must  ever  be  associated. 

Moved  by  the  Rev.  D.  McDermid,  and  seconded  by  the  Rev.  J.  Lacy,  and 
Resolved,  That  the  occurrences  of  Friday  last,  in  the  capital  of  the  neigh 
boring  republic,  by  which  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  American  people  met 
his  death  at  the  hands  of  an  assassin,  prostrating  in  the  gloom  of  bitterest 
despair  an  exalted  family  and  bowing  a  nation  in  tears  of  deepest  grief,  evoke 
our  heartfelt  commiseration  as  well  for  the  sorrowing  family  as  the  afflicted 
people.  It  is,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  ministers  of  the  various  churches  in  Woodstock  be 
requested  to  utilize  the  occasion  on  Sabbath  next  by  a  service  special  and 
pertinent  to  the  terrible  calamity,  and  indicative  of  the  abhorrence  felt  by  this 
community  at  the  commission  of  an  act  so  revolting  to  all  Christian  men,  and 
so  subversive  of  that  obedience  to  constituted  authority  which  is  the  keystone 
of  individual  liberty. 


WEDNESBURY  LOCAL  BOARD  OF  HEALTH, 

May  5,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  am  instructed  by  the  above  Board  of  Health,  as  representing  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Wedncsbury,  containing  upwards  of  23,000  popula 
tion,  to  forward  to  you  a  copy  of  a  resolution  passed  at  the  last  meeting  of  the 
board  held  on  the  first  of  this  present  month  of  May,  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  this  board  expresses  its  detestation  of  the  assassination  of 
President  LINCOLN,  and  of  the  brutal  attack  upon  Secretary  Seward,  and  also 
its  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  upon  the  great 
and  irreparable  loss  they  have  sustained  thereby. 
I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

WILLIAM  TANLY  BAYLEY, 

Clerk  of  the  Board. 
CHARLES  F.  ADAMS,  Esq., 

Ambassador  of  the  United  States,  London. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  the  mayor,  aldermen  and  burgesses  of  the 
borough  of  Yeovil,  in  the  county  of  Somerset,  held  at  the  Town  Hall  on  the  1st 
day  of  May,  1865 — present,  the  worshipful  the  mayor  in  the  chair — it  was 

Unanimously  resolved,  That  the  council  desire  to   unite  in  the  general 


472  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

expression  of  deep  sorrow  and  indignation  excited  throughout  the  kingdom  by 
the  foul  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
most  respectfully  tender  to  the  government  and  people  of  that  nation,  as  well 
as  to  the  widow  and  family  of  the  late  President,  an  assurance  of  the  sincere 
sympathy  of  the  council  in  the  unprecedented  calamity  which  has  befallen  them. 
And  further,  that  the  town  clerk  do  transmit  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  reso 
lution  to  his  excellency  the  United  States  minister  in  London. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  York. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  York,  held  at  the 
Guildhall  ot  the  said  city,  on  Thursday,  the  4th  day  of  May,  1865,  the  right 
honorable  Edwin  Wade,  lord  mayor  of  the  said  city,  in  the  chair,  the  following 
resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted,  viz  : 

Moved  by  Mr.  Alderman  Richardson,  seconded  by  the  sheriff  of  York — 

That  this  meeting  desires  to  express  its  horror  and  detestation  at  the 
atrocious  crime  by  which  the  life  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  been  sacrificed,  and  its 
warm  sympathy  with  the  American  people  in  the  loss  they  have  sustained  by 
the  death  of  their  distinguished  President. 

Moved  by  W.  D.  Husband,  esq.,  seconded  by  A.  E.  Hargrove,  esq. — 

That  this  meeting  desires  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  its  warm  expression 
of  sympathy  and  condolence  at  the  bereavement  she  has  sustained  by  the 
sudden  and  untimely  death  of  her  distinguished  husband. 

Moved  by  John  Smith,  esq.,  barrister  at  law,  seconded  by  Henry  Wat 
son,  esq. — 

That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  Mr.  Adams  for  trans 
mission  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  and  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

EDWIN  WADE,  Mayor. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  PRESS  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

[From  the  Ardrossau  and  Saltcoats  Herald  and  West  Coast  Advertiser,  Saturday,  April  W,  1865.] 
IN   MEMORIAM — ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is  dead.  The  news  has  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  through 
the  country,  for  his  death  was  the  result  of  none  of  the  ordinary  causes  which 
remove  men  from  the  scene  of  their  labors,  but  he  was  foully  and  cowardly 
assassinated.  In  the  hour  of  their  triumph  the  northern  States  have  been  deprived 
of  their  trusted  ruler — the  genial,  warm-hearted,  kindly,  honest  man — the  man, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       473 

above  all  public  men  in  the  North,  who  did  his  duty  from  a  sense  of  what  he 
owed  to  his  country ;  who  prosecuted  the  war  without  vindictiveness,  without 
vaunting,  without  threats  of  extermination,  and  without  the  smallest  grain  of 
self-glorification;  who  conducted  his  intercourse  with  other  countries  with  rare 
sagacity  and  moderation ;  and  who,  but  a  few  days  before  his  death,  now  that 
the  hard  fighting  he  hoped  was  over,  indicated  in  his  own  homely,  kindly  way, 
the  best  use  which  could  be  made  of  their  recent  great  victories,  and  that  was 
by  showing  mercy  to  their  erring  brethren.  It  is  no  matter  for  wonder  that 
when  intelligence  was  received  of  the  great  crime,  New  York  was  draped  in 
black.  In  this  country  the  act  everywhere  is  viewed  with  deep  abhorrence,  and 
whatever  the  difference  of  views  regarding  the  war,  there  is  but  one  universal 
feeling  of  regret  for  the  victim,  and  strong  commiseration  for  a  country  deprived 
of  its  Chief  Magistrate  at  the  most  critical  crisis  of  its  history.  What,  then,  must 
be  the  public  feeling  in  the  industrious  towns  of  New  England,  in  the  cities  on 
the  seaboard,  all  over  the  western  States,  and  in  the  armies  ?  Craftsmen  and 
clerks,  fishermen  along  the  shores,  toilers  in  the  rich  fields  of  the  west,  wanderers 
in  the  prairies — the  working  world  of  the  States — were  allowed  but  bare  time 
to  cast  aside  their  holiday  attire,  put  on  to  hold  high  festival  for  the  downfall  of 
Richmond.  The  news  would  reach  them  when  still  surrounded  with  much  of 
the  confusion  and  trappings  of  a  merry-making  time.  It  would  come  with  the 
shock  of  a  death  immediately  on  a  marriage ;  the  enactment  of  a  fearful  tragedy 
after  a  farce.  Would  it  be  inhuman  if  the  enraged  feelings  of  the  nation  should 
find  utterance  in  a  call  for  vengeance?  God  grant  they  may  not !  That  in 
this  sad  hour  of  trial  the  innocent  may  not  be  called  upon  to  suffer  for  the  guilty. 
But  none,  under  the  circumstances,  need  be  surprised  if  they  should.  We  re 
member  Lucknow,  and  deemed  the  atrocities  committed  by  Nina  Sahib  and 
his  myrmidons  as  only  too  mercifully  punished  when  the  captured  were  blown 
from  the  cannon's  mouth. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  died  with  his  work  incompleted;  but  he  has  done 
enough  to  place  his  name  next  to  that  of  Washington  on  the  broad  roll  of  his 
country's  great  men.  Without  any  special  training  for  government,  he  will 
stand  second  to  none  for  having  conducted  the  affairs  of  his  country,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  with  great  firmness  and  sagacity.  He  was  reputed  a  humor 
ist,  but  his  jokes  were  neither  rude  nor  ill-natured;  and  although  for  the  most 
part  of  his  life  he  has  followed  manual  employments,  he  so  conducted  himself 
in  his  personal  intercourse  with  all  classes  and  with  all  men  whom  curiosity  or 
business  brought  to  the  scat  of  government,  that  he  gained  for  himself  general 
respect,  if  not  admiration.  He  acted  with  extreme  caution,  and  it  would  be 
difficult  to  point  to  a  single  act  in  his  presidential  career  which  was  either  mis 
timed  or  a  mistake. .  He  never  vituperated  the  South  ;  and  after  four  years  of 
protracted  struggle  to  force  their  return  to  the  Union,  if  he  has  not  gained  their 
confidence,  he  has  commanded  their  respect,  His  name  will  ever  be  associated 
60 


474  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

with  the  freedom  of  the  slave,  and  the  abolition  of  the  cursed  slave  system  in 
the  States  of  America.  Like  our  own  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  protective  duties, 
he  was  slow  in  perceiving  and  acting  upon  the  policy  of  emancipation  as  neces 
sary  to  the  triumph  of  the  northern  arms  and  the  future  well-being  of  his  country. 
But  when  he  did  take  hold  of  the  principle,  with  the  firmness  inherent  in  his 
character,  unhesitatingly  he  made  it  the  chief  ground  on  which  he  sought  his 
late  re-election  to  office,  and  the  one  point  he  was  determined  to  insist  upon  in 
any  reconstruction  of  the  Union  in  which  he  was  to  play  a  part.  Although  he 
was  aware  that  an  opposite  policy  might  rally  round  him  the  democratic  party 
of  the  North,  and  possibly  change  somewhat  the  sentiment  of  the  South,  and 
make  them  less  difficult  to  manage  when  once  the  war  is  over,  he  solemnly 
accepted  the  nobler  alternative.  It  was  he  who  exalted  the  issue  of  the  war. 
He  changed  it  from  a  war  waged  to  enforce  the  return  of  the  seceded  States 
into  the  Union  to  one  which,  while  accomplishing  the  end  first  contemplated, 
secured  the  emancipation  of  the  negro  race.  The  blacks  call  him  the  "libera 
tor,"  and  as  this,  as  well  as  the  nation's  martyr,  his  name  will  descend  in  the 
annals  of  his  country's  history. 

It  is  needless  to  speculate  on  the  effect  which  his  death  will  have  upon 
the  war.  His  assassination  is  more  than  a  crime — it  is  a  great  mistake.  Apart 
altogether  from  the  influence  which  the  deed  will  have  upon  the  public  opinion 
of  Europe,  it  will  have  an  evil  influence,  we  fear,  upon  the  future  of  the  South. 
It  will  not  delay  for  a  day  the  further  prosecution  of  the  war — Grant,  and  Sher 
man,  and  Sheridan  are  still  alive  to  press  the  advantages  already  gained.  But 
the  most  humane  and  sagacious  man  in  the  cabinet  has  been  taken  away,  and 
taken  away  when  planning  how  best  and  most  mercifully  he  could  assuage  the 
animosities  of  a  four  years'  conflict,  and  reconstruct  the  Union  on  a  broad  and 
firm  basis.  The  reins  of  government  are  in  other  and  quite  different  hands — 
men,  we  fear,  less  mercifully  disposed  to  the  instigators  and  fomenters  of  the 
rebellion. 


[From  the  Ulster  Observer,  Belfast,  Thursday,  April  27,  1865.] 

The  startling  and  melancholy  intelligence  which  reached  our  shores  on 
yesterday  is  of  a  nature  to  overawe  with  terror  and  bow  down  with  sorrow 
every  humane  and  generous  heart.  President  LINCOLN  has  been  coldly  and 
deliberately  assassinated.  At  the  same  time  and  the  same  hour  his  sick  and 
suffering  Secretary  of  State  was  stabbed  in  the  bed  to  which  illness  confined 
him  ;  and  a  double  crime,  unequalled  in  infamy  and  unsurpassed  in  atrocity,  has 
been  perpetrated  at  a  time  when  consequences  of  fearful  moment  and  import 
ance  are  likely  to  throw  into  temporary  oblivion  the  enormity  of  the  guilty 
deeds  that  have  produced  them. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       475 

When  war  was  fiercely  raging,  and  the  angry  passions  of  desperate  men, 
carried  away  by  the  whirlwind  of  unrestrained  fury,  made  every  hour  pregnant 
with  incalculable  danger,  even  the  terrible  catastrophe  which  has  now  unex 
pectedly  befallen  the  government  of  the  United  States  would  not  then  have 
taken  the  world  greatly  by  surprise.  When  impiety  raises  its  head  crime  rears 
aloft  its  blackened  brow,  and  the  iron  does  not  clasp  more  suddenly  nor  cling 
more  tenaciously  to  the  magnet  than  do  the  patrons  of  a  bad  cause  to  the  evil 
agencies  by  which  all  wickedness  strives  after  its  forlorn  ends.  But  that  such 
a  catastrophe  as  has  at  once  afflicted  and  disgraced  the  republic  of  America 
should  have  happened  at  a  moment  when  all  hearts  were  glad  and  full  of  joyous 
anticipations — at  a  moment  when  all  danger  was  seemingly  past  and  all  enmity 
apparently  on  the  decline — is  a  calamity  as  unexpected  in  its  occurrence  as  it 
is  likely  to  be  terrible  in  its  results.  The  fiery  Hash  which  shoots  across  the 
summer  sky,  heralding  the  thunder  and  the  storm,  is  but  a  faint  illustration  of 
the  sudden  and  terrible  event  which  shrouds  in  gloom  the  joy  and  hope  of  a 
jubilant  nation,  and  turns  their  hour  of  triumph  into  one  of  mourning  and  deso 
lation.  A  few  days  ago  and  Europe  heard  with  delight  the  intelligence  that 
the  bloody  strife  which  for  four  years  had  been  wasting  the  strength  and  ener 
gies  of  a  noble  people  was  drawing  to  a  close.  The  civilized  world  regarded 
with  admiration  the  magnanimity  which  rose,  spontaneously  and  with  the 
haughtiness  of  virtue,  in  the  breasts  of  the  northern  people,  and  turned  the 
occasion  of  victory  into  an  opportunity  for  the  display,  not  merely  of  mercy,  but 
of  brotherly  sympathy  and  love.  The  feeling  which  welled  up  from  the  heart 
of  the  nation  found  a  fitting  recipient  and  fitting  exponent  in  the  breast  and 
tongue  of  him  who  lies  wrapped  in  a  bloody  shroud  to-day ;  and  there  is  no 
friend  of  liberty  and  humanity  who  will  not  sorrow  over  the  fate,  so  sudden  and 
so  undeserved,  of  one  who  was  a  champion  of  both,  and  who  is  the  latest  and 
noblest  martyr  in  their  cause. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  fallen  at  his  post.  The  assassin's  hand  may  take 
away  life;  it  cannot  wound  that  which  is  more  precious  and  enduring  than  life — 
the  reputation  which  is  based  on  tried  goodness  and  proven  greatness.  In  this 
respect  the  admirers  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  have  nothing  to 
regret.  His  life  has  been  long  enough  for  its  purpose — his  end  is  conducive  to 
his  fame.  With  more  reason  and  more  truth  than  their  author  could  claim  he 
might,  on  the  4th  of  March  (the  day  at  first  marked  out  by  his  murderers  for 
his  doom)  have  used  the  memorable  words  uttered  by  Caesar  in  the  senate,  and 
declared  that  he  had  lived  long  enough  for  his  own  glory  and  hrs  country's  wel 
fare.  He  was  raised  up  in  a  season  of  danger  to  be  a  guide  to  the  state  in  its 
difficulties  and  perils.  With  steady  hand  and  unfaltering  purpose  he  fulfilled 
his  allotted  task.  Through  good  report  and  evil  report ;  in  the  midst  of  the 
raging  storm  of  battle,  when  all  the  land  was  convulsed  and  no  ark  of  refuge 
appeared  on  the  troubled  waters;  and  at  the  no  less  dangerous  crisis  when  the 


476  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

tide  of  victory  set  in,  and  vengeance,  with  glaring  eye  and  bared  arm,  sought 
to  lead  the  van  of  conquest,  he  was  true  to  his  duty,  and  true  to  that  high  mis 
sion  from  which  his  sense  of  duty  derived  its  inspiration.  Fearless  in  danger, 
unshaken  in  adversity,  hopeful  when  the  bravest  all  but  despaired ;  calm  amidst 
the  wild,  contagious  excitement  of  success ;  as  imperturbable  in  the  general 
ecstacies  produced  by  triumph  as  he  was  resolute  in  the  general  despondency 
produced  by  misfortune,  he  displayed,  from  first  to  last,  the  rare  qualities  of  a 
good  man  and  a  wise  ruler.  His  simplicity  of  character  was  mistaken  for  igno 
rance  ;  his  firmness  of  purpose  was  characterized  as  obstinacy  ;  his  perseverance 
was  regarded  as  infatuation.  Caricatured,  reviled,  and  calumniated ;  some 
times  hardly  pressed  by  fortune,  and  sometimes  hardly  pressed  by  designing 
hostility,  he  rose,  by  the  sheer  force  of  his  integrity  and  ability,  above  all  oppo 
sition  and  enmity,  and  in  the  day  of  final  triumph  had  his  full  share  in  the  halo 
of  glory  which  crowned  the  conquering  arms  of  the  republic.  It  was  not,  it  is 
true,  permitted  him  to  see  the  end  he  would  have  most  delighted  to  behold. 
His  golden  dreams  of  restored  peace  and  union ;  of  equality  without  reserve 
and  justice  without  curtailment;  of  the  full  plenitude  of  righteous  freedom 
poured  out  upon  the  land,  have  been  extinguished  in  his  blood  ;  but,  having 
watched  through  the  night,  and  seen  the  lustre  of  the  dawn,  it  may  be  said 
that  he  witnessed  the  consummation  for  which  his  soul  longed.  And  who  will 
say,  looking  to  his  zeal  and  labors,  that,  had  he  foreseen  his  doom,  and  that  his 
life  would  be  required  for  his  country's  triumph,  he  would  not  have  willingly 
bowed  to  destiny,  and,  accepting  his  fiite,  have  cheerfully,  and  with  a  nunc 
dimittis  on  his  lips,  paid  the  penalty,  which  is  no  less  a  sacrifice  because  the 
red  hand  of  the  cowardly  assassin  has  exacted  it '! 

It  is  such  thoughts  as  these  that  afford  to  the  sympathizing  mind  its 
highest  consolation  under  such  trying  circumstances.  LINCOLN  has  not  fallen 
before  the  cause  to  which  he  devoted  his  life  has  been  rendered  secure.  The 
victorious  arms  which  crushed  out  the  rebellion  and  drove  slavery  from  the 
continent  cannot  be  affected  by  the  loss  of  one  man,  although  he  be  the  most 
important  man  in  the  state.  It  is  the  privilege  of  republics  to  be  free  from  the 
perils  which  beset  countries  in  which  power  is  centred  in  an  individual  or  a 
dynasty.  The  loss  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  great,  but  the  Con 
stitution  can  repair  it.  A  thousand  daggers,  successfully  wielded  by  a  thousand 
assassins,  could  not  cut  off  the  race  of  rulers.  So  long  as  the  people  exist,  their 
ranks  will  supply  the  men  necessary  to  conduct  the  administration ;  and  in  the 
present  crisis,  terrible  and  pressing  as  it  is — so  fraught  with  danger  and  calamity 
— those  who  have  steadily  watched  the  history  of  the  past  cannot  doubt  that 
the  future  will  prove  the  stability  of  Ihe  institutions  that  have  survived  so  many 
rude  and  awful  shocks.  Long  after  the  present  panic  shall  have  passed  away, 
and  the  peace  and  liberty  which  have  been  so  dearly  purchased  shall  have  been 
consolidated  on  a  basis  too  permanent  for  disturbance,  men  will  look  back  on 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       477 

the  last  fearful  act  of  the  terrible  tragedy  that  has  drawn  to  a  close,  and  see  in  it 
not  a  peril  to  the  state,  but  the  most  valuable  pledge  of  its  safety.  Great  bless 
ings  are  purchased  by  great  sacrifices,  and  human  suffering  is  the  road  to  real 
glory.  When  President  LINCOLN  penned  the  sentence  which  liberated  forever 
millions  of  his  fellow-creatures  from  bondage,  and  gave  a  death-blow  to  slavery 
throughout  the  world,  he  did  an  act  which  entitled  him  to  everlasting  fame. 
That  act  is  now  sealed  with  his  blood;  and  the  consummation,  so  devoutly 
wished  and  prayed  for,  has  received  its  crowning  sacrifice. 

But  what  will  be  said  of  the  perpetrators  and  instigators  of  this  horrible 
deed  ?  If  the  life  of  the  President  appears,  as  it  is,  a  precious  offering  on  the 
altar  of  liberty,  the  crime  by  which  it  was  destroyed  stands  as  a  hideous  blot 
on  the  hideous  cause  in  whose  behalf  it  was  accomplished.  Slavery,  born  of 
murder,  lias  ended  its  days  in  murder.  The  hands  that  gloried  in  wielding  the 
lash  have  found  congenial  delight  in  the  pistol  and  the  dagger.  The  chivalry 
which  was  brave  in  the  scourging  of  defenceless  men  and  unprotected  women, 
has  given  one  more  proof  of  its  valor  and  spirit;  and  the  assassin  who  levelled 
his  pistol  at  the  back  of  an  unsuspecting  man,  filled  with  kindness  and  pity 
for  him  and  his,  and  the  assassin  who,  with  lying  tongue  and  stealthy  step,  plied 
his  dagger  on  a  defenceless  invalid,  are  worthy  companions  of  the  heroes  who 
swept  the  seas  in  quest  of  unarmed  vessels,  pillaged  a  defenceless  village,  and 
shot,  in  cold  blood,  its  inhabitants,  and  made  a  daring  attempt  to  bury  in  the 
smoke  and  flames  of  their  burning  homes  the  population,  young  and  old,  of  a 
crowded  and  unoffending  city.  It  may  be  that  the  assassination  of  President 
LINCOLN,  and  the  attempted  assassination  of  Mr.  Seward,  are  solely  attributable 
to  the  criminals  directly  engaged  in  them ;  but  in  the  account  which  has  readied 
us  of  these  infamous  and  cowardly  deeds,  there  is  evidence  of  a  conspiracy  in 
which  the  character  of  the  South  is  seriously  implicated.  The  murderer  of  the 
President  had  fixed  on  the  4th  of  March  for  the  perpetration  of  his  crime.  His 
accomplice  refused  to  act  with  him  until  he  received  further  instructions  from 
Richmond.  This  points  to  a  deliberate  plot,  formed  in  the  confederate  capital, 
for  the  perpetration  of  the  foulest  crime  that  human  wickedness  could  commit ; 
and,  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the  St.  Albans  raiders  and  the  incendiaries 
who  sought  to  fire  New  York  boasted  of  having  obtained  their  commission  of 
guilt  not  merely  in  the  confederate  capital,  but  from  men  high  in  authority  in 
it,  there  is  justification  for  the  suspicion  that  the  latest  act  of  southern  vengeance 
has  had  more  than  the  savage  ferocity  of  individual  desperation  to  prompt  it. 
If  tliis  be  so,  and  if,  on  investigation,  it  be  found  that  the  South,  beaten  in  the 
field,  has  had  recourse  to  the  bandit's  weapon  and  the  assassin's  snare,  an  infamy 
greater  than  even  slavery  has  brought  upon  her  will  rest  upon  her  name  for 
ever.  It  is  melancholy  to  think  that  even  one  man  could  be  found  among  a 
people  claiming  the  character  of  a  brave  and  gallant  race  to  perpetrate,  in  the 
name  of  liberty  and  independence,  a  crime  which  strikes  at  the  root  of  all 


478  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

justice  and  humanity.  But  tyranny  is  a  bad  teacher  of  morality,  and  traffic  in 
human  liberty  leads,  by  a  short  road,  to  disregard  of  human  life.  It  did  not 
need  this  last  awful  crime  to  reveal  to  the  world  the  ferocious  spirit  by  which 
but  too  many  of  the  defenders  of  slavery  are  actuated.  There  have  been, 
heretofore,  fitful  gleams  of  the  fierce  truculence  which  the  system  could  not 
fail  to  foster,  and  an  indignant  world  will  shudder  at  the  excesses  in  which  it 
has  eventuated.  But  it  is  time  to  draw  a  veil  over  the  terrible  tragedy,  and 
from  the  haggard  South — wasted,  worn,  and  infuriated — crying  out  like  the 
Medea  of  the  poet's  creation,  in  mingled  dread  and  resentment, 

"Est-ce  assez,  ma  vengeance,  est-ce  assez  de  deux  mortes  !" — 

we  invite  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  the  spectacle  presented  by  the 
North,  where  fortitude  and  magnanimity,  constancy  and  hope,  are  still  in  the 
ascendant.  Nor  can  we  for  a  moment  doubt  that,  in  spite  of  temptation,  and 
in  defiance  of  example,  the  people  who  have  proved  so  noble  in  suffering  will 
not  yield  to  provocation,  and  that  even  the  dead  body  of  their  murdered  chief 
will  not  rouse  within  them  the  baser  passions  which  he  would  have  been  the 
first  to  control.  It  is  a  great  trial  for  the  people  and  armies  of  the  North ;  but 
the  greater  trial,  the  greater  will  be  the  glory  of  the  victory,  which  all  friends 
of  civilization  must  pray  may  be  theirs. 


[From  the  Bradford  Review,  Saturday,  April  29,  1865.] 
ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

Many  a  time  during  the  past  four  years  has  mournful  news  been  brought 
us  from  the  North  ;  but  never  during  the  whole  of  the  war  has  any  intelligence 
of  such  evil  import  for  America  arrived  as  that  which  sent  a  shudder  of  horror 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  England  on  Wednesday  afternoon.  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN  was  assassinated  on  the  14th  of  April.  No  remarks  of  ours  can 
add  anything  to  the  intensity  of  feeling  which  those  few  words  will  excite 
throughout  this  nation  and  the  civilized  world.  For  ourselves,  we  record  the 
event  with  the  bitterest  sorrow  for  the  dead,  the  most  burning  indignation 
against  his  murderer. 

From  the  scanty  details  which  arrived  on  Wednesday  it  appears  that  the 
President  was  at  Ford's  theatre,  Washington,  on  the  evening  of  Friday,  April 
14th,  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  some  friends.  A  man  suddenly  appeared  in  Ihe 
back  of  the  box,  fired  at  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  lodged  a  bullet  in  the  back  of  his 
head.  The  assassin  then  leaped  from  the  box  on  to  the  stage,  brandishing  a 
large  knife,  and  escaped  at  the  back  of  the  theatre.  The  whole  affair  was  the 
work  of  a  moment,  and  the  audience  did  not  realize  the  fact  that  the  President 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       479 

was  shot  till  the  villain  had  escaped  from  the  building.  Mr.  LINCOLN  was 
carried  home  insensible,  and  remained  in  that  state  all  night.  No  hope  was 
entertained  from  the  first.  About  half  past  seven  o'clock  next  morning  he  died. 

About  the  same  hour  that  the  President's  murder  took  place,  a  man  came 
to  Secretary  Seward's  house  and  demanded  to  see  him,  pleading  pressing  busi 
ness.  He  was  met  by  Frederick  Seward,  Mr.  Seward's  second  son,  and  an 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State.  After  some  colloquy  had  taken  place  between 
them,  the  fellow  suddenly  struck  young  Seward  with  a  '•  billy"  on  the  head, 
injuring  the  skull,  and  striking  him  down  insensible.  He  then  rushed  into  the 
Secretary's  sick-room,  wounded  Major  Seward,  his  eldest  son,  stabbed  two  male 
nurses,  who  were  also  present,  and  next  attacked  Mr.  Seward  himself.  He 
stabbed  him  repeatedly  in  the  throat  and  face.  He  then  effected  his  escape 
from  the  house.  It  is  not  certain  that  Secretary  Seward's  wounds  are  mortal, 
but  it  is  feared  that  they  will  prove  such. 

This  is  the  story  of  a  deed  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  world's  history  for 
brutal  atrocity  or  wickedness.  We  look  with  fear  and  trembling  for  its  results 
on  the  immediate  future  of  America.  The  policy  of  President  LINCOLN,  reso 
lutely  persevered  in  during  four  long  terrible  years,  had  almost  completed  the 
suppression  of  a  gigantic  rebellion.  So  far,  the  President  was  successful ;  the 
first  part  of  his  great  work  was  almost  complete.  But  the  second  part  was 
yet  to  be  effected,  and  it  presented  difficulties  absolutely  stupendous.  The 
settlement  of  the  South — the  organization  of  its  society  on  an  entirely  new 
basis,  the  creation  of  a  new  system  for  it,  the  healing  of  the  wounds  caused  by 
the  war — this  was  the  task  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  to  perform  in  his  second 
term  of  office.  Yet  gigantic  as  this  undertaking  was,  the  people  of  the  North, 
and  the  millions  of  well-wishers  to  America  in  this  country  and  elsewhere, 
looked  with  trusting  confidence  to  its  adequate  performance  by  the  great,  pure, 
single-hearted  man  who,  with  unequalled  moral  courage  and  resolute  perse 
verance,  had  steered  the  vessel  of  the  state  through  such  a  time  of  trial  as  the 
world  had  never  before  witnessed.  And  now  he  has  gone — gone  with  his  work 
but  half  finished — gone  in  the  midst  of  another  great  crisis  in  his  country's 
history,  when  the  eyes  and  hopes  of  all  were  turned  on  him,  as  the  man  above 
all  best  calculated  to  conduct  the  nation  through  the  critical  time — gone,  having 
lived  long  enough  to  see  his  country's  enemies  vanquished  and  broken,  but 
tailing  before  the  Angel  of  Peace  had  spread  her  glorious  wings  over  the  land. 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  died  a  noble  martyr  in  the  cause  of  America  and  of 
liberty. 

Nor  should  we  forget  to  recognize  the  heavy  loss  which  the  United  States 
have,  we  fear,  sustained  in  Mr.  Seward.  He  was  a  statesman  of  the  true  Ameri 
can  type,  with  some  of  the  faults  and  very  many  of  the  virtues  of  his  nation. 
For  the  people  to  be  deprived  of  his  services  just  when  his  great  chief  is  struck 
down,  and  to  lose  him,  too,  in  the  same  horrible  manner,  is  a  fearful  intensified- 


480  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

tion  of  the  calamity.     As  we  have  said  above,  it  is  not  certain  that  his  wounds 
are  mortal.     We  sincerely  hope  and  pray  that  this  may  prove  so. 

The  crime  is  one  which  stands  in  horrid  pre-eminence  above  all  ordinary 
murders,  and  perhaps  in  its  double  brutality  cannot  be  paralleled  in  .history. 
Who  were  the  assassins  ?  What  impelled  them  to  the  commission  of  the  crime  ? 
It  is  stated  that  the  murderer  of  the  President  is  a  "  rabid  secessionist"  named 
Wilkes  Booth  ;  and  that  his  accomplice,  who  struck  down  Mr.  Seward  and  his 
son,  is  a  man  of  similar  character.  Whoever  these  cowardly  wretches  may  be, 
they  have  assuredly  earned  for  themselves  the  eternal  execrations  of  civilized 
humanity.  We  do  not  believe  that  there  is  a  single  man  in  all  the  South,  even, 
but  will  join  in  denouncing  the  deed,  and  in  pursuing  its  perpetrators  to  the 
expiation  of  their  monstrous  guilt  What  will  be  the  ultimate  result  of  the 
event  it  is  impossible  to  say.  The  people  of  the  North  are  just  now  engaged  in 
working  out  a  great  problem,  the  settlement  of  which  will  have  a  mighty  influ 
ence  on  the  cause  of  liberty  throughout  the  world.  How  the  death  of  President 
LINCOLN  will  affect  this  settlement,  how  it  will  modify  the  future  policy  of 
America,  both  toward  the  South  and  to  other  nations,  what  will  be  its  effects 
on  commerce,  it  is  hard  to  indicate;  but  certainly  it  will  have  a  marked  influence 
in  shaping  these  great  questions.  Then  our  of  greatest  trial  for  the  North  has 
arrived.  Let  us  hope  that  the  remarkable  love  of  order  which  was  displayed  at 
the  election  a  few  months  since,  and  on  other  recent  occasions,  will  restrain  the 
people,  and  enable  them  to  pass  through  the  crisis  unharmed.  They  deserve — 
we  have  no  doubt  they  will  receive — the  sympathy  of  all  free  peoples. 

We  confess  that  to  us  the  blow  is  so  sudden  and  so  terrible  that  we  find 
ourselves,  as  yet,  scarcely  able  to  realize  its  truth,  utterly  incapable  of  tracing 
its  results.  We  had  a  deep  respect  and  love  for  this  man,  who,  quietly  and 
unpretendingly,  was  doing  a  great  work.  We  attempt  no  estimate  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN'S  character.  If  he  was  not  a  man  of  brilliant  qualities  or  showy 
accomplishments,  yet  he  possessed  great  grasp  and  force  of  intellect,  honesty 
and  singleness  of  purpose,  unsullied  integrity,  unshaken  perseverance,  firmness 
in  authority,  an  ambition  utterly  unselfish,  the  qualities,  in  short,  which  go  to 
make  the  truest  and  noblest  patriot.  In  him,  the  preserver  and  restorer  of 
the  republic,  the  United  States  have  lost  a  man  worthy  to  rank  with  George 
Washington,  the  founder  of  it.  There  was  a  grandeur  about  his  simple  purity 
and  truth  which  never  attaches  to  more  selfish  men,  however  great  the  height 
to  which  they  may  attain.  The  weapon  of  a  vile  and  cowardly  assassin  has 
deprived  us  of  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  modern  times.  England  will  mourn 
for  him,  mourn  with  her  kinsfolks  across  the  ocean. 

We  of  course  presume  that  Mr.  Vice-President  Johnson  will  at  once 
become  President.  In  the  first  section  of  article  II  of  the  Constitution,  it  is 
declared  :  "  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his  death, 
resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  said  office. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       481 

the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President."  In  accordance  with  this  pro 
vision,  Vice-President  Tyler,  in  1841,  became  President  on  the  death  of  General 
Harrison,  who  died  exactly  a  month  after  his  inauguration.  Again,  Vice-Presi- 
dcnt  Fillmore,  in  1850,  succeeded  President  Taylor  on  his  death.  *  *  * 
We  have  the  fullest  confidence  that  the  American  people  will  be  ready  to  assist 
their  new  head  in  contending  with  the  difficulties  of  the  position  in  which  he 
is  so  suddenly  placed. 

Some  facts  respecting  Mr.  Johnson's  previous  career  have  been  published, 
which  tend  to  prove  that  although  he  may  be  rough  and  lacking  cultivation,  he 
is  still  a  man  of  mental  powers  and  of  energy.  He  educated  himself  while 
working  hard  for  a  livelihood  as  a  journeyman  tailor ;  and  from  this  humble 
position  he  rose,  by  dint  of  perseverance  and  political  talent,  to  the  high  position 
he  now  holds.  In  1835,  when  in  his  27th  year,  he  was  elected  to  the  Tennessee 
legislature.  Eight  years  afterward,  in  1843,  he  entered  Congress,  in  which  he 
served  till  1853.  He  was  then  chosen  governor  of  Tennessee,  and  was  re- 
elected  in  1855.  In  1857,  at  the  expiration  of  his  second  term  of  office,  he  was 
elected  senator  of  the  United  states  for  Tennessee.  Mr.  Johnson  was  at  that 
time,  a  democrat  and  a  slaveholder ;  but  when  the  rebellion  began,  he  liberated 
his  slaves,  declared  for  abolition  and  the  Union,  and  has  since  adhered  firmly  to 
the  cause  he  then  took  up.  He  is  said  to  be  a  man  of  decision  and  daring;  and 
in  his  military  government  of  Tennessee,  to  which  he  was  appointed  by  Mr. 
LINCOLN,  he 'gave  many  proofs  of  his  administrative  power,  and  of  some  truly 
noble  qualities. 

Mr.  LINCOLN  was  born  in  February,  1809,  and  was  consequently  in  the 
fifty-sixth  year  of  his  age.  Mr.  Seward  was  born  in  Florida,  in  New  York 
State,  in  July,  1801  ;  he  will  therefore  be  in  his  sixty-fourth  year. 


[From  the  Carlisle!  Examiner,  Saturday,  April  29,  18fi5.] 
THE   CLIMAX    OF   INFAMY. 

A  fortnight  this  Saturday,  when  the  startling  news  was  flashed  through 
Europe  of  the  fall  of  Richmond,  the  telegraph  was  carrying  to  the  re 
motest  cities  of  the  North  the  story  of  an  appalling  tragedy.  The  capital 
of  the  confederacy  and  the  great  army  of  the  confederacy  were  things  of 
the  past.  The  former  had  been  evacuated  a  fortnight — the  latter  had  sur 
rendered  a  week  ago.  The  people  were  rejoicing  in  the  overthrow  of  the 
rebellion  which  they  had  made  such  mighty  efforts  to  crush,  and  on  the 
advent  of  that  reign  of  peace  which  was  quickly  coming  with  its  attendant 
train  of  blessings.  In  the  midst  of  their  jubilations  they  were  stricken  with 
an  awful  blow.  Their  beloved  President — he;  whose  steady  hand  and  wise 
brain  had  guided  the  reeling  ship  through  the  hurricane,  and  was  but  yester- 

61 


482  ASSASSINATION   OP   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

day  full  of  humane  thoughts  for  its  future  career — lay  dead,  the  victim  of  an 
infuriated  assassin.  Strange,  is  it  not,  that  the  last  of  the  ten  thousand  bullets 
of  the  war  should  be  reserved  for  him  1  But  so  it  was.  The  greatest  war  of 
any  time  was  consummated  by  an  act  to  which  history  reveals  no  parallel,  and 
which  the  world  will  regard  with  feelings  of  unutterable  horror.  The  death 
of  Caesar  did  not  come  with  such  a  shock  to  the  assembled  senators  as  the  death 
of  the  President  to  his  own  people  and  to  ours.  The  Roman  had  grasped 
power,  and  made  the  liberties  of  his  countrymen  and  of  alien  nations  sub 
servient  to  his  own  imperial  will.  He  lived  in  an  age  when  Sic  semper  tyrannis 
was  a  motto  which  commended  itself  to  the  highest  minds.  Even  the  assassi 
nations  of  "William  of  Orange,  of  the  Russian  Paul,  of  Kotzebue,  of  Marat,  of 
Percival,  were  justified  by  rigid  philosophers,  whose  teachings  the  world  has 
happily  discarded ;  and  the  still  more  recent  attempt  on  the  life  of  Napoleon 
was  mitigated  by  many  who  regarded  him  as  the  author  of  Italy's  thraldom. 
But  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  nothing  in  common  with  any  of  these  high  objects  of  the 
assassin's  knife.  He  was  a  plain,  homely  man,  whom  the  people  had  placed  m 
power  once,  and  whom  they  reinstated  in  power  as  the  best  evidence  of  their 
devotion  He  had  nothing  of  the  tyrant  either  in  his  office  or  person.  He  did 
nothing  of  an  extrajudicial  tendency  that  was  not  sanctioned  by  the  Constitu 
tion  and  by  Congress.  He  neither  rose  to  power  on  the  burning  ashes  of  a 
republic  which  he  had  destroyed,  nor  used  a  victorious  army  to  enable  him  to 
override  the  laws  of  his  country.  As  he  was  at  the  beginning,  so  he  was  at  the 
end.  He  was  sworn  to  execute  laws  which  bound  him  equally  with  the  prairie 
fanner  or  the  city  storekeeper.  He  would  have  been  a  traitor  to  his  oath  if 
he  had  not  put  those  laws  in  force  against  those  who  sought  to  dismember  the 
Union  he  was  charged  to  defend.  He  did  so  with  a  magnanimity  unparalleled 
in  the  history  of  civil  wars,  for  no  man  suffered  on  the  scaffold  for  domestic 
treason.  He  brought  the  war  to  an  end,  and  was  glad  of  the  opportunity  it 
afforded  of  issuing  a  liberal  amnesty.  His  generous  plans  have  been  frustrated 
by  an  event  which  deprives  the  North  of  a  noble  ruler,  and  the  South  of  its  best 
friend. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  go  over  the  terrible  details  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  untimely 
death.  He  went  to  the  theatre,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  a  couple  of 
friends,  on  the  evening  of  the  day  appointed  for  a  national  thanksgiving.  That, 
probably,  explains  the  reason  why  Good  Friday  should  have  been  chosen  for  a 
visit  to  such  a  place  of  entertainment.  He  was  there,  in  his  private  box,  shot 
in  the  head  by  a  ruffian  who  had  slipped  in  behind.  He  was  never  afterwards 
sensible,  and  died  next  morning.  On  the  same  night,  and  about  the  same  time, 
an  accomplice  of  the  murderer  made  his  way  into  the  house  of  the  Secretary 
of  State.  Mr.  Seward  was  in  bed,  slowly  recovering  from  his  late  accident. 
The  villain  rushed  to  the  bedside,  and  instantly  gashed  his  victim's  head  and 
neck.  Two  of  Mr.  Seward's  sons  were  summoned  by  the  domestics.  One  was 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       483 

knocked  down  with  a  bludgeon,  and  the  other  so  terribly  wounded  that  he  was 
reported  dead.  One  or  two  of  the  attendants  were  also  so  much  injured  as  to 
leave  little  hopes  of  their  recovery.  It  is  doubtful,  also,  whether  Mr.  Seward 
will  get  better.  It  is  said  that  Mr.  Stanton,  the  Secretary  of  War,  was  marked 
by  the  assassins,  and  that  General  Grant,  who  was  advertised  to  be  at  the 
theatre,  but  who  did  not  go,  was  another  expected  victim.  One  of  the  monsters 
escaped,  but  the  other  was  said  to  have  been  captured.  They  had  come  to 
Washington  on  horseback,  and  had  left  their  horses  at  a  livery  stable. 

The  first  question  that  arises  on  reading  the  particulars  of  this  atrocious 
scries  of  crimes  is,  were  they  the  result  of  accident  or  premeditation — the  freak 
of  madmen,  or  the  deliberate  purpose  of  their  employers  1 

The  madman  and  fanatic  theory  falls  to  the  ground  at  once  as  worthless. 
No  lunatics  would  have  come  to  the  city  on  saddle  horses,  separated  each  on  his 
diabolical  mission,  and  then  run  away.  A  fanatical  patriot  would  have  bid  defi 
ance  when  his  revenge  had  been  accomplished.  Brutus  justified  his  deed,  and 
less  men  than  Brutus,  inspired  with  the  desire  to  kill  a  tyrant,  would  have 
quietly  stood  their  ground.  Not  so  the  villains  whose  object  was  unquestion 
ably  to  murder  the  entire  cabinet.  Mr.  Stanton  charges  the  crimes  against  "  the 
enemies  of  the  country,"  and  says  that  "  evidence  has  been  obtained  that  these 
horrible  crimes  were  committed  in  execution  of  a  conspiracy  deliberately  planned 
and  set  on  foot  by  rebels  under  pretence  of  avenging  the  South  and  aiding  the 
rebel  cause."  It  is  further  stated  that  the  murders  were  to  have  been  committed 
in  March,  but  were  postponed  "  until  Richmond  could  be  heard  from."  Who 
were  the  conspirators  at  the  rebel  capital  we  shall  probably  learn  before  long, 
though  they  would  have  cunning  enough  to  hide  the  written  proofs  of  complicity- 
We  have  not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  that  the  actual  assassins  were  the  wretched 
instruments  of  that  slave  power  which  offered  rewards  for  the  heads  of  the 
Washington  government  and  plotted  the  murder  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  at  Baltimore  in 
1860.  The  chivalry  which  could  starve  Union  prisoners  to  death,  which  could 
butcher  negro  captives,  which  could  send  out  pirates  to  burn  defenceless  mer 
chantmen,  which  could  burn  its  own  cities,  which  could  break  their  solemn 
oaths  and  rob  the  public  treasury,  which  could  live  in  barbaric  luxury  on  the 
spoils  of  human  slavery,  which  could  flog,  imprison,  and  torture  human  beings 
as  mere  brutes,  whose  chief  city  was  described  by  Mr.  Russell,  the  Times 
correspondent,  as  "  a  hell  upon  earth,"  whose  logical  weapons  for  settling  every 
dispute  before  the  war  were  the  revolver,  the  bowie-knife,  and  the  pine  fagot, 
who  planned  the  burning  of  New  York  and  murdered  the  citizens  of  St. 
Albans — we  have  no  hesitation  in  ascribing  to  some  of  them  the  authorship  of 
the  black  list  of  assassinations.  It  is  fhe  worst  job  they  have  taken  in  hand 
since  their  famous  treason.  It  will  rouse  the  soldiers  and  people  of  the  North 
to  exact  a  measure  of  vengeance  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  the  only  man  able  lo 
prevent.  They  have  sent  to  an  untimely,  but  not  an  inglorious  grave,  a  man 


484  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

whose  simple,  honest,  grand  life  will  place  him  next  to  Washington  on  the 
scroll  of  Presidents,  and  whose  merciful  nature  would  have  stood  between  them 
and  the  block. 


[From  the  Freeman's  Journal,  Dublin,  Friday,  April  28,  1865.] 

The  assassination  of  the  President  created  intense  excitement  over  England. 
He  was  respected  by  all,  and  among  the  working  classes  was  as  popular  as  he 
was  in  his  own  country.  Simple  in  his  habits — with  no  pride  or  pretension — 
accessible  to  all,  and  with  a  kind  word  for  all — the  warm  friend  of  England, 
though  from  that  country  went  forth  some  of  the  bitterest  attacks  on  his  person 
and  character — his  loss  is  the  more  deeply  felt  when  the  future  is  so  uncertain 
and  dark.  All  lament  the  good  man  and  great  statesman.  We  doubt  whether 
modern  history  contains  a  grander  character  than  the  humble  lawyer  of  Illinois. 
Others  had  more  genius,  and,  perhaps,  a  deeper  insight  into  the  political  future, 
though  in  that  prescience  which  is  one  of  the  highest  and  rarest  gifts  of  rulers 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  far  from  deficient.  In  high  moral  qualities  Jie  was  unsur 
passed  by  any  public  character  of  the  age.  His  hands  were  as  free  from  corruption 
as  his  generous  soul  was  indisposed  to  harshness.  None  of  his  enemies  ever 
charged  him  with  appropriating  a  dollar  of  the  public  money  beyond  his  modest 
salary  of  four  thousand  pounds.  His  public  virtue  shone  out  as  brightly  as 
his  private  worth,  and  both  made  him  the  best  beloved  man  in  the  United 
States.  His  loss  is  acutely  felt  in  England  and  France,  for  his  calm  wisdom 
interposed  a  barrier  against  popular  passions  and  mitigated  national  animosities. 
He  sent  as  ambassador  to  England  one  of  the  first  and  most  conciliatory  of 
American  statesmen,  and  his  choice  has  been  proved  by  the  esteem  in  which  Mr. 
Adams  is  universally  held,  and  the  skill  with  which  he  has  conducted  the  relations 
between  the  two  countries  in  many  a  perilous  crisis.  Whatever  differences  of 
opinion  about  the  war  may  have  existed  in  England,  the  horror  which  the 
murder  excited  has  been  universal.  The  House  of  Commons,  as  the  represent 
ative  of  the  people,  testified,  in  a  manner  which  will  be  appreciated  in  the 
United  States,  its  sense  of  the  calamity.  At  the  sitting  of  the  house  on  Mon 
day  members  of  all  shades — English,  Irish,  and  Scotch — liberal  and  conserva 
tive — signed  an  address  of  sympathy  to  Mr.  Adams.  Last  night  Sir  George 
Grey  stated  that  on  Monday  next  he  would  move  an  address  to  the  Crown, 
expressing  the  horror  and  condemnation  the  house  felt  at  the  assassination  of 
the  President,  and  praying  her  Majesty  to  convey  that  expression  of  feeling  to 
the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States.  In  the  House  of  Lords  Earl 
Russell,  in  graceful  language,  made  a  similar  statement.  Earl  Derby  wished 
to  know  whether  in  point  of  form  such  an  address  was  regular.  As  to  the 
substance,  the  noble  earl  concurred  in  the  indignation  and  horror  which  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       4H5 

atrocious  act  excited  among  all  ranks  in  England.  The  Queen  will  do  her 
part.  She  entertains  great  regard  for  the  American  people,  in  which  the  Prince 
Consort  shared.  One  of  his  last  acts  was  to  soften  the  tone  of  the  despatches 
on  the  affair  of  the  Trent,  a  fact  stated  by  Earl  Russell  in  the  House  of  Lords. 
Her  Majesty  feels  grateful  for  the  universal  hospitality  the  Prince  of  Wales 
received  in  the  States,  and  we  may  be  sure  "the  noble  Queen,"  as  Mr.  Seward 
called  her  in  his  last  speech,  will  convey  to  the  American  government  and 
people  more  than  a  formal  expression  of  the  duty  imposed  on  her  by  the  lords 
and  commons.  Such  displays  are  calculated  to  do  much  good.  They  soften 
resentments,  soothe  the  sorrows,  and  draw  closer  the  bonds  of  friendship 
between  nations.  The  American  residents  in  London,  in  whom  the  late  Presi 
dent  had  almost  frantic  admirers — we  write,  of  course,  of  the  northern  section — 
met  yesterday  to  express  their  sentiments  on  the  mournful  occasion,  and  the 
Americans  (who  are  still  more  numerous)  in  Paris  will  follow  the  example. 
One  of  the  most  honored  bodies  in  England — the  Emancipation  Society — 
founded  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  and  which  saw  the  consummation 
of  its  labors  in  the  abolition  of  slavery,  assembled  for  a  similar  purpose.  In 
Liverpool,  Manchester,  Birmingham,  Leeds,  Newcastle,  and  other  great  cities 
and  towns,  meetings  are  about  to  take  place  to  address  the  American  people. 
The  common  council  of  London — the  first  municipal  body  in  the  world — will 
also  give  expression  to  their  feelings.  We  rejoice  to  find  Dublin  active  on  the 
mournful  occasion.  The  working  classes  will  meet  this  evening  at  the  Mechanics' 
Institute.  A  preliminary  meeting  of  gentlemen  will  take  place  to-day  in 
Molesworth  street,  to  prepare  a  requisition  to  the  lord  mayor  to  convene  a 
meeting  of  the  citizens  on  an  early  day. 


[From  the  Dublin  Evening  Post,  Saturday,  April  29,  1805.] 
THE  MEETING  AT  THE  MANSION  HOUSE. 

A  requisition,  signed  by  men  whose  names  represent  every  shade  of  politi 
cal  opinion,  has  drawn  together  at  the  Mansion  House  to-day  a  meeting  of  the 
citizens  of  Dublin,  presided  over  by  the  lord  mayor,  to  give  language  to  their 
detestation  of  the  crime  which  has  just  widowed  the  United  States,  and  to  offer 
to  the  American  people  the  expression  of  their  heartfelt  sympathy.  Dublin,  as 
might  be  expected,  has  borne  itself  worthily  on  this  occasion.  We  do  not  think 
it  has  ever  before  happened  that  a  common  feeling  did  so  completely  unite  gov 
ernments  and  populations,  official  and  unofficial  bodies,  hostile  parties,  and  warring 
opinions,  in  one  spontaneous  and  irresistible  expression  of  sympathy  with  a  nation, 
and  of  homage  to  a  man.  There  were  doubtless  many  at  that  meeting  entitled, 
by  conscientious  conviction,  to  withhold  their  sympathies  from  the  cause,  noble 


486  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

as  we  think  it,  which  the  victim  President  has  further  ennobled  and  consecrated 
by  his  death.  Whatever  differences  of  opinion  may  have  existed  respecting 
the  great  struggle  now  all  but  terminated,  there  is  but  one  universal  sentiment 
of  abhorrence  for  the  damning  infamy  of  the  crime  which  has  given  so  tragic  a 
horror  to  its  close.  It  is  impossible,  however,  not  to  feel  that  every  homage 
paid  to  the  memory  of  the  late  President,  and  every  message  of  condolence 
with  the  American  people  in  the  hour  of  their  solemn  grief  sent  forward  to 
their  government,  more  especially  from  Ireland,  will  go  to  swell  the  universal 
tribute  of  civilization,  not  less  to  the  cause  than  to  the  man.  There  could  not 
have  been  any  divergence  of  opinion  at  the  meeting,  because  no  man,  in  express 
ing  his  abhorrence  of  assassination  and  parricide,  makes  sacrifices  of  political 
sentiments  or  partialities ;  but  we  still  feel  that  the  expression  of  sorrow, 
indignation,  and  sympathy,  perfectly  unexampled  in  the  history  of  the  world 
for  breadth  and  intensity,  which  will  be  conveyed  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States  from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  will  and  must  be  interpreted  as  testifying  to 
the  greatness  of  the  cause  which,  under  the  presidency  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
the  American  people  had  conducted  to  a  glorious  issue,  and  which,  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  under  the  surviving  inspiration  of  his  firm  but  merciful  policy,  they  will 
fix  in  abiding  security. 


[From  the  Dublin  Daily  Express,  Saturday,  April  29,  180.").] 

The  meeting  convened  for  to-day  is  one  in  the  objects  of  which  all  Irishmen, 
whatever  their  politics  and  whatever  their  predilections,  will  combine.  The 
assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  is,  without  doubt,  the  most  horrible  catas 
trophe  which  has  occurred  within  the  memory  of  man.  Nay,  it  is  even  doubt 
ful  whether,  in  order  to  find  its  perfect  parallel,  we  must  not  go  back  eighteen 
hundred  years  or  more,  and  revert  to  the  assassination  of  the  first  Caesar.  The 
feeling  with  which  the  intelligence  was  received  when  the  first  vague  sense  of 
incredulity  had  passed  away  was  one  of  overpowering  sorrow.  It  was  as  though 
there  were  some  great  danger  impending,  some  great  personal  bereavement  to 
be  endured,  some  vague  and  indefinable  horror  to  be  undergone.  The  feeling 
was  enhanced  by  the  consciousness  that  we  had  not  done  justice  to  the  character 
or  fairly  estimated  the  career  of  the  murdered  statesman.  We  were  all  of  us 
familiar  with  the  descriptions  of  the  homely  and  ungainly  man — the  man  that, 
born  and  bred  a  peasant,  had  carried,  in  some  respects,  the  manners  of  a 
peasant  into  the  lofty  station  which  by  his  energy  of  character  he  had  achieved. 
But  we  were  only  beginning  to  appreciate  the  homely  common-sense  which  had 
guided  him  where  mere  astuteness  would  have  failed — the  homely  honesty 
which,  in  a  community  where  political  honesty  is  rare,  had  secured  him  the 
name,  of  "  Honest  Abe,"  the  gentle,  affectionate  disposition  which  in  the  moment 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        487 

of  triumph  was  ready  to  forget  the  past,  and,  in  a  broad  spirit  of  philanthropy, 
to  receive  back  his  most  deadly  enemies  as  countrymen  and  friends. 

The  loss  of  President  LINCOLN  is  great,  but  we  must  beware  of  exaggerat 
ing  its  greatness.     The  murdered  statesman  was  not  what  is  sometimes  called 
"a  necessary  man."     If  the  Emperor  of  the  French  were  to  be  assassinated,  his 
dynasty  would  in  all  probability  be  ended,  France  would  be  in  a  revolution 
and  all  Europe  would  be  shaken  to  its  centre.     The  assassination  of  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  will,  as  far  as  we  can  forecast  the  future,  be  attended  with 
no  such  terrible  results ;  and  the  reason  is  easily  to  be  discovered.     In  the  one 
case  the  nation  is  the  creature  of  the  man,  in  the  other  the  man  was  the  creature 
of  the  nation.     The  Emperor  is  himself  the  empire.     The  French  government  is 
the  realization  of  his  ideal.     He  has  impressed  his  individuality  on  France.     The 
French  people  are  not  only  ruled,  they  are  governed,  and  animated,  and  im 
pelled  by  him.     The  case  was  different  with  the  murdered  President.     He  was 
not  a  man  of  preconceived  ideas  and  predetermined  plans.     Though  he  marched 
with  unfaltering  step  at  the  head  of  American  opinion,  he  can  scarcely  be  said 
to  have  even  lead  it.     The  nation  urged  him  onward.     The  national  thought 
inspired,  the  national  energy  impelled  him.     The  nation  found  in  him  its  repre 
sentative,  its  embodiment,  its  chief.     And  here  is  to  be  found  at  once  his  true 
merit  as  a  statesman  and  the  explanation  of  the  fact  that  he  was  not  indispen 
sably  necessary  to  the  States.     If  he  was  not  in  advance,  he  was  never  in  arrear, 
of  public  opinion.     He  yielded  freely  to  the  pressure  from  behind.     Urged  on 
ward  by  the  nation,  he  pushed  towards  the  end  he  did  not  see  with  honest 
purpose  and  unshaken  courage.    But  his  range  of  vision  widened  as  he  advanced. 
Dangers  disappeared  and  difficulties  cleared  before  him.     At  the  outset  of  his 
eventful  presidency  he  was  scared  at  the  prospect  of  secession.     Secession,  he 
said,  was  never  contemplated  by  the  Constitution,  and  the  Constitution  gave 
him  no  power  of  coercing  a  seceding  State.     For  the  moment  the  strong  man 
seemed  paralyzed.     But  Sumter  was  taken,  and  the  national  spirit  was  aroused. 
The  nation  rushed  to  arms,  and  the  President  caught  the  spirit  of  the  nation 
and  took  his  natural  position  at  its  head.     Then  came  dark  days  of  humiliation 
and  disaster.     Army  after  army  was  defeated.     General  after  general  was  de 
posed.     But  the  heart  of  the  President  never  failed  him,  and  the  nation's  spirit 
rose  higher  the  lower  its  fortunes  sank.     There  was  aroused  throughout  the 
North  a  firmer  determination   to  sacrifice  everything  and  to  suffer  anything 
rather  then  abandon  its  destiny  and  renounce  its  place  among  the  nations.  Then, 
for  the  first  time,  came  the  thought  that  the  negro  might  be  emancipated,  not,  it 
is  true,  in  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  religion,  not  in  the  interests  of  humanity, 
but  as  a  military  expedient  to  meet  the  stern  exigencies  of  the  war.     The  sen 
timent  of  the  nation  once  more  found  expression  in  the  homely  words  of  its 
elect.     If  by  maintaining  slavery,  he   said,  he  could  maintain  the   Union,  he 
would   maintain  it;  if  by  abolishing  slavery  he  could  maintain  the  Union,  he 


488  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABKAHAM   LINCOLN. 

would  abolish  it.  His  great,  his  only  object  was  the  Union.  But  it  soon  became 
apparent  that  the  maintenance  of  slavery  would  not  maintain  the  Union,  and 
then  arose  a  fierce,  loud  cry  for  abolition;  a  cry  in  which  were  mingled  the 
discordant  voices  of  humanity,  and  worldly  wisdom,  and  political  rancor,  and 
unrelenting  war.  The  time  was  at  length  come  ;  the  President  at  length  pro 
nounced  his  emancipation  proclamation,  and  slavery  as  an  institution  perished 
in  the  war  which  it  had  evoked.  Then  came  the  hour  of  triumph.  Fortune 
had  changed,  the  tide  had  turned,  the  hour  of  darkness  had  passed  away.  Then 
followed  in  quick  succession  the  march  of  Sherman,  the  capitulation  of  Savan 
nah,  the  storming  of  the  lines  before  Petersburg,  the  capture  of  Richmond,  the 
surrender  of  Lee,  the  virtual  suppression  of  the  great  pro-slavery  rebellion.  But 
new  tasks  awaited  the  savior  of  the  republic.  The  Union  was  to  be  recon 
structed  ;  a  torn  confederation  of  States  was  to  be  consolidated  into  a  single 
nation.  The  element  of  division  and  disorder  had  disappeared  with  slavery,  and 
the  Constitution  was  to  be  remodelled  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  new  devel 
opment  of  national  existence.  The  pacification  of  the  South,  the  determination 
of  the  future  status  of  the  blacks,  the  disbandment  of  the  army,  the  consolida 
tion  of  the  debt,  and  the  restoration  of  the  finances — these  and  a  thousand  other 
labors  awaited  the  calm  sagacity  and  moderate  counsels  of  the  homely  states 
man.  But  his  hour  was  come.  He  was  to  be  cut  off  in  the  midst  of  his  triumph. 
His  country  was  to  lose  him.  In  one  sense  it  is  an  irreparable  loss ;  but  the 
nation  survives,  though  the  individual  is  dead,  and  the  high  qualities  which 
have  carried  the  American  people  through  the  terrible  ordeal  of  war  will,  we 
doubt  not,  carry  it  through  the  ordeal — less  terrible,  perhaps,  but  equally  trying — 
of  approaching  peace.  The  spirit  of  the  nation  now,  as  heretofore,  will  animate 
the  spirit  of  its  statesmen  and  its  generals,  and  mould  them  to  its  will.  Grant 
is  still  at  the  head  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  death  of  the  President 
can  exert  no  influence  on  the  conduct  of  the  war.  Slavery  perished  in  the  life 
time  of  the  murdered  man,  and  cannot  be  resuscitated  by  his  murder.  The 
consolidation  of  the  confederacy  of  independent  States  into  a  nation  will  be  the 
work  of  time,  but  the  process  has  commenced  and  cannot  be  arrested  even  by 
an  assassination.  The  only  peril  with  which  America  is  really  menaced  by  the 
catastrophe  which  has  occurred  is  a  reaction  of  popular  sentiment  against  the 
South.  The  hand  of  the  assassin  has  destroyed  the  man  of  moderate  counsels 
and  kindly  heart,  and  those  who  have  succeeded  to  his  place  have  not,  we  fear, 
inherited  his  virtues.  There  is,  in  truth,  peril.  As  for  ourselves,  the  deplor 
able  event  which  has  occurred  has  been  attended  with  at  least  one  poor  con 
solation  and  advantage.  The  universal  horror  which  the  intelligence  of  this 
foul  assassination  has  evoked,  the  universal  sympathy  with  the  American  people 
in  its  great  bereavement  which  it  has  elicited,  will  go  far  in  the  mind  of  a 
generous  nation  to  obliterate  all  those  angry  feelings  which  necessary  policy  and 
unfortunate  accidents  have  engendered.  And  the  report  of  the  proceedings  of 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       489 

the  multitude  of  public  meetings  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land,  such  as  that  which  will  be  assembled  to-day  in  Dublin,  will  prove  to  the 
American  people  that,  whatever  may  have  been  our  want  of  appreciation  of  the 
living,  we  honor  and  revere  the  dead,  and  cherish  the  memory  of  the  second 
Washington. 


[From  the  Dublin  Reformer,  Saturday,  April  29,  1865.] 
ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  was  shot  by  an 
assassin  on  the  14th  instant,  and  died  the  following  morning."  This  was  the 
intelligence  which  reached  Europe  on  Wednesday,  the  26th  instant,  and  never 
was  greater  consternation,  horror,  and  grief  exhibited  than  that  which  appeared 
in  the  faces  of  the  millions  who  crowded  the  streets  of  European  cities.  *  * 
Were  it  not  that  official  information  has  been  received  confirming  the  diabolical 
butchery  of  a  man  equal  in  every  respect  to  the  immortal  Washington,  we 
should  scout  the  statement  contained  in  Reuter's  telegram  as  a  most  wicked 
and  clumsy  imposture.  Information  subsequently  received,  however,  has  gone 
too  far  to  leave  room  for  any  reasonable  doubt  as  to  the  lamentable  fate  of  this 
great  patriot,  statesman,  and  philanthropist.  In  an  age  teeming  with  intellectual 
genius  and  refinement,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  humble  woodman,  was  called  to 
play  an  arduous,  noble,  and  conspicuous  part  in  the  great  drama  of  civilization 
and  progress.  The  earliest  days  of  his  presidency  were  employed  in  raising 
gigantic  armies,  money,  and  all  the  munitions  of  war,  on  a  scale  never  before 
contemplated  or  necessary ;  and  which  he  had  to  draw  from  a  people  who 
adored  peace,  and  who  trampled  on  all  the  instincts  of  selfishness  and  individual 
aggrandizement,  in  order  to  raise  their  country  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  social 
prosperity,  political  purity,  and  moral  advancement. 

No  people  in  the  world  have  yielded  to  greater  lengths  in  the  cause  of  peace 
than  the  Americans.  "  Peace  with  all,  and  to  all,"  was  their  motto,  until  Jeffer 
son  Davis  plotted  for  that,  brutal  effusion  of  blood  which  has  ended  so  charac 
teristically  in  the  cowardly  and  brutal  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the 
good  and  the  great.  This  last  savage  act  was  only  one  of  the  many  that  were 
planned  and  enacted  by  Davis  and  his  secession  aiders  and  abettors.*  Davis 
disappeared  with  a  carpet-bag  the  moment  a  signal  reverse  attended  his  man- 
stealing  government.  And  after  the  massacre  by  General  Lee  of  the  remnant 
of  the  army  he  opposed  to  Grant's  forces,  we  have  the  most  substantial  reasons 
for  believing  that  southern  leaders  would  not  stop  at  anything,  and  it  would  be 
hard  to  entertain  an  idea  that  they  are  wholly  free  from  complicity  in  the  savage 
deed  of  blood  which  hurried  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  to  an  untimely  but  glorious 
62 


490  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

grave  As  lately  as  the  month  of  February  last  General  Lee  is  reported  to  have 
said  that  "  he  would  startle  the  whole  world,"  which  he  has  not  done  since  that 
date  by  his  military  successes ;  and  let  us  hope  that  the  death  of  President 
LINCOLN,  and  the  attempted  assassination  of  a  no  less  trustworthy  and  indefati 
gable  public  servant,  Mr.  Seward,  are  not  the  tragedies  "which  were  to  startle 
the  world."  Happily  for  America,  before  LINCOLN  fell,  Grant  had  proved  himself 
a  man  of  honor,  and  a  military  commander  of  the  highest  genius,  and  Sherman, 
Sheridan,  and  Thomas  had  signalized  themselves  as  men  of  the  same  stamp, 
whose  names,  if  not  respected  for  their  valor  by  the  South,  will  long  be  dreaded 
by  the  disturbers  of  the  peace  of  a  people  who  loathe  and  despise  war,  and  seek 
greatness  in  the  harmony  and  advancement  of  all  nations.  Before  these  men 
appeared  on  the  stage  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  left  with  armies  shattered  by 
intriguing  and  incompetent  leaders,  whose  place  could  not  be  readily  supplied. 
These  armies  were  reorganized  by  LINCOLN  in  his  cabinet,  who  never  allowed 
the  war  and  public  spirit  to  flag,  until  men  of  honor  and  consummate  skill  as 
commanders  led  the  desponding  and  almost  panic-stricken  troops  of  the  North 
to  victory  as  complete  as  the  contest  was  great. 

While  engaged  in  directing  great  warlike  operations,  without  leaders,  except 
those  who  had  not  been  fairly  tried,  but  who  have  since  shown  themselves  equal 
to  the  work,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  held  together  the  civil  government  intact,  and 
left  none  of  the  duties  of  his  high  office  undone.  With  the  greatest  power  ever 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  single  man,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  never  took  upon  him 
self  any  unconstitutional  power,  but  openly  conveyed  his  views  and  opinions  to 
the  criticism  of  public  opinion,  and  acted  in  strict  accordance  with  the  popular 
voice.  He  was  an  American,  and  he  breathed  only  for  America ;  and,  horrible 
to  think,  the  soil  of  America  has  drunk  his  blood.  But  great  and  deplorable  as 
this  calamity  is,  much  as  the  sympathizers  of  the  South  may  rejoice  over  this 
terrible  deed,  and  secessionists  may  think  that  it  will  open  the  door  to  fresh 
tumult  and  bloodshed,  the  great  republic,  with  all  its  giant  powers,  genius,  and 
interests,  will  be  sate,  and  handed  down  to  posterity  by  Grant,  Sherman,  Sher 
idan,  and  Thomas.  Four  such  men  were  never  seen  at  any  one  time  in  a  single 
battle-field,  and  if  the  armies  of  the  North  da  not  wreak  their  vengeance  on 
Mobile  and  the  other  confederate  positions  still  holding  out  against  the  North, 
it  will  be  simply  because  they  respect  and  honor  the  names  of  those  commanders 
who  have  led  them  to  victory,  and  delivered  their  country  from  further  carnage. 
But  before  we  conclude,  we  hope  that  the  citizens  of  Dublin,  and  of  the  other 
large  towns  in  Ireland,  will  follow  the  example  of  Liverpool,  Manchester,  and 
other  cities  in  England,  and  hold  meetings  to  express  the  horror  and  disgust 
with  which  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  has  filled  the  public  mind 
of  Europe,  and  to  offer  the  American  people  all  the  condolence  they  can  bestow 
on  a  nation  who  has  suffered  so  great  and  so  bitter  a  loss. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF  CONDOLENCE  AND   SYMPATHY.  491 

[From  the  Caledonian  Mercury,  Edinburgh,  Thursday,  April  27,  18C5.] 
"GOD   MOVES    IN   A   MYSTERIOUS    WAY." 

It  is  with  a  profoundly  solemn  sense  of  the  inscrutable  wonder-workings 
of  Providence  that  we  announce  to-day  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN 
The  news  is  harrowing  in  the  extreme.  It  has  struck  Edinburgh,  and  will 
strike  Great  Britain  and  the  world,  with  terrible  impressiveness.  It  has  come 
so  unexpectedly,  so  unsuspectingly  also,  at  the  very  time  when  the  friends  of 
the  United  States  were  rejoicing  over  the  extinction  of  the  great  rebellion,  and 
when  even  the  opponents  of  the  President  and  his  government  were  reconciling 
themselves  to  fate  and  contemplating  the  immediate  and  peaceful  winding  up 
of  the  four  years'  war.  It  is  no  mere  figure  of  speech,  nor  is  it  the  slightest 
exaggeration,  to  say  that  when  the  telegraph  first  wafted  the  brief  announce 
ment  through  this  city 

"  The  boldest  held  his  breath  for  a  time." 

Nay,  more,  not  a  few  strong  men  wept  as  children,  or  as  if  a  common  fiithcr  had 
gone.     Among  all  classes — chiefly,  of  course,  among  the  friends  of  the  North — 
there  was  evidenced  a  feeling  of  astonishment,  grief,  and  pain,  which  could  not 
have  been  greater  had  the  Sovereign  of  our  realm  been  taken  to  her  last  home. 
For  ourselves,  knowing  as  our  readers  do  the  intense  admiration  we  have  ever 
had  of  the  calm,  Christian,  enlightened  statesmanship  of  "  honest  old  Abe,"  his 
firm  and  inflexible  determination  to  abide  by  the  Constitution  of  his  country,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  blot  out,  through  that  Constitution,  the  infamous  system 
and  institutions  of  slavery,  we  feel  bound  to  say  that  we  have  not  language 
equal  to  the  expression  of  our  sorrow.     President  LINCOLN  was,  in  our  judgment, 
"  the  right  man  in  the  right  place" — the  appropriately  chosen  ruler  of  a  great 
people.     He  was  admirably  adapted  for  the  arduous  work  Providence  gave  him 
to  perform  ;  and  that  he  thoroughly  performed  that  work  during  his  first  term 
of  office  no  one  can  deny.     Those  who  take  the  most  comprehensive  view  of 
the  magnitude  of  the  struggle  in  which  the  federal  government  was  involved, 
and  of  the   conflicting  interests   to  be  consulted  in  that  struggle,  are   most 
impressed  when  they  reflect  how  he  raised  army  after  army  and  fleet  after  fleet; 
how  he  equipped  and  supported  them ;  how  he  met,  through  sanitary  commis 
sions  and  Christian  commissions,  every  requirement,  temporal  and  spiritual,  of 
which  they  stood  in  need;  and  how,  pari  passu  with  all  this,  he  smoothed  down 
the  rough  angles  of  old  prejudices,  curbed  the  impetuous  demands  of  wild  and 
revengeful  passions,  and  led  the  people  on  from  victory  to  victory  to  the  goal 
of  universal  and  unconditional  emancipation.     Like  Moses,  he  saw  the  people 
in  bondage ;  like  Moses,  he  sympathized  with  them  in  their  afflictions  ;  like 
Moses,  he  led  them  through  the  Red  sea  out  of  the  reach  of  their  oppressors ; 
and,  like  Moses,  also,  just  as  he  was  beginning  to  realize  a  Pisgah  view  of  the 


492  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

promised  inheritance  he  is  taken  away.  There  are  and  there  will  be  many  who 
in  no  irreverential  spirit  and  with  no  idea  of  improperly  associating  the  human 
with  the  divine  will  feel  and  say,  in  something  like  the  same  language  as  did 
the  disciples  on  their  way  to  Emmaus,  "  We  had  thought  that  it  would  have 
been  he  who  would  have  redeemed  Israel."  It  has  no  doubt  been  the  earnest 
wish  of  tens  of  thousands  of  British  hearts,  as  well  as  tens  of  thousands  and 
millions  of  others  in  the  States  and  throughout  the  world,  that  he  would  be 
spared  to  complete  the  work  he  so  nobly  and  so  chivalrously  begun  ;  that  he 
would  see  the  consolidation  and  regeneration  of  his  country  after  its  four  years' 
terrible  baptism  of  blood  ;  that  he  would  long  rule  over  a  united,  a  happy,  and 
a  prosperous  people,  all  the  happier  and  all  the  more  prosperous  that  both 
divisions  of  them  had  tested  each  other's  courage  and  skill,  and  that  in  the  ordeal 
the  original  ground  of  quarrel  had  completely  disappeared.  The  Great  Disposer 
of  events  has  ordered  it  otherwise.  He  has  allowed,  no  doubt  for  His  own 
wise  and  excellent  purposes,  as  He  allowed  the  rebellion  itself  to  break  out, 
President  LINCOLN  to  fall — to  fall,  too,  by  an  assassin's  hand.  Is  it  not  myste 
rious  ?  Is  it  not  confounding?  Is  it  not  another  illustration  of  the  solemn 
truth  that  "  His  thoughts  are  not  as  man's  thoughts,  nor  His  ways  as  man's 
ways  V  We  cannot  do  otherwise  than  bow  to  that  Sovereignty  whose  wisdom 
is  infinite,  whose  judgments  are  as  the  floods,  whose  hand  no  earthly  power  is 
able  to  restrain,  and  to  whom  no  creature  he  has  formed  can  or  ought  repiningly 
to  say,  "  What  doest  thou  I" 

In  view  of  the  terrible  calamity  involved  in  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN, 
and  the  circumstances  connected  with  it,  the  first  question  likely  to  arise  is, 
"  what  effect  will  it  have  on  the  future  of  the  war,  or  on  the  probability  of  an 
early  and  satisfactory  peace  V  To  this  we  believe  we  can  give  an  answer 
which  the  future  will  demonstrate  to  be  correct.  The  war  will  be  proceeded 
with,  and  the  work  of  reconstruction  will  go  on  as  certainly,  as  surely,  and  as 
successfully  as  if  the  calamity  itself  had  not  occurred.  The  American  people 
readily  accommodate  themselves  to  circumstances — adverse  as  well  as  favora 
ble — and  while  they  will  mourn  with  sincerest  sorrow  the  loss  of  one  so 
eminently  sagacious  and  good,  they  will  also  prosecute  to  its  early  and  satisfac 
tory  completion  the  work  he  so  faithfully  and  firmly  showed  them  how  to 
perform.  Vice-President  Johnson  has  already  assumed  the  reins  of  office.  He 
is  a  tried  man,  a  more  thorough  abolitionist  even  than  President  LINCOLN 
himself,  and  one  also  who  will  abate  neither  jot  nor  tittle  of  the  national  demands. 
Notwithstanding  his  unfortunate  appearance  at  the  occasion  of  his  inauguration, 
he  is  believed  in  and  trusted  by  the  American  people.  He  has  done  much 
good  service  to  the  state  in  his  day;  he  has  displayed  a  firmness  and  fearlessness 
against  the  slaveholding  faction  which  has  endeared  him  to  the  thoroughgoing 
emancipationists  of  both  north  and  south ;  and  while  he  will  want  the  suave 
manner  and  genial  temperament  and  long-sighted  perspicacity  of  "  honest  old 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       493 

Abe,"  he  lias  other  qualities  which  not  less  fit  him  to  be  the  wise  and  powerful 
ruler  of  the  destinies  of  a  great  nation  passing  like  refined  gold  out  of  a  furnace 
of  fire.  We  have  no  doubt  he  will  rise  to  the  dignity  of  his  position  and  the 
responsibilities  of  his  office,  and  that,  carrying  out  the  typical  idea  to  which  we 
have  given  expression,  he  will  perfect,  like  Joshua  with  the  judges,  what  Moses 
was  not  permitted  to  perform.  Rulers  die  ;  nations  live ;  God  reigns.  This  is 
our  comfort  and  consolation  in  the  midst  of  sudden  calamities,  overwhelming 
the  spirit  and  drowning  the  soul  in  grief,  and  this  is  especially  our  consolation 
in  the  contemplation  of  the  awful  end  of  the  father  of  a  regenerated  people. 

We  do  not  and  we  will  not  discuss  at  present — because  we  have  no  certain 
information  on  the  subject — the  circumstances  originating  the  assassination  of 
President  LINCOLN.  It  may  have  been  the  result  of  a  southern  conspiracy — 
assassination  being  a  crime  almost  unknown  in  the  north,  and  unfortunately  too 
well  known  in  the  south — or  it  may  have  been  the  work  of  a  madman.  The 
former  seems  to  us  much  more  likely,  especially  when  the  attempt  on  Mr. 
Sevvard  the  same  night,  and  in  his  suffering  chamber,  is  taken  into  account. 
We  prefer,  however,  to  await  details  and  proofs.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the 
genial,  confiding,  honest  old  man  should  have  exposed  himself  unprotected  at  a 
time  when  "  southern  chivalry"  must  have  been  writhing  under  its  terrible 
defeat.  If  it  turn  out  that  his  death  has  been  the  result  of  a  plot  on  the  part 
of  the  southern  leaders,  then,  need  we  say,  it  will  be  atoned  for  by  a  sweeping 
revenge. 


[From  the  Gateshoad  Observer,  Saturday,  April  29,  1865.] 

One  of  the  foulest  deeds  in  the  annals  of  crime  has  been  committed  at 
Washington.  President  LINCOLN,  sitting  in  the  theatre,  accompanied  by  his 
wife,  was  shot  to  death  on  the  14th  instant  by  an  assassin,  who  unfortunately 
escaped,  and  had  not  been  apprehesdcd  when  the  Nova  Scotia,  which  reached 
Liverpool  on  Thursday,  left  New  York. 

No  wonder  that  so  dreadful  a  murder,  so  far  as  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  concerned, 
and  so  great  a  calamity  for  the  country  which  he  governed  with  an  ability  which 
even  his  adversaries  have  not  been  the  last  to  admit,  has  aroused  the  indignation 
of  every  people  to  which  its  perpetration  has  been  made  known,  and  warmed 
even  the  coldest  heart  into  sympathy  with  her  who  has  been  deprived  not  only 
of  a  husband,  but  of  one  whose  management  of  state  affairs  has  illuminated  a 
brighler  page  in  the  history  of  his  country  than  any  which  has  been  emblazoned 
since  the  death  of  Washington. 

The  crime,  indeed,  the  more  it  is  looked  at,  intensifies  in  atrocity,  for  Mr- 
LINCOLN,  at  the  moment  of  his  assassination  and  in  the  hour  of  victory,  it  is  well 
known,  and  as  we  always  believed  would  be  the  case,  was  desirous  of  securing 


494  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

peace  with  the  least  possible  humiliation  to  the  defeated  party,  and  with  a  view 
to  an  impartial  promotion  of  the  interests  of  every  State  of  the  Union,  the  res 
toration  of  which  was  the  great  object  of  his  incessant  labor,  and  as  he  (we 
believe  most  honestly)  believed  the  one  thing  needful  to  secure  the  power  and 
happiness  of  the  republic. 

The  utter  hopelessness  of  further  resistance  in  the  South  had  been  proved 
by  the  surrender  of  General  Lee,  with  all  that  remained  of  his  army,  to  the 
federal  commander.  The  terms  given  by  the  victorious  general,  Grant,  to  his 
gallant,  although  unsuccessful  opponent,  were  of  themselves  an  indication  of 
that  clement  policy  on  which  the  President  is  said  to  have  been  resolved. 
There  was  no  humiliation — no  captivity  for  either  officers  or  men — all  the 
honors  of  war  were  allowed  by  the  victor,  and  the  parole  d'honnevr  of  the 
vanquished  was  considered  sufficient  security  that  no  resumption  of  arms  would 
be  resorted  to  by  soldiers  whose  conduct  in  the  field  had  secured  them  respect 
both  in  the  cabinet  and  the  camp  of  the  conquerors. 

The  ruffian,  in  striking  down  the  President,  struck  at  the  same  time  at  the 
heart  of  a  nation  desirous  of  forgetting  past  differences  and  of  changing  a  bloody 
war  into  an  everlasting  peace.  He  was  the  murderer  not  merely  of  the  Presi 
dent,  but  of  that  disposition  towards  forgiveness  which  was  beginning  to  manifest 
itself  in  almost  every  department  and  every  class  in  the  federal  States.  Indeed, 
it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  the  deed  ought  to  be  most  bitterly  execrated  in  the 
northern  or  in  the  southern  States.  The  death-wound  of  the  President,  it  is 
true,  laid  a  great  man  low,  but  it  produced  a  paroxysm  of  anguish  at  the  same 
time  in  every  city,  nook,  and  corner  of  the  vast  territories  which  he  ruled,  and 
we  have  not  the  least  doubt,  in  those  also  which  were  endeavoring  to  secure 
their  independence.  Murder,  in  its  ordinary  acceptation,  is  a  thing  unknown 
to  honorable  warfare ;  and  as  such,  we  verily  believe,  this  sad  and  sanguinary 
act  will  be  regarded  in  the  Confederate  States. 

It  is  to  be  deplored  that  so  great  a  criminal  as  Wilkes  Booth  (as  the  wretch 
is  called)  even  temporarily  escaped.  That  he  will  succeed  in  evading  justice 
for  any  considerable  length  of  time  we  cannot  believe.  No  community,  even 
of  literal  savages,  would  harbor  such  a  monster.  The  mark  of  Cain  will  be 
upon  him,  and  we  fain  trust  will  facilitate  his  apprehension.  We  only  hope 
that  he  may  have  gone  to  some  Confederate  State,  because  we  cannot  but 
believe  that,  despite  all  the  asperities  of  which  civil  strife  has  been  productive, 
he  would  in  that  case  be  immediately  given  up  to  the  federal  authorities ;  and 
the  doing  so  would  tend  to  dispel  suspicions,  which  in  some  quarters  seem  to 
prevail,  that  the  murder  was  planned,  not  by  one  or  two  individuals  only,  but  by 
the  government  of  the  southern  confederacy — an  atrocity  of  which  we  believe 
the  latter  to  be  utterly  incapable. 

That  there  were  two  persons  bent  on  murder  on  the  14th  is  evident, 
because,  while  Booth  was  shooting  Mr.  LINCOLN,  another  ruffian,  whose  name 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  495 

is  unknown,  and  who  has  also  escaped,  was  endeavoring  to  stab  to  death  Mr. 
Seward,  although  lying  in  a  state  of  great  suffering,  consequent  upon  a  recent 
serious  accident;  and  not  only  was  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward  jeopardized,  hut  his  son 
was  grievously  wounded  by  the  assassin's  dagger  while  endeavoring  to  protect 
his  father  against  the  man  of  blood.  Indeed,  it  was  at  first  reported  that  young 
Seward  had  died  of  his  wounds,  but  this  has  been,  since,  contradicted.  We 
sincerely  hope  that  both  father  and  son  may  yet  live  to  serve  their  country  and 
earn  its  gratitude. 

It  is  an  eminently  creditable  as  well  as  consolatory  fact  that,  in  every 
portion  of  the  United  Kingdom,  the  news  of  the  bloody  scene  in  ihe  Washington 
theatre  produced  a  thrill  of  horror  and  indignation,  and  that  all  classes,  from 
the  Queen  on  her  throne  to  the  very  humblest  of  her  subjects,  are  desirous  of 
testifying  to  the  people  of  America  their  detestation  of  the  crime  and  their 
sympathy  with  those  whom  the  assassin's  dagger  has  deprived  at  once  of  a 
father,  a  ruler,  a  statesman,  and  a  friend. 

In  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  on  Monday,  an  address  to  the  Crown  will 
be  moved,  expressive  of  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the  murder  of  the  President, 
and  praying  her  Majesty  to  convey  that  expression  of  feeling  to  the  American 
government. 

The  corporation  of  London  and  the  great  commercial  cities  and  towns  of 
the  kingdom  have  already  taken  steps  for  uniting  with  the  lords  and  commons 
in  giving  expression  to  their  feelings  on  this  sad  occasion ;  and  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  few  communities  of  any  magnitude  or  importance  will 
fail  to  tollow  the  example,  for  it  is  one  of  those  special  occasions  when  the 
hearts  of  nations  throb  in  unison,  and  when,  in  addition,  as  in  our  case,  the 
impellent  forces  of  a  common  origin  raise  from  the  lowest  depths  the  well- 
springs  of  sympathy,  commiseration,  and  affection. 


[From  the  Glasgow  Herald,  Monday  morning,  Hay  1,  1865.] 

The  profound  and  universal  impression  which  the  assassination  of  Mr 
LINCOLN  has  made  upon  the  public  mind  leads  us  to  believe  that  the  people  of 
Glasgow  would  be  glad  of  the  opportunity,  which  is  likely  to  be  afforded  them, 
of  giving  utterance  to  the  horror  and  indignation  with  which  this  diabolical  act 
has  inspired  them,  and  of  expressing  the  profound  and  painful  sympathy  which 
is  felt  in  this  dark  moment  for  the  people  of  the  United  States,  on  whom  this 
terrible  event  has  fallen  as  a  national  calamity.  It  is  a  dark  and  portentous 
event  for  the  South  as  well  as  for  the  North.  It  is  almost  impossible,  indeed, 
to  conceive  anything  that  could  have  occurred  more  disastrous  to  southern 
interests.  Southern  and  pro-southern  people  will  probably  shudder  at  the  deed 


49G  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

and  execrate  the  doer  as  much  as  we  do  ourselves,  and  as  we  see  they  have 
already  done  to  some  extent  in  Liverpool.  But,  unfortunately,  the  act  connects 
itself  by  an  inevitable  link  with  the  political  situation;  the  simultaneousness 
of  the  murderous  assaults  on  Mr.  LINCOLN  and  Mr.  Seward  indicates  a  conspi 
racy  ;  and  it  is  difficult  for  such  deeds  done  on  behalf  of  a  cause  to  be  entirely 
dissociated  from  that  cause  itself.  We  can  only  pray  God  that  in  the  present 
case  it  may  be  done,  and  that  the  people  of  the  North,  who  have,  even  in  the 
exultant  hour  of  triumph,  displayed  such  a  spirit  of  noble  and  unexampled 
magnanimity,  may  be  able  to  withstand  the  exasperating  influence  of  this 
accursed  deed,  and  not  allow  it  to  change  the  voice  of  kindness  and  conciliation 
into  a  cry  for  indiscriminate  revenge.  Much  will  depend  on  the  way  in  which 
the  deed  is  regarded  by  the  people  of  the  South.  Were  it  for  a  moment  con 
ceivable  that  the  southern  people  would  accept  it  as  their  own — nay,  that  they 
would  regard  it  otherwise  than  with  utter  detestation  and  abhorrence.;  then, 
indeed,  their  cause  would  deserve  execration,  and  their  conflict — beginning  with 
slavery  and  ending  with  assassination — would  go  down  to  future  ages  branded 
with  an  infamy  that  all  the  genius  of  its  champions  and  all  the  devotion  of  its 
advocates  would  do  nothing  to  remove.  This,  however,  is  inconceivable.  We 
are  perfectly  satisfied  that  the  South  will  repudiate  this  foul  deed  with  indigna 
tion,  and  that  southern  sympathizers  here  would  be  prompt  to  participate  in 
any  public  act  which  would  express  the  abhorrence  with  which  it  is  regarded 
in  this  country  by  people  of  every  class  and  of  every  shade  of  political  opinion. 
Under  these  circumstances,  we  are  not  disposed  to  take  such  gloomy  views 
as  many  are  taking  of  the  probable  consequences  of  this  sad  event.  The 
conduct  of  the  North  during  the  whole  course  of  this  long  and  desperate 
struggle  inspired  us  with  a  strong  and  unwavering  faith  in  her  good  sense,  in 
her  self-control,  and  in  the  moral  grandeur  and  beneficence  of  her  aims.  Mr. 
LINCOLN  was  not  the  leader  so  much  as  the  fit  representative  of  the  great 
nation  that  elected  him.  When  he  did  his  best,  as  he  ever  did,  to  preserve  the 
most  frank  and  amicable  relations  with  this  country,  even  under  provocation 
and  abuse,  of  which  we  believe  the  authors  to  be  now  heartily  ashamed;  and 
when,  in  the  very  hour  of  federal  triumph,  his  language  was  full  of  mercy  and 
conciliation,  he  was  acting,  not  upon  his  own  sentiments  alone,  but  upon  the 
magnanimous  sentiments  of  the  whole  northern  people.  That  people,  inspired 
by  the  same  generous  and  friendly  feelings,  still  remain,  though  LINCOLN,  who 
represented  them  so  nobly  and  so  well,  is  gone.  His  fall  is  a  loss  to  the  world; 
it  is  a  loss  inflicted  under  most  exasperating  circumstances  to  them  ;  but  it 
will  not — we  are  satisfied  that  it  will  not — change  their  policy.  They  have 
already  shown  themselves  most  ready  to  forgive  in  the  very  moment  when 
they  were  most  able  to  avenge ;  and,  therefore,  we  are  not  without  a  strong 
and  earnest  hope  that,  even  should  the  South  regard  the  assassination  of  Mr, 
LINCOLN  with  more  callousness  than  we  anticipate,  the  people  of  the  North  will 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        497 

crown  their  recent  acts  of  magnanimity  and  forbearance  with  a  moral  victory 
grander  and  more  triumphant  than  the  capture  of  Richmond  itself. 

In  the  mean  time  let  us  unite  in  expressing  our  deep  and  genuine  sympathy 
with  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  their  bereavement,  and  the  indignation 
and  horror  with  which  we  look  upon  the  act  that  has  deprived  them  of  their 
constitutional  head.  Since  the  death  of  Prince  Albert,  we  know  of  nothing 
that  has  filled  this  nation  with  such  deep  and  universal  sorrow.  Poor  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN — "  honest  Abe" — the  simple,  the  noble,  the  true-hearted ;  as  blunt  and 
unaffected,  as  simple-hearted,  kindly  and  playful  in  his  high  position  as  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  as  ever  he  had  been  when,  in  earlier  days,  he  drove 
his  team  through  the  forests  of  Illinois !  The  people  of  this  country  had  all 
come  to  love  him.  Even  those  who  could  or  would  see  nothing  in  him  at  first 
but  the  quondam  rail-splitter  and  mule-driver,  came  in  the  end  to  recognize  the 
native  grandeur  and  simplicity  of  his  character,  and  the  fitness  there  was  in 
this  blunt,  unassuming  man  to  head  a  great  people  in  passing  through  a  national 
crisis,  and  doing  battle  for  a  higher  civilization.  There  was  not,  we  believe, 
one  true  British  heart  in  these  dominions  that  did  not  feel  a  pang  of  deep  and 
unaffected  sorrow  mingling  with  the  horror  that  was  excited  by  the  intelligence 
of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  violent  death. 

If  there  ever  was  a  moment  when  we  as  a  people  could  unite  with  deepest 
sincerity  in  expressing  our  sympathy  with  the  people  of  the  United  States,  it  is 
now.  Let  us  have  an  address  of  condolence  prepared,  in  which  the  deeply 
agitated  feelings  of  the  community  could  find  expression.  Were  such  an 
address  prepared,  and  a  proper  opportunity  afforded,  we  believe  it  would  be 
signed  by  the  whole  population  of  this  city.  Let  something  of  this  sort  be 
done  before  the  time  for  it  is  gone.  Let  us  join  hands  with  our  brethren  in 
America,  and  mingle  our  tears  with  theirs  over  the  grave  of  this  simple,  heroic 
man,  who  has  brought  the  two  nations  nearer  to  each  other  than  they  were, 
and  who  has  now  fallen,  honored  and  lamented  by  them  both. 


[From  the  Loudon  Morning  Post,  April  27,  1S65.J 

The  startling  intelligence  which  has  reached  us  from  America  will  excite 
but  one  sentiment  in  the  minds  of  all,  no  matter  what  their  political  predilec 
tions.  Northerner  and  southerner,  European  and  American,  slaveholder  and 
abolitionist,  must  equally  concur  in  reprobating  the  dastardly  crime  which  has 
just  been  consummated.  The  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  has, 
in  the  moment  of  what  he  at  least  considered  to  be  victory,  and  at  the  very 
instant  when  he  had  reason  to  believe  that  the  gigantic  enterprise  to  which  he 
devoted  himself  was  on  the  point  of  being  crowned  with  success,  fallen  by  the 
hand  of  an  assassin.  The  event  is  so  astounding  that  it  is  with  difficulty  we  can 
63 


498  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

bring  ourselves  to  realize  its  occurrence,  much  less  to  estimate  its  consequences. 
It  is  but  a  few  short  days  since  the  great  and  crowning  events  of  the  civil  war 
took  place,  since  Richmond  was  evacuated  and  the  army  of  Virginia  laid  down 
its  arms,  and  since  Mr.  LINCOLN,  boasting  once  more  to  be  not  only  de  jure  but 
de  facto  President  of  the  entire  American  republic,  proclaimed  it  to  the  civilized 
world,  and  appointed  a  day  of  general  thanksgiving  to  inaugurate  the  com 
mencement  of  a  new  and  happier  era.  On  Sunday,  the  9th  of  the  present 
month,  General  Lee  capitulated;  on  the  following  day  Mr.  LINCOLN  congratulated 
his  fellow-citizens  on  the  happy  issue  of  the  arduous  struggle  in  which  they  had 
been  so  long  engaged,  and  besought  their  co-operation  in  that  no  less  arduous 
work  of  reconstruction  to  which  he  proposed  devoting  the  second  period 
of  his  official  career,  and  on  the  Friday  following  he  was  brutally  murdered. 
In  the  annals  of  history  there  are  to  be  found  but  too  many  instances  in 
which  the  chief  magistrate  of  a  state  has  fallen  by  the  assassin's  hand,  but  we 
doubt  if  there  is  one  which,  by  its  surrounding  circumstances,  will  retain  a  deeper 
hold  on  the  memory  of  posterity  than  the  murder  of  the  American  President. 
What  Mr.  LINCOLN  might  have  been,  and  what  he  might  have  accomplished, 
must  always  remain  matters  of  speculation ;  but  that  he  should  have  been 
arrested  midway  in  his  career,  and  that  the  wishes  of  a  great  nation  should 
be  frustrated  by  the  will  of  a  rabid  fanatic,  points  a  moral  of  the  futility  of  all 
human  projects,  which,  however  trite,  is  not  uninstructive.  At  the  very  time 
when  most  persons  would  have  concurred  in  approving  the  policy  of  the  north 
ern  States  in  again  electing  Mr.  LINCOLN  to  the  presidential  office,  and  would 
have  gladly  seen  him  endeavor  to  reconstruct  the  edifice  which  has  been  so 
cruelly  shaken,  he  is  suddenly  carried  from  the  scene.  "  The  king  is  dead. 
God  save  the  king."  As  it  is  in  monarchies,  so  it  is  in  republics.  The  same 
mail  that  tells  us  of  the  assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  informs  us  of  the  accession 
of  his  successor.  *  * 

The  circumstances  under  which  the  murder  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  took  place 
may  be  gathered  from  an  official  report  published  by  Mr.  Stauton  on  the  morn 
ing  after  the  commission  of  the  crime ;  and  it  is  not  the  least  remarkable 
circumstance  attendant  on  the  extraordinary  event  that  at  the  same  time  that 
Mr.  LINCOLN  was  shot  down  in  a  theatre,  Mr.  Seward,  the  Secretary  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  should  be  stabbed  in  the  sick-bed  to  which  he  had  for  some  days 
been  confined  by  a  recent  accident.  On  the  evening  of  Good  Friday  Mr. 
LINCOLN,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  another  lady,  and  a  Major  Rathburn,  visited 
the  theatre,  and  at  about  half-past  nine  o'clock  a  man  suddenly  entered  the  box 
in  which  the  President  was  seated,  and  before  any  one  was  made  aware  of  his 
intention  discharged  a  pistol  at  the  President's  head.  The  shot  took  fatal  effect, 
the  ball  penetrating  the  back  of  the  head,  and  probably  lodging  in  the  brain. 
After  effecting  his  object  the  assassin  is  said  to  have  leaped  from  the  box  on  to 
the  stage,  and  then  to  have  escaped.  While  this  scene  was  being  enacted  at 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       499 

the  theatre  another  assassin  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  entrance  to  Mr.  Seward's 
house  under  the  pretence  of  pressing  business,  and  inflicted  on  the  Secretary 
wounds  which  it  was  believed  would  prove  fatal.  Mr.  Seward's  son,  who  was 
in  an  adjoining  room,  having  hastened  to  his  father's  assistance,  was  struck 
down  by  the  murderer,  and  is  reported  to  have  since  died.  In  this  instance,  as 
in  that  of  the  assassination  of  the  President,  the  ruffian  succeeded  in  effecting 
his  escape.  Mr.  LINCOLN  remained  insensible  until  his  death,  which  took  place 
the  following  morning  at  half-past  seven  o'clock.  At  eleven  o'clock  Andrew 
Johnson  took  the  oath  of  office,  and  was  duly  installed  as  President  of  the 
United  States. 

The  first  sentiment,  after  that  horror  which  will  be  excited  in  the  minds 
of  most  persons,  will  be  one  of  surprise  that  such  crimes  as  those  we  have 
recorded  should  have  been  committed.  The  late  President  had  for  an  enemy 
every  man  who  took  up  arms  or  was  ready  to  take  up  arms  for  the  southern 
cause.  But  they  were  open  enemies,  and,  as  the  whole  history  of  the  civil  war 
has  shown,  they  were  chivalrous  enemies.  We  should  not  have  believed  it 
possible,  nor  can  we  believe  it  now,  that  in  the  entire  mass  of  the  southern  pop 
ulation  a  single  man  would  be  found  who  would  have  committed  the  crime 
which  has  aroused  the  indignation  of  the  entire  world.  We  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  a  southerner  may  not  be  a  murderer  just  as  an  Englishman  may  be, 
but  merely  that  we  fail  to  discover  the  motive  which  would  actuate  a  southerner 
to  this  particular  crime.  Mr.  LINCOLN  could  not  be  held  individually  accounta 
ble  for  the  cruel  war  which  has  made  so  many  regions  of  the  confederacy 
desolate,  and  none  who  took  the  trouble  of  considering  the  matter  would  fail  to 
perceive  that  that  war  would,  in  all  probability,  have  equally  run  its  course  if 
another  individual  of  the  same  political  opinions  had  been  elected  President 
four  years  ago,  or  if  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  died  at  any  period  subsequent  to  his 
accession  to  office.  The  assassination  of  Butler  in  New  Orleans  would  have 
been  perfectly  intelligible;  but  that  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  in  Washington,  at  the  very 
moment  when  the  war  had  to  all  appearances  come  to  an  end,  is  apparently 
motiveless.  The  circumstance,  however,  that  an  attempt,  and  probably  a  suc 
cessful  one,  was  made  to  murder  Mr.  Sevvurd  at  the  same  time,  shows  that  the 
double  crime  was  the  result  of  a  carefully  organized  scheme.  We  must  await 
the  arrival  of  the  next  mail  to  be  made  apprised,  as  we  hope  we  shall  be,  of 
the  capture  of  the  assassins,  and  then  perhaps  we  may  learn  the  circumstances 
under  which  they  were  led  to  commit  so  terrible  a  crime. 


[  From  the  London  Evening  Standard,  April  27,  1865.  ] 

The  startling  news  which  was  yesterday  received  from  America  is  such  as 
to  throw  into  the  shade  even  the  tremendous  catastrophe  of  the  fall  of  Richmond 
and  the  surrender  of  Lee's  army.  Mr.  President  LINCOLN  has  been  assassinated, 


500  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

and  is  dead.  Mr.  Seward  has  been  stabbed,  and  is  reported  in  a  hopeless  state. 
Mr.  Andrew  Johnson  is  President  of  the  United  States.  The  blow  is  sudden, 
horrible,  irretrievable.  Never,  since  the  death  of  Henry  IV  by  the  hand  of 
Ravaillac — never,  perhaps,  since  the  assassination  of  Caesar — has  a  murder 
been  committed  more  momentous  in  its  bearing  upon  the  times.  In  the  very 
height  and  plenitude  of  his  triumph — at  the  moment  when  all  his  hopes 
seemed  fulfilled,  all  his  labors  rewarded,  when  the  capitulation  of  his  mosl 
powerful  enemy  had  placed  within  his  grasp  that  prize  of  empire  for  which 
he  had  so  long  and  so  earnestly  striven — ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  smitten  to 
the  earth  by  a  dastardly  assassin,  who  shot  him  through  the  head  from  behind. 
The  commander  of  armies  that  the  Macedonian  or  the  Roman  might  have 
envied;  the  leader  in  the  most  gigantic  struggle  of  the  nineteenth  century; 
the  ruler,  or  likely  soon  to  be  the  ruler,  of  the  most  populous,  and,  in  the  opin 
ion  of  many,  the  mightiest  nation  in  the  modern  civilized  world ;  the  man  who 
had  risen  from  low  estate  to  a  power  as  vast  as  was  ever  wielded  by  a  mortal, 
whose  recent  success  has  astonished  and  bewildered  the  universe,  is  now 
reduced  to  some  poor  six  feet  of  common  clay.  All  the  texts  and  sermons  of 
the  mutability  of  human  affairs,  and  the  instability  of  life,  pale  into  insignifi 
cance,  before  this  tremendous  commentary.  Much  as  we  have  condemned  the 
attitude  of  the  American  people  during  the  civil  war,  and  though  we  have,  from 
the  first,  opposed  the  policy  and  censured  the  acts  of  the  late  President  of  the 
United  States,  we  must  sympathize  with  the  nation  which  is  widowed  by  this 
sudden  bereavement.  Now  that  he  is  dead,  the  good  qualities  of  the  unfortunate 
LINCOLN  seem  to  come  into  the  foreground.  We  remember  his  honesty  and 
his  manliness;  we  do  justice  to  his  consistency;  we  give  him  all  praise  for  the 
spirit  of  conciliation  which  he  has  shown ;  for  his  refusal  to  be  borne  along  by 
the  sanguinary  counsels  of  his  friends  ;  we  make  some  allowance  for  his  frequent 
and  untimely  levity ;  we  almost  excuse  his  obstinacy  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
war.  Such,  we  are  persuaded,  will  be  the  sentiments  of  every  right-minded 
Englishman  ;  and  they  will  be  shared  in  by  the  vast  majority  of  the  confederate 
people.  The  men  who  shot  LINCOLN  and  Seward  were  probably  lunatics,  or 
men  who  had  been  crazed  by  their  misfortunes  in  this  terrible  war.  There  is 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  there  was  any  southern  conspiracy  to  take  away  the 
life  of  the  only  man  in  the  northern  government  who  was  disposed  to  deal 
leniently  with  the  South.  The  confederates,  as  a  nation,  are  too  magnanimous 
to  plan  or  approve  of  such  a  cowardly  method  of  revenge.  Booth,  who  killed 
LINCOLN,  when  lie  jumped  upon  the  stage  and  shouted  "  Sic  semper  tyrannis" 
made  an  unworthy  use  of  the  proud  motto  of  the  State  of  Virginia.  The 
wretched  murderer  has  been  caught,  it  is  said,  and  will  doubtless  soon  meet 
with  the  fate  which  he  so  richly  deserves.  But  the  most  ignoble  means  may 
work  a  stupendous  result.  The  dagger  or  the  bullet,  in  the  hand  of  the  feeblest 
worm  in  human  shape  that  crawls  the  earth,  may  alter  the  fate  of  nations  or 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       50 1 

turn  the  tide  of  time.  The  unfortunate  President,  shot  as  he  was  through  the 
brain,  went  unwarned  and  unprepared  to  his  account.  No  portents  accompanied 
the  deed — no  omens  foretold  it.  No  soothsayer  bade  him  beware  of  the  fatal 
14th  of  April.  He  is  gone ;  the  pilot  is  gone.  His  country  is  left  to  toss  in 
the  sea  of  a  dismal  anarchy,  a  revolution  of  which  no  man  can  presume  to 
ibretell  the  issue.  ******* 


[From  the  London  Times,  April  27,  1865.] 

The  American  news  which  we  publish  this  morning  will  be  received, 
throughout  Europe,  with  sorrow  as  sincere  and  profound  as  it  awoke  even  in 
the  United  States  themselves.  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  fallen  at  the  hands  of  an 
assassin,  and  Mr.  Seward  has  too  probably  shared  his  fate.  While  the  Presi 
dent  was  sitting  quietly  with  his  wife  and  some  friends  in  a  private  box  at  a 
Washington  theatre  on  Friday  week,  he  was  shot  by  a  man  who  entered  the 
box  under  a  treacherous  pretence  of  public  business ;  and,  almost  at  the  same 
hour,  an  accomplice  of  the  assassin,  with  similar  treachery,  forced  himself  into 
Mr.  Seward's  sick-room  and  stabbed  the  Secretary  of  State  four  or  five  times  in 
the  face  and  throat.  The  President  died  the  next  morning.  Mr.  Seward, 
when  the  mail  left,  lay  almost  beyond  hope  of  recovery ;  and  his  son,  who 
acted  as  his  secretary,  in  attempting  to  withstand  the  murderer  of  his  father, 
was  wounded  to  his  death.  Deeds  of  such  atrocity  cover  their  perpetrators 
with  everlasting  infamy,  and  discredit  the  cause  they  are  presumably  meant  to 
serve.  We  trust  it  will  appear  that  the  crimes  of  Wilkes  Booth  and  his  accom 
plice  were  conceived  and  executed  in  concert  with  no  one  but  themselves. 
The  South,  broken  and  defeated,  could  receive  no  possible  benefit  from  the 
removal  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  and  Mr.  Seward ;  the  too  probable  effect  of  the  crime 
is  an  accession  of  madness  and  anger,  rendering  all  schemes  of  reconstruction 
impossible.  On  the  other  hand,  the  waving  of  a  knife  before  the  affrighted 
audience  at  the  theatre,  and  the  "  Sic  semper  tyrannis"  pronounced  by  the 
assassin,  indicate  the  vanity  of  men  willing  to  immortalize  themselves,  like 
Eratostratus,  though  the  world  should  perish.  Unjust  as  we  believe  it  to  be, 
the  confederate  cause  will  not  escape  the  dishonor  cast  upon  it  by  the  wanton 
murders  of  Mr  LINCOLN  and  the  Secretary.  The  admiration  won  by  the  long 
and  gallant  defence  of  Richmond  will  be  lessened;  the  memory  of  Lee's  lofty 
bearing  and  Jackson's  deep  religious  feeling  will  be  obscured  by  the  atrocities 
committed  in  the  name  and  on  behalf  of  the  South.  Arson  in  New  York ; 
theft,  under  the  pretence  of  war,  in  Vermont,  and  assassination  in  the  capital, 
dim  the  lustre  of  a  four  years'  resistance  to  superior  forces,  and  of  many  a 
well-tbught  field  in  Virginia. 


502  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

The  critical  condition  of  affairs  in  America;  the  position  of  the  southern 
States  at  the  feet  of  their  victorious  antagonists;  the  gigantic  task  of  recon 
struction  which  must  be  undertaken  by  the  political  leaders  of  the  North — all 
tend  to  exalt  our  estimate  of  the  loss  which  the  States  have  suffered  in  the 
murder  of  their  President.  But  it  would  be  unjust  not  to  acknowledge  that 
Mr.  LINCOLN  was  a  man  who  could  not,  under  any  circumstances,  have  been 
easily  replaced.  Starting  from  a  humble  position  to  one  of  the  greatest 
eminence,  and  adopted  by  the  republican  party  as  a  makeshift,  simply  because 
Mr.  Seward  and  their  other  prominent  leaders  were  obnoxious  to  different  sec 
tions  of  the  party,  it  was  natural  that  his  career  should  be  watched  with  jealous 
suspicion.  The  office  cast  upon  him  was  great,  its  duties  most  onerous,  and  the 
obscurity  of  his  past  career  afforded  no  guarantee  of  his  ability  to  discharge 
them.  His  shortcomings,  moreover,  were  on  the  surface.  The  education  of  a 
man  whose  early  years  had  been  spent  in  earning  bread  by  manual  labor  had 
necessarily  been  defective,  and  faults  of  manner  and  errors  of  taste  repelled 
the  observer  at  the  outset.  In  spite  of  these  drawbacks  Mr.  LINCOLN  slowly 
won  for  himself  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all.  His  perfect  honesty  speedily 
became  apparent,  and,  what  is  perhaps  more  to  his  credit,  amid  the  many  un 
studied  speeches  which  he  was  called  upon  from  time  to  time  to  deliver,  imbued 
though  they  were  with  the  rough  humor  of  his  early  associates,  he  was  in  none 
of  them  betrayed  into  any  intemperance  of  language  towards  his  opponents  or 
towards  neutrals.  His  utterances  were  apparently  careless,  but  his  tongue  was 
always  under  command.  The  quality  of  Mr,  LINCOLN'S  administration  which 
served,  however,  more  than  any  other  to  enlist  the  sympathy  of  bystanders,  was 
its  conservative  progress.  He  felt  his  way  gradually  to  his  conclusions;  and 
those  who  will  compare  the  different  stages  of  his  career  one  with  another  will 
find  that  his  mind  was  growing  throughout  the  course  of  it.  The  naivete  with 
which  he  once  suggested  to  the  negroes  that  they  should  take  themselves  off  to 
Central  America  because  their  presence  in  the  States  was  inconvenient  to  the 
white  population,  soon  disappeared.  The  gradual  change  of  his  language  and 
of  his  policy  was  most  remarkable.  Englishmen  learnt  to  respect  a  man  who 
showed  the  best  characteristics  of  their  race  in  his  respect  for  what  was  good 
in  the  past,  acting  in  unison  with  a  recognition  of  what  was  made  necessary  by 
the  events  of  passing  history.  But  the  growth  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  mind  was  sub 
ject  to  a  singular  modification.  It  would  seem  that  he  felt  himself  of  late  a 
mere  instrument  engaged  in  working  out  a  great  cause,  which  he  could  partly 
recognize,  but  which  he  was  powerless  to  control.  In  the  mixed  strength  and 
weakness  of  his  character  he  presented  a  remarkable  contrast  to  Mr.  Seward, 
who  was  his  coadjutor  for  more  than  four  years,  and  who  must,  we  fear,  be 
reckoned  his  fellow  victim.  The  Secretary  of  State,  long  before  his  elevation 
to  office,  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  New  York.  More  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago  he  was  the  governor  of  that  State,  and  for  twelve  years  lie  repre- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       503 

sented  it  in  the  Senate.  In  the  Empire  City  and  at  Washington  he  had 
attained  a  culture  which  the  Illinois  lawyer  never  acquired.  But  the  experi 
ence  of  the  politician  had,  perhaps,  weakened  the  independence  of  Mr.  Seward's 
character,  and  he  never  inspired  the  same  confidence  as  his  chief,  because  it 
was  not  known  by  what  influences  his  course  might  not  be  modified. 

What  may  be  the  actual  destiny  of  the  United  States  deprived  of  the 
guiding  hand  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  and  of  the  experience  of  Mr.  Seward  no  one 
would  venture  to  foretell.  *  *  The  fate  of  a 

nation  hangs  in  the  balance,  and  we  wait  with  anxiety  to  see  which  way  it  will 
turn. 


[From  the  London  Daily  News,  April  :J7,  1H65.] 

ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 
*  *****  **  ***  * 

To  trace  the  events  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  administration  would  be  to  write  the 
history  of  the  great  revolution  through  which  the  United  States  have  passed 
during  the  last  four  years,  a  task  which  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of  this 
article.  It  would  be  foolish  to  pretend  that  Mr.  LINCOLN  foresaw  what  no  one 
could  foresee,  the  extent  and  character  of  the  work  before  him  when  he  assumed 
the  presidency.  It  is  sufficient  if  it  can  be  truly  affirmed  that  he  brought  to 
his  duties  qualities  and  a  character  which  fitted  him  to  grapple  with  the  tremen 
dous  difficulties  of  his  position  as  they  arose.  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  thoroughly  in 
sympathy  with  the  interests  of  the  American  people,  and  completely  imbued 
with  reverence  for  those  ideas  of  justice,  freedom,  and  humanity  which  are 
expressed  in  American  institutions.  His  first  words  on  taking  office  were  suited 
to  develop  that  trust  of  the  nation  in  itself,  without  which  it  was  impossible  to 
hope  to  sustain  it  in  a  war  begun  and  carried  on  by  an  aristocracy  based  upon 
the  denial  of  human  rights.  On  his  way  to  Washington  in  February,  1861,  he 
said,  at  Indianapolis  :  "  Of  the  people,  when  they  rise  in  mass  in  behalf  of  the 
Union  and  of  the  liberties  of  their  country,  truly  it  may  be  said,  'The  gates  of 
hell  cannot  prevail  against  them;'"  and  he  concluded  his  address  with  the  words  . 
"  I  appeal  to  you  again  to  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  with  you,  and  not  with 
politicians,  not  with  Presidents,  not  with  office-seekers,  but  with  you,  rests  the 
question,  shall  the  Union  and  shall  the  liberties  of  this  country  be  preserved  to 
the  latest  generation  I"  Again  and  again,  in  the  short  speeches  made  by  him 
during  his  journey  to  Washington,  he  dwelt  on  this  idea.  "  It  is  with  you,  the 
people,  to  advance  the  great  cause  of  the  Union  and  the  Constitution."  "  I  am 
sure  I  bring  a  heart  true  to  the  work.  For  the  ability  to  perform  it,  I  must 
trust  in  that  Supreme  Being  who  lias  never  forsaken  this  favored  land,  through 
the  instrumentality  of  this  great  and  intelligent  people."  And  in  an  address  to 


504  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

a  returning  Ohio  regiment  delivered  last  August,  he  said  :  "  I  wish  it  might  be 
more  generally  understood  what  the  country  is  now  engaged  in.  We  have,  as 
all  will  agree,  a  free  government,  where  every  man  has  a  right  to  be  equal  with 
every  other  man.  In  this  great  struggle  this  form  of  government  and  every 
form  of  human  right  is  endangered  if  our  enemies  succeed.  There  is  more 
involved  in  the  contest  than  is  realized  by  every  one  ;  there  is  involved  in  this 
struggle  the  question  whether  your  children  and  my  children  shall  enjoy  the 
privileges  we  have  enjoyed."  These  were  in  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  eyes  the  principles 
by  which  alone  the  republic  could  live ;  it  was  by  them  that  slavery  was  to  be 
stifled  and  overthrown. 

Mr.  LINCOLN'S  political  course  in  reference  to  the  rebellion  was  based  on  the 
doctrine  laid  down  in  his  first  inaugural  address:  "I  hold  that  in  contemplation 
of  universal  law  and  by  the  Constitution  the  union  of  these  States  is  perpetual." 
It  has  often  been  said  that  his  successive  measures  against  slavery  were  only 
adopted  for  political  purposes,  and  to  save  the  Union.  This  may  be  admitted 
with  the  explanation  that  in  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  view  only  the  necessity  of  saving 
the  Union  gave  him  a  warrant  to  attack  slavery  by  some  of  those  measures. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  struggle  he,  in  common  with  the  mass  of  the  people 
of  the  North,  was  ready  to  guarantee  to  the  people  of  the  South  protection  for 
slavery  within  its  existing  limits.  His  oath  as  President  to  support  the  Consti 
tution  was  interpreted  by  him  as  depriving  him  of  all  lawful  right  to  interfere, 
directly  or  indirectly,  with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  States  where  it  then 
existed.  But  the  progress  of  events  taught  him,  as  it  taught-the  people,  that 
slavery,  like  every  other  partial  interest  or  relation,  was  subordinate  to  the 
general  interest ;  that  it  was  subject  to  the  Constitution  ;  that  if,  to  preserve 
the  Union,  slavery  must  be  destroyed,  the  Constitution,  which  formed  the  bond 
of  the  Union,  could  not  be  pleaded  in  its  defence.  His  course  in  this  matter 
was  in  accordance  with  the  fundamental  principles  of  his  political  creed.  He 
never  pretended  to  be  a  crusader  like  John  Brown,  or  the  leader  of  an  agitation, 
like  Mr.  Garrison.  His  duties  were  those  of  a  statesman  and  a  magistrate,  and 
the  very  fact  that  he  had  never  uttered  a  single  revolutionary  sentiment  quali 
fied  him  to  accompany  and  guide  the  remarkable  but  gradual  development  of 
national  opinion  on  this  vital  subject.  He  had  to  unite  the  people  of  the  loyal 
States,  and  to  keep  them  together.  Had  he  not  succeeded  in  this  he  could 
have  done  nothing  for  liberty,  nothing  against  slavery ;  and  he  did  succeed. 

In  this  country  great  alarm  has  often  been  expressed  for  the  loss  of  liberties 
which  it  was  supposed  would  ensue  in  America  as  a  consequence  of  the  excep 
tional  measures  to  which  he  more  than  once  resorted  in  times  of  emergency.  It 
belongs  to  American  lawyers  to  decide  how  far  those  measures  were  warranted 
by  the  Constitution;  and  differences  of  opinion  may  well  exist  as  to  their  neces 
sity  and  policy.  The  American  people,  however,  showed  their  appreciation  of 
the  trustworthiness  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  by  re-electing  him  after  he  had  suspended 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        505 

the  habeas  corpus  and  suppressed  newspapers.  No  alarm  for  the  fate  of  their 
most  precious  rights  and  the  establishment  of  the  worst  despotism  over  them 
prevented  them  from  recording  their  votes  for  him  last  November.  Their  sen 
timents  on  the  subject  were,  as  they  then  showed,  more  in  harmony  with  those 
of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  letter  to  the  Hon.  Erastus  Corning,  written  on  the  13th  of 
June,  1863. 

"  Nor  am  I  able,"  said  he,  "  to  appreciate  the  danger  apprehended  that  the 
American  people  will,  by  means  of  military  arrests  during  the  rebellion,  lose  the 
right  of  public  discussion,  the  liberty  of  speech  and  the  press,  the  law  of  evi 
dence,  trial  by  jury,  and  habeas  corpus,  throughout  the  indefinite  peaceful 
future  which,  I  trust,  lies  before  them,  any  more  than  I  am  able  to  believe  that 
a  man  could  contract  so  strong  an  appetite  for  emetics  during  temporary  illness 
as  to  persist  in  feeding  upon  them  during  the  rest  of  his  healthful  life." 

It  is  given  to  few  men  to  triumph  over  the  most  formidable  obstacles,  as  Mr. 
LINCOLN  triumphed,  by  the  mere  force  of  honesty  and  sagacity.  His  simple 
integrity  of  purpose,  firmness  of  will,  patience,  humanity,  and  the  deep  sense 
of  accountability  which  marked  every  important  act,  united  to  form  a  character 
which  has  steadily  and  visibly  gained  upon  the  minds  and  hearts,  not  of  his 
own  countrymen  alone,  but  also  of  the  world.  Even  the  enemies  of  his  coun 
try  and  foreign  powers  acknowledged  in  him  a  man  whom  they  could  trust.  In 
this  country  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  name  is  mentioned  with  regret  by  many  who  four 
years  ago  half  believed  that  he  was  the  wretched  imbecile  he  was  described  to 
be  by  the  Richmond  press.  And  even  at  Richmond  we  will  undertake  to  affirm 
there  are  those,  lately  foremost  in  resisting  his  authority,  who  will  deeply  regret 
that  the  political  changes  which  military  events  have  rendered  necessary  are  not 
to  be  conducted  under  his  guidance.  We  will  conclude  this  hasty  and  imper 
fect  sketch  with  the  words  of  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S 
countrymen  in  the  North  American  Review: 

"The  results  of  the  policy  pursued  by  Mr.  LINCOLN  during  his  adminis 
tration  thus  far  are  its  own  best  justification.  The  verdict  of  the  future  is  not 
to  be  foreshown.  But  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  history  will  record  the 
name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  as  that  of  a  pure  and  disinterested  patriot.  She 
may  find  in  his  course  many  errors;  she  may  point  out  in  his  character  many 
defects;  she  will  speak  of  him  as  a  man  who  had  to  contend  against  the  disad 
vantages  of  imperfect  culture,  of  self-education,  and  of  little  intercourse  with 
men  of  high  breeding.  But  she  will  speak  also  of  the  virtues  which  the  hard 
experience  of  early  life  had  strengthened  in  him ;  of  his  homely  sincerity  and 
simplicity;  of  his  manly  frankness  and  self-respect;  of  his  large,  humane,  and 
tender  sympathies;  of  his  self-control  and  good  temper;  of  his  truthfulness  and 
sturdy  honesty.  She  will  represent  him  as  actuated  by  an  abiding  sense  of 
duty,  as  striving  to  be  faithful  in  his  service  of  God  and  of  man,  as  possessed 
with  deep  moral  earnestness,  and  as  endowed  with  vigorous  common  sense 
64 


506  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  faculty  for  dealing  with  affairs.  She  will  tell  of  his  confidence  in  the 
people,  and  she  will  recount  with  approval  their  confidence  in  him.  And  when 
she  has  told  all  this,  may  she  conclude  her  record  by  saying  that  to  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN  more  than  to  any  other  man  is  due  the  success  which  crowned  the 
efforts  of  the  American  people  to  maintain  the  Union  and  the  institutions  of 
their  country,  to  widen  and  confirm  the  foundations  of  justice  and  liberty,  on 
which  those  institutions  rest,  and  to  establish  inviolable  and  eternal  peace  within 
the  borders  of  their  land." 

Such  is  the  man  whom  Providence,  by  a  mysterious  dispensation,  decrees 
to  be  no  longer  necessary  to  his  country. 

In  the  hour  of  his  great  work  done,  President  LINCOLN  has  fallen.  Not, 
indeed,  in  the  flush  of  triumph,  for  no  thought  of  triumph  was  in  that  honest 
and  humble  heart,  nor  in  the  intoxication  of  applause,  for  the  fruits  of  victory 
were  not  yet  gathered  in  his  hand,  was  the  chief  of  the  American  people,  the 
foremost  man  in  the  great  Christian  revolution  of  our  age,  struck  down.  But 
his  task  was,  nevertheless,  accomplished,  and  the  battle  of  his  life  won.  So  he 
passes  away  from  the  heat  and  toil  that  still  have  to  be  endured,  full  of  the 
honor  that  belongs  to  one  who  has  nobly  done  his  part,  and  carrying  in  his  last 
thoughts  the  sense  of  deep,  steadfast  thankfulness  that  he  now  could  see  the 
assured  coming  of  that  end  for  which  he  had  so  long  striven  in  faith  and  hope. 
Who  shall  pity  or  lament  such  a  death,  while  the  tears  of  a  nation  fall  upon  his 
corpse,  and  the  world  softly  speaks  how  true  and  good  he  was  ?  Who  will  not 
bow  the  head  submissive  to  the  inscrutable  decree  which  mocks  our  plans  and 
fancies,  but  even  in  our  sorrow  makes  us  feel  that  it  is  wiser,  juster,  kinder,  than 
our  vain  wishes  might  have  been  ? 

For  in  all  time  to  come,  not  among  Americans  only,  but  among  all  who 
think  of  manhood  as  more  than  rank,  and  set  worth  above  display,  the  name  of 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  will  be  held  in  reverence.  Rising  from  among  the  poorest 
of  the  people,  winning  his  slow  way  upward  by  sheer  hard  work,  preserving  in 
every  successive  stage  a  character  unspotted  and  a  name  untainted,  securing  a 
wider  respect  as  he  became  better  known,  never  pretending  to  more  than  he  was, 
nor  being  less  than  he  professed  himself,  he  was  at  length  for  very  singleness  of 
heart  and  uprightness  of  conduct,  because  all  felt  that  they  could  trust  him 
utterly,  and  v/ould  desire  to  be  guided  by  his  firmness,  courage,  and  sense,  placed 
in  the  chair  of  President  at  the  turning  point  of  his  nation's  history.  A  life  so 
true,  rewarded  by  a  dignity  so  majestic,  was  defence  enough  against  the  petty 
shafts  of  malice  which  party  spirit,  violent  enough  to  light  a  civil  war,  aimed 
against  him.  The  lowly  callings  he  had  first  pursued  became  his  titles  to  greater 
respect  among  those  whose  respect  was  worth  having;  the  little  external 
rusticities  only  showed  more  brightly,  as  the  rough  matrix  the  golden  ore,  the 
true  dignity  of  his  nature.  Never  was  any  one,  set  in  such  high  place  and 
surrounded  with  so  many  motives  of  furious  detraction,  so  little  impeached  of 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       507 

aught  blameworthy.  The  bitterest  enemy  could  lind  no  more  to  lay  to  his 
charge  than  that  his  language  was  sometimes  too  homely  for  a  supersensitive 
taste,  or  that  he  conveyed  in  a  jesting  phrase  what  they  deemed  more  suited 
for  statelier  style.  But  against  these  specks,  what  thorough  nobility  have  we 
not  set  I  A  purity  of  thought,  word,  and  deed  never  challenged,  a  disinterested 
ness  never  suspected,  an  honesty  of  purpose  never  impugned,  a  gentleness  and 
tenderness  that  never  made  a  private  enemy  or  alienated  a  friend — these  arc 
indeed  qualities  which  may  well  make  a  nation  mourn.  But  he  had  intellect 
as  well  as  goodness.  Cautiously  conservative,  fearing  to  pass  the  limits  of 
established  systems,  seeking  the  needful  amendments  rather  from  growth  than 
alteration,  he  proved  himself  in  the  crisis  the  very  man  best  suited  for  his  post. 
He  held  back  the  ardent  while  he  gave  coutidence  to  the  timid,  his  reluctance  to 
innovate  did  not  prevent  him  from  recognizing  and  accepting  the  chang.es  in 
the  situation  which  the  progress  of  events  brought  to  pass,  and  the  firmness 
with  which  he  refused  to  proceed  faster  than  they  warranted  was  equalled  by 
the  tenacity  with  which  lie  refused  to  retire  from  the  position  he  had  at  last 
thought  it  right  to  take  up.  So  four  years  of  trial  convinced  his  countrymen 
that  there  w-as  none  among  them  who  could  better  fill  his  place.  And  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  in  his  known  respect  for  established  rights,  as  well  as  in 
his  known  justice,  impartiality,  and  benevolence,  South  as  well  as  North  had 
begun  to  look  upon  him  as  their  surest  friend,  and  as  the  safe  arbiter  in  whom 
they  could  both  trust  to  exact  no  more  and  to  claim  no  less  than  might  suffice 
to  make  their  reconciliation  perpetual. 

But  he  has  fallen,  and  by  a  southern  hand.  We  cannot  as  yet  tell  the 
motive  that  urged  the  treacherous  blow,  but  the  tact  that  two  had  conspired 
to  murder,  the  one  the  President,  the  other  the  Secretary  of  State,  shows  that 
at  least  there  is  not  insanity  to  be  reckoned  as  a  possible  explanation.  But  we 
will  not,  without  overwhelming  proof,  let  the  horrible  conspiracy,  or  the  phrases 
of  its  actors,  lead  us  to  lay  it  to  the  charge  of  abettors  in  the  South.  We  will 
not  doubt  that  from  what  lately  was  the  southern  government  and  people  there 
will  come  at  once  earnest  disavowals  of  any  knowledge  of  the  meditated  crime, 
and  that  if  the  murderer  of  Mr.  Seward  has  reached  the  territory  their  power 
yet  holds,  he  will  be  seized  and  surrendered  as  one  guilty  of  a  crime  against 
humanity  itself.  On  no  other  terms,  at  least,  will  their  English  sympathizers 
believe  in  southern  "chivalry."  For  though  some  among  us  have  by  growth  of 
prejudice  come  to  think  slavery  not  sin,  there  is  no  Englishman  yet  whom  secret 
assassination  does  not  horrify.  And  the  kindly  nature,  the  earnest  desire  to  do 
right,  which  even  his  opponents  confessed  in  ABRAHAM  LIXUOLN,  will,  now  that 
he  has  gone,  turn  to  him  all  sympathies,  and  make  all  among  us  call  with  one 
voice  for  vengeance  on  his  detestable  murderer. 

But  a  harder  task  than  vengeance  lies  yet  on  the  North,  which  they  must 
niter  on  before  the  first  hours  of  mourning  have  passed.  They  have  a  govern- 


508  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

ment  to  carry  on,  a  war  to  finish,  a  commonwealth  to  reconstruct.  It  were  vain 
to  conceal  how  the  difficulty  of  each  part  of  their  task  is  enhanced  by  the  loss 
of  their  chosen  and  tried  head.  Nor,  unhappily,  have  they  made  provision  for 
an  event  so  wholly  unforeseen.  The  Vice-President,  who,  in  virtue  of  the  Con 
stitution,  has  already  taken  the  oaths  as  President  for  nearly  the  term  of  four 
years  still  remaining  to  be  run,  is  not  the  man  whom  they  would  have  selected 
had  they  thought  of  such  an  event  as  his  sitting  in  the  President's  chair. 
Already,  too,  there  has  been  removed  from  his  side  the  Secretary  of  State,  who 
has  during  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  tenure  of  office  shared  most  fully  his  confidence  and 
his  designs.  It  is  a  great  and  terrible  crisis.  But  we  have  confidence  that  the 
people  will  meet  it  worthily,  and,  if  they  do,  that  they  will  surmount  all  their 
troubles.  Chief  among  our  reasons  for  this  belief  is  the  reflection  that  Mr. 
LINCOLN  wras  himself  rather  a  representative  than  a  leader.  His  personal 
influence  had  not  formed  his  party  ;  he  was  only  selected  in  its  exigencies  to  do 
its  behests.  Admirably  as  he  has  done  them,  we  must  not  think  that  he  was 
the  only  one  who  could  have  substantially  done  the  same.  And  though  Andrew 
Johnson  was  not  selected  to  represent  the  party,  but  only  as  a  secondary  coin- 
promise  between  sections,  this  is  an  occasion  which  it  may  be  hoped  will 
extinguish  sections,  and  unite  all  in  a  common  effort.  Round  him  will  stand 
the  old  leaders — Stanton,  Chase,  and  Grant.  The  responsibilities  thus  thrust 
upon  him  will,  it  may  be  expected,  force  him  to  guide  his  acts  by  their  counsels, 
and  by  the  public  opinion  of  the  people  which  has  made  him  what  he  is,  and 
which  they  guide.  But  in  the  firm  heart  of  the  people,  tried  and  purified  as  it 
has  been  for  four  years  in  the  furnace  of  affliction,  lies,  under  God,  our  hope  for 
the  future.  Eminently  a  law-abiding  people,  they  will  follow,  first  of  all,  and 
as  far  as  possible,  the  path  their  Constitution  points  out.  But  if  a  chance  more 
powerful  than  their  will,  if  the  perversity  of  this  man  or  of  that,  renders  the 
effort  dangerous,  they  will  know  how  to  save  the  Constitution  by  sacrifice. 
Meantime,  their  great  common  sorrow,  their  great  common  danger,  will  oblit 
erate  division,  and  nerve  them  to  energy.  As  when  a  beloved  captain  falls  in 
fight,  his  men  press  forward  with  more  impetuous  and  irresistible  force  to 
secure  the  post  to  which  he  led  them,  the  fall  of  the  captain  of  the  people  will 
fill  them  with  the  sterner  resolve  to  be  victors  in  the  combat  in  which  he  was 
their  leader,  and  to  gain  the  object  for  which  his  life  was  given. 


[From  the  London  Morning  Star,  April  27,  18C5.] 


The  appalling  tragedy  which  has  just  been  perpetrated  at  Washington  is 
absolutely  without  historical  precedent.  Not  in  the  records  of  the  fiercest 
European  convulsion,  in  the  darkest  hour  of  partisan  hatreds,  have  we  an 
example  of  an  assassin  plot  at  once  so  foul  and  so  senseless,  so  horrible  and  so 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       509 

successful,  as  that  to  which  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  already  fallen  a  victim,  and 
from  which  William  H.  Seward  can  hardly  escape.  Only  in  such  instances  as 
the  murder  of  William  of  Orange,  of  Henri  Quatre,  or  of  Capodistria,  have  we 
any  deed  approaching  in  hideous  ferocity  to  that  which  has  just  robbed  the 
United  States  of  one  of  the  greatest  of  their  Presidents.  But  from  the  fanatic's 
hateful  point  of  view  there  was  at  least  something  to  be  said  for  men  like 
Balthazar,  Gerard,  and  Ravaillac.  They  at  least  might  have  believed  that  they 
saw  embodied  in  their  victims  the  whole  living  principle  and  motive  power  of 
that  religious  freedom  which  they  detested.  They  might  have  supposed  that 
with  the  man  would  die  the  great  hopes  and  the  great  cause  he  inspired  and 
guided.  So,  too,  of  Orsini.  That  unfortunate  and  guilty  being  believed,  at 
least,  that  in  Napoleon  the  Third  there  stood  an  embodied  and  concentrated 
system.  But  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  no  dictator  and  no  autocrat.  He  repre 
sented  simply  the  resolution  and  the  resources  of  a  great  people.  The  misera 
ble  excuse  which  fanaticism  might  attempt  to  plead  for  other  political  assassins 
has  no  application  to  the  wretch  whose  felon  hand  dealt  death  to  the  pure  and 
noble  magistrate  of  a  free  nation.  One  would  gladly,  for  the  poor  sake  of  com 
mon  humanity,  have  caught  at  the  idea  that  the  crime  was  but  the  work  of  some 
maniacal  partisan.  But  the  mere  nature  of  the  deeds,  without  any  additional 
evidence  whatever,  bids  defiance  to  such  an  idea.  While  the  one  murderer 
was  slaying  the  President  of  the  republic,  the  other  was  making  his  even  more 
dastardly  attempt  upon  the  life  of  the  sick  and  prostrate  Secretary.  It  does 
not  need  even  the  disclosures  which  have  now,  too  late  for  any  good  purpose 
reached  official  quarters  to  prove  that  two  madmen  cannot  become  simultane 
ously  inspired  with  the  same  monstrous  project  and  impelled  at  the  one  moment 
to  do  their  several  parts  of  the  one  bloody  business.  The  chivalry  of  the  South 
has  had  much  European  compliment  of  late.  It  has  been  discovered  to  be  the 
fount  and  origin  of  all  the  most  noble  and  knightly  qualities  which  the  world 
heretofore  had  principally  known  through  the  medium  of  mediaeval  romance. 
Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  southern  brains  lately  planned  the  conflagration  of 
a  peaceful  city.  It  never  can  be  forgotten  while  history  is  read  that  the  hands 
of  southern  partisans  have  been  reddened  by  the  foulest  assassin  plot  the  world 
has  ever  known;  that  they  have  been  treacherously  dipped  in  the  blood  of  one 
of  the  best  citizens  and  purest  patriots  to  whom  the  land  of  Washington  gave 
birth. 

For  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  one  cry  of  universal  regret  will  be  raised  all  over 
the  civilized  earth.  We  do  not  believe  that  even  the  fiercest  partisans  of  the 
confederacy  in  this  country  will  entertain  any  sentiment  at  such  a  time  but 
one  of  grief  and  horror.  To  us  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  always  seemed  the 
finest  character  produced  by  the  American  war,  on  either  side  of  the  struggle. 
He  was  great  not  merely  by  the  force  of  genius — and  only  the  word  genius  will 
describe  the  power  of  intellect  by  which  he  guided  himself  and  his  country 


510  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

through  such  a  crisis — but  by  the  simple,  natural  strength  and  grandeur  of  his 
character.  Talleyrand  once  said  of  a  great  American  statesman  that  without 
experience  he  "  divined "  his  way  through  any  crisis.  Mr.  LINCOLN  thus 
divined  his  way  through  the  perilous,  exhausting,  and  unprecedented  difficulties 
which  might  well  have  broken  the  strength  and  blinded  the  prescience  of  the 
best  trained  professional  statesman.  He  seemed  to  arrive  by  instinct — by  the 
instinct  of  a  noble,  unselfish,  and  manly  nature — at  the  very  ends  which  the 
highest  of  political  genius,  the  longest  of  political  experience,  could  have  done 
no  more  than  reach.  He  bore  himself  fearlessly  in  danger,  calmly  in  difficulty, 
modestly  in  success.  The  world  was  at  last  beginning  to  know  how  good,  and, 
in  the  best  sense,  how  great  a  man  he  was.  It  had  long  indeed  learned  that  he 
was  as  devoid  of  vanity  as  of  fear,  but  it  had  only  just  come  to  know  what 
magnanimity  and  mercy  the  hour  of  triumph  would  prove  that  he  possessed. 
Reluctant  enemies  were  just  beginning  to  break  into  eulogy  over  his  wise  and 
noble  clemency,  when  the  dastard  hand  of  a  vile  murderer  destroyed  his  noble 
and  valuable  life.  We  in  England  have"  something  to  feel  ashamed  of  when  we 
meditate  upon  the  true  greatness  of  the  man  so  ruthlessly  slain.  Too  many 
Englishmen  lent  themselves  to  the  vulgar  and  ignoble  cry  which  was  raised 
against  him.  English  writers  degraded  themselves  to  the  level  of  the  coarsest 
caricaturists  when  they  had  to  tell  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  They  stooped  to 
criticise  a  foreign  patriot  as  a  menial  might  comment  on  the  bearing  of  a  hero. 
They  sneered  at  his  manners,  as  if  Cromwell  was  a  Chesterfield;  they  accused 
him  of  ugliness,  as  if  Mirabeau  was  a  beauty;  they  made  coarse  pleasantry  of 
his  figure,  as  if  Peel  was  a  posture-master;  they  were  facetious  about  his  dress, 
as  if  Cavour  was  a  D'Orsay;  they  were  indignant  about  his  jokes,  as  if  Palmer- 
ston  never  jested.  We  do  not  remember  any  instance  since  the  wildest  days  of 
British  fury  against  the  ''Corsican  ogre,"  in  which  a  foreign  statesman  was  ever 
so  dealt  with  in  English  writings  as  Mr.  LINCOLN.  And,  when  we  make  the 
comparison,  we  cannot  but  remember  that  while  Napoleon  was  our  unscrupulous 
enemy,  LINCOLN  was  our  steady  friend.  Assailed  by  the  coarsest  attacks  on  this 
side  the  ocean,  tried  by  the  sorest  temptations  on  that,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  calmly 
and  steadfastly  maintained  a  policy  of  peace  with  England,  and  never  did  a 
deed,  never  wrote  or  spoke  a  word,  which  was  unjust  or  unfriendly  to  the 
British  nation.  Had  such  a  man  died  by  the  hand  of  disease  in  the  hour  of  his 
triumph  the  world  must  have  mourned  for  his  loss.  That  he  has  fallen  by  the 
coward  hand  of  a  vile  assassin  exasperates  and  imbitters  the  grief  beyond  any 
power  of  language  to  express. 

Had  LINCOLN  been  a  vain  man,  he  might  almost  have  ambitioned  such  a 
death.  The  weapon  of  the  murderer  has  made  sure  for  him  an  immortal  place 
in  history.  Disappointment,  failure,  political  change,  popular  caprice,  the  efforts 
of  rivals,  the  malice  of  enemies,  can  touch  him  no  more.  He  lived  long  enough 
1o  accomplish  his  great  patriotic  work,  and  then  he  became  its  martyr.  It 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        511 

would  be  idle  to  speculate  as  yet  upon  the  efiect  which  his  cruel  death  will 
produce  upon  the  political  fortunes  of  his  country;  but  the  destinies  of  that 
country  will  be  cared  for.  Its  hopes  are  too  well  sustained  to  faint  and  fall 
even  over  the  grave  of  so  great  a  patriot  and  so  wise  a  leader  as  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN.  There  are  still  clear  and  vigorous  intellects  left  to  conduct  what 
remains  of  LINCOLN'S  work  to  a  triumphant  conclusion ;  nor  must  we  allow  one 
day's  unhappy  misconduct  to  make  us  forget  the  undoubted  abilities  and  patriotic 
purpose  of  the  man  so  suddenly  and  strangely  called  to  fill  LINCOLN'S  place. 
Dramatic  justice  has,  indeed,  been  marvellously  wreaked  thus  far  upon  the  crim 
inal  pride  of  the  South.  A  negro  regiment  was  the  first  to  enter  Richmond,  and 
now  one  of  the  poor  whites,  the  "white  trash"  of  a  southern  State,  is  called  to 
receive  from  the  South  its  final  submission.  We  trust  and  feel  assured  that 
even  in  this  hour  of  just  indignation  and  natural  excitement  the  North  may  still 
bear  itself  with  that  magnanimous  clemency  which  thus  far  has  illumined  its 
triumph.  But  it  may  be  that  the  conquered  South  has  yet  to  learn  that  it  too 
must  mourn  over  the  bloody  grave  to  which  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  been  con 
signed  by  a  southern  assassin's  hand. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

In  the  moment  of  victory  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  been  stricken  to  death 
Not  on  the  battle-field,  where  so  many  noble  patriots  have  laid  down  their  lives 
for  freedom,  not  by  the  unseen  shaft  of  disease  before  which  the  greatest  and 
noblest  must  sooner  or  later  fall,  but  brutally  murdered  by  an  assassin  of  the 
slave  power  while  he  sat  beside  his  wife  enjoying  a  much-needed  relaxation 
from  the  heavy  cares  of  state.  Noble,  generous,  forgiving,  his  only  thoughts 
since  the  capture  of  Richmond  have  been  of  mercy.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
Cabinet  on  the  morning  of  his  death  he  spoke  very  kindly  of  Lee  and  others 
of  the  confederates,  and  while  his  thoughts  were  thus  all  of  forgiveness,  the 
miscreant  stole  behind  him  and  shot  him  through  the  brain.  Unconscious  from 
the  moment  he  received  the  fatal  wound,  the  great  and  noble-hearted  patriot 
breathed  his  last  on  the  following  morning.  Nothing  else  was  needed  to  sanctify 
the  name  and  memory  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  to  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  all  lovers  of  freedom  throughout  the  world,  than  this  his  martyr  death. 
Raised  from  the  ranks  of  the  common  people  to  take  upon  himself  the  respon 
sibility  of  the  most  gigantic  struggle  tly;  world  has  ever  witnessed  between  the 
forces  of  freedom  and  slavery,  he  guided  the  destinies  of  his  country  with 
unwavering  hand  through  all  the  terrors  and  dangers  of  the  conflict,  and  placed 
her  so  high  and  safe  among  the  nations  of  the  world  that  the  dastards  of  despot 
ism  dare  no  longer  question  the  strength  and  majesty  of  freedom.  With  a 
firm  faith  in  his  God,  his  country,  and  his  principles  of  freedom  Jbr  all  men, 


512  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

whatever  their  color  and  condition,  he  has  stood  unmoved  amid  the  shock  of 
armies  and  the  clamors  of  faction ;  he  quailed  not  when  defeat  in  the  field 
seemed  to  herald  the  triumph  of  the  foe  ;  he  boasted  not  of  victory,  nor  sought 
to  arrogate  to  himself  the  honors  of  the  great  deeds  which  have  resounded 
through  the  world;  but,  gentle  and  modest  as  he  was  great  and  good,  ho  took 
the  chaplet  from  his  own  brow  to  place  it  on  the  lowly  graves  of  the  soldiers 
whose  blood  has  been  so  liberally  poured  forth  to  consecrate  the  soil  of  America 
for  freedom.  He  dies  and  makes  no  sign,  but  the  impress  of  his  noble  char 
acter  and  aims  will  be  borne  by  his  country  while  time  endures.  He  dies,  but 
his  country  lives ;  freedom  has  triumphed ;  the  broken  chains  at  the  feet  of  the 
slaves  are  the  mute  witnesses  of  his  victory.  It  was  on  the  evening  of  the  14th 
of  April,  the  day  which  saw  the  federal  flag  raised  once  more  on  Fort  Surnter 
amid  the  hoarse  reverberation  of  cannon  and  the  cheers  of  liberated  slaves,  that 
the  President  received  his  death-blow.  The  wretched  conspirators  who  sought 
to  destroy  their  country  that  slavery  might  triumph  over  its  ruins,  panted  for 
LINCOLN'S  life  since  the  day  he  was  first  elected  to  guide  the  destinies  of  the 
republic.  When  in  the  act  of  passing  from  his  home  in  Illinois  to  assume  the 
reins  of  office,  he  was  apprised  by  General  Scott  that  the  barbarians  of  slavery 
had  resolved  to  assassinate  him.  The  plan  was  to  raise  a  riot  in  Baltimore  as 
he  passed  through  that  city  on  his  way  to  Washington,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
tumult  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  to  be  slain.  The  messenger  who  brought  the  news  of 
the  conspiracy  to  Mr.  LINCOLN  at  Harrisburg  was  Frederick  Seward,  son  of 
the  statesman  who  now  lies  low  beside  his  chief,  stricken  down  by  another 
desperate  miscreant  on  the  same  day  as  the  President.  Mr.  LINCOLN,  with  his 
usual  prudence,  at  once  stopped  in  his  triumphal  progress  towards  the  capital, 
and,  disguised  as  a  countryman,  passed  safely  through  Baltimore  by  the  night 
train,  and  arrived  at  the  White  House  in  Washington.  The  speech  which  he 
made  to  his  neighbors  of  Springfield  when  he  set  out  on  his  perilous  mission 
has  a  mournful  interest  in  view  of  his  sudden  and  awful  death.  At  the  railway 
depot  on  Monday,  the  llth  of  February,  1861,  a  large  concourse  of  his  fellow- 
citizens  had  assembled  to  bid  him  farewell.  "  My  friends,"  he  said,  "  no  one 
not  in  my  position  can  appreciate  the  sadness  I  feel  at  this  parting.  To  this 
people  I  owe  all  that  I  am.  Here  I  have  lived  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century; 
here  my  children  were  born,  and  here  one  of  them  lies  buried.  I  know  not 
how  soon  I  shall  see  you  again.  A  duty  devolves  upon  me,  which  is,  perhaps, 
greater  than  that  which  has  devolved  upon  any  man  since  the  days  of  Wash 
ington.  He  never  could  have  succeeded  without  the  aid  of  Divine  Providence, 
upon  which  lie  at  all  times  relied.  I  feel  that  I  cannot  succeed  without  the 
same  Divine  aid  which  sustained  him.  In  the  same  Almighty  Being  I  place 
my  reliance  for  support,  and  I  hope  you,  my  friends,  will  all  pray  that  I  may 
receive  that  Divine  assistance,  without  which  I  cannot  succeed,  but  with  which 
success  is  certain.  Again  I  bid  you  all  an  affectionate  farewell."  The  touching 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       513 

address  was  given  witli  deep  emotion,  and  many  of  the  auditors  replied  to  his 
request  for  their  prayers  by  exclaiming,  "  We  will  pray  for  you."  Thus  this 
devout,  simple-hearted,  and  courageous  man  went  forth  to  liis  high  task,  not 
leaning  on  his  own  strength,  but  humbly  trusting  in  the  power  of  an  Almighty 
arm.  Those  gentle  utterances  are  but  the  key  to  all  the  speeches  and  procla 
mations  which  he  has  made  during  his  troubled  career.  No  one  ever  heard  him 
utter  a  bitter  word  against  the  rebels,  but  many  have;  confessed  that  they  felt 
rebuked  in  his  presence,  his  manner  was  so  calm,  his  thoughts  and  words  were 
so  magnanimous,  his  great  heart  was  so  full  of  gentleness  and  compassion  And 
yet  it  is  this  man  who  has  been  held  up  to  the  southern  people  by  the  lying 
politicians  and  most  mischievous  journalists  of  the  South  as  a  kind  of  human 
demon  who  delighted  in  blood,  as  a  man  regardless  of  law  and  justice,  who, 
when  he  spoke  of  God  or  humanity,  spake  but  in  mockery  of  the  sacred  name 
and  the  sacred  rights  of  the  people.  The  southern  heart  has  been  fired,  as  the 
phrase  went,  by  the  most  furious  appeals  to  the  passions  of  an  ignorant  people 
against  a  ruler  who  never  would  have  touched  a  single  southern  right  or  harmed 
a  real  southern  man  had  these  truculent  politicians  not  crowned  their  frenzy  bv 
rebellion.  Even  in  the  midst  of  the  late  most  sanguinary  outburst  of  ferocity 
he  has  miligatcd  the  woes  of  war  and  so  tempered  justice  by  mere}'  that  not.  a 
single  traitor  has  perished  on  the  scaffold.  We  would  that  we  could  add  that 
the  passions  of  the  southern  demagogues  were  sought  to  lie  assuaged  by  the 
universal  efforts  of  the  press  and  the  politicians  of  those  countries  where  the 
American  struggle  excited  an  overwhelming  interest.  But  history  will  proclaim, 
to  the  eternal  humiliation  of  our  country,  how  an  influential  section  of  the; 
English  press  outbade  the  journalists  of  the  South  in  their  slander  and  invec 
tive  against  the  great  man  who  has  been  so  cruelly  slain;  how  his  every  action 
\vas  twisted  and  tortured  into  a  wrong,  his  every  noble  aspiration  spoken  of  as 
a  desire;  for  blood,  his  personal  appearance  caricatured,  his  lowly  origin  made 
the  theme  for  scorn  by  men  as  base-born  as  he,  but  without  the  nobleness  of 
soul  which  made  LINCOLN  a  prince  among  princes;  how  even  that  proclamation 
which  conferred  liberty  upon  four  millions  of  down-trodden  slaves  was  reviled 
as  a  base  effort  to  incite  the  negroes  to  servile  war.  The  men  who  penned 
those  revolting  slanders  were  probably  alike  ignorant  and  reckless  of  the  r 
effects,  but  it  cannot  but  be  a  painful  reflection  to  Englishmen  that  the  deluded 
southern  rebels  were  encouraged  in  their  efforts  to  destroy  a  free  nation  for  the 
purpose,  of  building  a  slave  empire  on  the  ruins  by  the  writings  and  speeches 
of  men  who  could  boast  of  free  England  as  their  country.  Their  virulent 
abuse,  in  all  probability,  never  reached  him  whom  it  was  designed  to  wound, 
and  even  if  the  miserable  writers  had  been  factious  Americans  instead  of 
degenerate  Englishmen,  LINCOLN  would  have  had  nothing  but  a  smile  for  their 
malignant  efforts.  Nor  had  these  unworthy  effusions  any  effect  upon  the  great 
body  of  the  people  of  England.  They  saw  at  once  the  sterling  integrity  and 
65 


514  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

appreciated  the  high  purpose  of  the  American  ruler ;  they  took  the  universal 
testimony  of  the  people  of  the  country  over  which  he  ruled  in  preference  to 
the  partisan  abuse  of  the  pro-slavery  organs,  so  that  long  before  the  emancipa 
tion  proclamation  was  issued  the  efforts  and  intentions  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
were  thoroughly  understood  by  the  commons  of  Great  Britain.  When,  how 
ever,  the  moment  had  arrived  for  LINCOLN  calling  a  race  to  freedom,  and  the 
news  was  received  in  this  country  that,  so  far  as  the  fiat  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States  in  the  execution  of  his  constitutional  authority  during  a  state 
of  war  could  strike  the  fetters  from  the  slave  and  purge  the  commonwealth 
from  its  foul  stain,  the  order  had  gone  forth,  and  the  slaves  had  a  legal  title  to 
their  freedom,  nothing  could  thereafter  shake  the  faith  of  the  people  in  the 
liberator.  Many  touching  proofs  of  the  sincerity  of  these  convictions  were 
afforded  during  the  struggle.  In  every  public  meeting  of  our  countrymen, 
when  the  name  of  President  LINCOLN  was  mentioned  it  was  received  with  a 
burst  of  ringing  cheers.  Perhaps  the  most  notable  occasion  was  when  Henry 
Ward  Beecher  addressed  the  inhabitants  of  London  in  Exeter  Hall.  It  was 
at  a  time  when  the  pro-slavery  press  was  most  rampant,  when  for  days  they  had 
been  heaping  upon  the  head  of  Mr.  Ward  Bcccher,  one  of  the  pioneer  aboli 
tionists  of  the  north,  and  upon  Mr.  LINCOLN,  as  the  leader  of  the  abolitionist 
party,  all  the  vials  of  their  abuse,  and  when,  if  ever,  it  might  have  been 
supposed  that  the  cause  of  right  must  be  overborne  by  the  power  of  slander 
and  misrepresentation.  No  sooner,  however,  was  the  name  of  LINCOLN  men 
tioned  by  Mr.  Beecher  in  the  course  of  his  speech  than  enthusiastic  cheers, 
which  seemed  as  if  they  would  never  stop,  burst  forth  from  the  vast  assemblage. 
It  was  the  same  everywhere  throughout  the  country;  and  the  American  people 
now  amongst  us,  stunned  and  overwhelmed  as  they  are  by  the  news,  may 
believe  that  their  feeling  of  an  irreparable  loss  is  shared  in  by  the  vast  masses 
of  the  English  people.  For,  in  truth,  a  man  like  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is  claimed 
by  humanity  as  her  own.  He  was  in  name  and  in  heart  an  American  citizen, 
and  his  great  work  had  been  appointed  for  him  in  that  new  continent  where 
two  great  battles  have  already  been  won  for  human  freedom  ;  but  he  soon 
sliowed  by  his  actions  and  the  magnanimity  of  his  character  that  he  belonged 
to  that  illustrious  band  whose  work  is  for  the  human  race,  and  whose  name 
and  fame  shall  never  die  out  amongst  men.  In  his  hands  was  placed  a  most 
sacred  trust.  In  the  United  States  the  right  of  the  majority  to  govern,  and 
perfect  freedom  to  all  to  take  part  in  the  business  of  government,  was  the 
basis  of  the  Constitution.  It  had  never  been  questioned  until  the  southern 
leaders,  defeated  at  the  ballot-box,  sought  to  achieve  by  the  sword  what  they 
failed  to  achieve  at  the  polling-booth.  The  question  was  the  extension  or  the 
non-extension  of  slavery,  and  the  ultimate  issue  was  the  triumph  or  failure  of  free 
institutions.  We  need  not  recall  how  triumphantly  the  enemies  of  freedom 
pointed  their  finger  in  scorn  at  what  they  called  the  failure  of  the  experiment 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        515 

of  free  institutions.  The  very  uprising  of  the  southern  slave  power  was  held 
to  be  the  end  of  the  republic.  They  never  dreamed  that  the  obscure  man  of 
the  people,  who  had  been  raised  to  the  highest  post  of  honor  which  it  was 
possible  for  a  citizen  to  fill,  would  grasp  the  helm  with  so  vigorous  a  grasp, 
and  so  pilot  the  ship  of  state  among  the  fearful  breakers  as  to  bring  her  safe 
to  port  with  colors  Hying  and  not  a  spar  lost.  Alas  !  that  the  firm  hand  should 
now  be  nerveless,  the  bold  heart  cold  and  lifeless,  and  that  the  cup  of  joy  should 
be  so  rudely  dashed  from  the  lips  of  the  great  people  whom  he  had  so  faithfully 
served  in  the  crisis  of  their  destiny  ! 

The  assassination  seems  unquestionably  to  have  been  the  result  of  a  con 
spiracy  to  which  various  southern  sympathizers  were  parties.  The  villain 
whose  hand  struck  down  President  LINCOLN  is  staled  to  be  a  person  named 
Wilkes  Booth,  a  brother  of  Edwin  Booth,  the  actor,  and  in  his  trunk  was  found 
a  letter  which  showed  that  the  horrid  deed  was  to  have  been  perpetrated  on  the 
4th  of  March,  when  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  second  term  of  office  began.  .  It  has,  there 
fore,  been  no  sudden  inspiration  of  frenzy  caused  by  the  fall  of  Richmond,  but 
the  deliberate  calculation  of  cold-blooded  miscreants.  The  intention  was  not 
consummated  sooner  because  some  expected  instructions,  or  aid,  or  encourage 
ment,  had  not  been  received  from  Richmond.  We:  cannot  believe  that  the 
designs  of  the  conspirators  were  known  to  and  approved  by  the  heads  of  Ihe 
southern  government,  but  it  is  not  at  all  impossible  that  some  leading  secession 
ists  may  have  aided  in  the  conspiracy  and  encouraged  its  execution.  It  was 
known  that  the  earlier  attempt,  when  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  about  to  take  office, 
was  known  to  and  approved  by  many  persons  of  influence  and  standing,  and 
more  than  one  influential  fanatic  in  the  course  of  the  war  has  openly  otfered 
rewards  for  the  heads  of  northern  abolitionists.  The  murder  was  at  length 
effected  in  the  most  cruel  and  barbarous  manner.  Seated  in  the  theatre  at 
Washington  beside  his  wife  and  another  lady,  and  attended  by  only  one  officer, 
a  stranger  suddenly  made  his  appearance  at  the  door  of  the  box,  and  stated  that 
he  had  despatches  from  General  Grant.  That  general  had  been  advertised  to 
be  present  on  the  same  evening,  but  he  and  his  wife  had  gone  to  Burlington  on  a 
visit.  The  simple  state  of  the  republican  President  permitted  the  stranger  easily 
to  get  access  to  his  victim,  who,  it  would  seem,  never  turned  his  head — his 
thoughts  probably  far  away  on  those  fields  of  battle  where  so  many  have  died  (hat 
the  republic  might  live.  The  assassin  instantly  raised  his  pistol  and  shot  the 
President  in  the  back  of  the  head,  the  bullet  lodging  in  the  brain.  We  have 
as  yet  no  details  of  the  scene  of  consternation  in  the  theatre,  the  anguish  of  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  and  the  despair  of  the  people  when  they  saw  one  so  beloved  so  basely 
smitten;  but  there  needs  no  description.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  it  all — all  except 
the  unutterable  anguish  of  the  woman  who  has  been  the  support  and  solace 
of  the  President  during  many  weary  months  of  anxiety  and  suffering.  To  his 
wife  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  tenderly  attached.  His  first  action  after  receiving  the 


516  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

I 

notice  of  his  election  by  the  Chicago  convention  of  1860  as  the  candidate  of  the 
Republican  party  was  to  leave  his  political  friends  with  whom  he  had  been 
waiting  for  the  news,  and  proceed  home  saying,  "There's  a  little  woman  down 
at  our  house  would  like  to  hear  this.  I  will  go  and  tell  her."  The  barbarians 
were  not  content  with  this  one  noble  victim.  About  the  same  time  another, 
and  even  more  callous,  southern  fiend  proceeded  to  the  residence  of  Mr.  Seward, 
and,  under  pretence  of  carrying  medicine  to  the  sick-chamber,  managed  to  get 
access  to  the  chamber  where  the  Secretary  of  State  lay  suffering  from  his 
recent  accident.  Mr.  Frederick  Seward,  the  son  of  the  Secretary,  attempted  to 
prevent  him,  but  was  cruelly  wounded  and  has  since  died.  A  male  attendant 
was  stabbed  through  the  lungs,  and  then  the  miscreant  sprang  forward  to  the 
bed  and  stabbed  with  many  wounds  the  statesman  who  lay  helpless.  When 
the  cries  of  the  nurse  and  of  a  young  daughter  who  was  by  her  father's  bed 
side  brought  Major  Seward,  another  son,  to  his  father's  apartment,  the  assassin 
likewise  tell  upon  him  and  severely  wounded  him.  Most  foul  deed  that  ever 
pen  recorded  or  demon  perpetrated!  A  sick  man  lying  helpless  on  his  couch 
of  pain  thus  barbarously  assailed,  a  son  eager  to  save  a  father's  life  thus  foully 
slain  !  It  illustrates  in  a  yet  more  awful  manner  the  innate  barbarism  of  that, 
system  of  society  based  on  slavery  which  can  breed  criminals  of  so  deep  a  dye. 
It  is  now  some  years  since  the  writer  met  Mr.  Frederick  Seward  in  New 
York — an  amiable,  accomplished,  intelligent  gentleman,  whose  conversation 
showed  him  to  possess  a  keen  intellect  and  a  cultivated  mind.  The  conversa 
tion  turned  upon  the  sudden  death  of  friends — of  those  who  had  sailed  from 
home  and  been  lost  at  sea,  or  who  had  been  suddenly  cut  off  by  some  great 
calamity.  Did  the  shadow  of  his  own  premature  and  tragic  end  even  then  cast 
a  shadow  over  his  spirit  !  How  many  of  his  companions  and  friends  have 
during  these  few  years  passed  away  amid  the  din  and  fury  of  the  battle-field! 
and  now,  when  peace  seemed  ready  to  come,  and  with  her  gentle  touch  restore 
all  things,  he  too  is  snatched  away  to  join  the  company  of  the  martyrs  of  the 
anti-slavery  war.  The  official  report  of  Mr.  Stanton,  which  will  be  found  else 
where,  expressly  states  that  these  deeds  of  horror  were  the  result  of  a  conspiracy 
among  the  rebels,  and  the  greatness  of  the  enormities  must  now  prove  to  the 
world  that  the  attempt  to  set  fire  to  New  York,  and  to  destroy  in  one  horrible 
holocaust  the  women  and  children,  the  aged  and  infirm,  of  a  populous  city,  was 
no  hallucination  of  the  federal  government,  but  a  grim  reality  of  desperadoes— 
the  spawn  of  the  slave  power.  These  are  specimens  of  that  chivalry  of  the 
South  over  which  some  English  men  and  women  have  been  heretofore  shed 
ding  maudlin  tears.  It  is  a  chivalry  which  can  murder  a  gentle  and  noble  man 
in  presence  of  his  wife ;  which  can  stab  a  father  with  furious  blows  on  his  sick 
bed  in  presence  of  a  little  daughter  who  ministers  to  his  wants,  and  which  can 
ruthlessly  sacrifice  two  sons  as  they  strive  to  save  a  father's  life. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       517 

(Here  follows  an  account  of  the  life  and  public  services  of  Mr.  LINCOLN, 
concluding  as  follows :) 

The  election  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  hailed  with  delight  by  the  people  of  the 
northern  States,  little  dreaming  that  their  right  to  elect  him  would  have  to  be 
sustained  in  so  fearful  a  manner;  and  when  the  time  came  for  him  to  proceed 
to  Washington  to  execute  the  functions  of  President,  the  whole  country  watched 
his  progress  with  intense  satisfaction.  As  he  passed  eastward  he  had  to  make 
speeches  at  almost  every  town  of  any  note,  and  many  of  the  expressions  which 
then  fell  from  his  lips  were  sufficiently  remarkable.  AVhen  passing  through 
Indiana  he  thus  spoke  of  State  rights:  "By  the  way,  in  what  consists  the 
special  sacredness  of  a  State  I  If  a  State  and  a  county,  in  a  given  case,  should 
be  equal  in  extent  of  territory  and  equal  in  number  of  inhabitants,  in  what,  as 
a  matter  of  principle,  is  the  State  better  than  the  county  !  On  what  principle 
may  a  State,  being  not  more  than  one-fiftieth  part  of  the  nation  in  soil  and  popu 
lation,  break  up  the  nation,  and  then  coerce  a  proportionately  larger  subdivision 
of  itself  in  the  most  arbitrary  manner  ?  What  mysterious  right  to  play  tyrant 
is  conferred  on  a  district  of  country,  with  its  people,  by  merely  calling  it  a 
State  !"  In  New  Jersey,  he  made  use  of  a  characteristic  expression,  which  lias 
been  frequently  quoted  since:  "I  shall  do  all  that  may  be  in  my  power  to 
promote  a  peaceful  settlement  of  all  our  difficulties.  The  man  does  not  live 
who  is  more  devoted  to  peace  than  I  am ;  none  who  will  do  more  to  preserve 
it;  but  it  maybe  necessary  to  put  the  foot  down  firmly."  How  firmly,  the 
Soutli,  the  North,  we  and  all  men  now  know.  When  raising  a  Hag  in  Phila 
delphia,  he  asked  whether  the  Union  could  be  saved  upon  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  in  answering  his  own  question  uttered  words  which  sound 
prophetical  after  the  occurrence  which  has  so  troubled  the  country :  "If  this 
country  cannot  be  saved  without  giving  jip  that  principle,  I  was  about  to  say  I 
would  rather  be  assassinated  on  this  spot  than  surrender  it;"  and  his  last  words 
on  the  occasion  were,  "  I  have  said  nothing  but  what  I  am  willing  to  live  by. 
and,  if  it  be  the  pleasure  of  Almighty  God,  die  by."  He  has  stood  by  these 
principles  during  his  life,  and  he  had  completed  the  most  triumphant  defence 
of  these  principles  when  called  on  to  die;  but  dying,  he  bequeathes  a  new  life 
to  the  nation  ;  and,  being  dead,  he  yet  speaketh 

Mr.  LINCOLN'S  policy  was  to  woo  the  South  to  submission  to  the  constitu 
tionally  expressed  will  of  the  people  by  every  argument  which  would  be 
supposed  to  have  weight  with  American  citizens.  His  inaugural  address  was  a 
pleading  with  them  to  give  up  their  mad  design  to  break  up  the  nation,  and  it 
was  thus  he  conjured  them  to  think  well  upon  the  fatal  step  they  Vere  about  to 
take :  "  I  am  loth  to  close.  We,  are  not  enemies,  but  friends.  We  must  not  lie 
enemies.  Though  passion  may  have  strained,  it  must  not  break,  our  bonds  of 
affection.  The  mystic  chords  of  memory,  stretching  from  every  battle-field  and 
patriot  grave  to  every  living  heart  and  hearthstone  all  over  this  broad  land,  will 


518  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union,  when  again  touched,  as  they  surely  will  be, 
by  the  better  angels  of  our  nature."  His  appeal  was  vain.  The  men  to  whom 
it  was  addressed,  for  a  long  series  of  years,  had  been  educating  themselves  into 
the  monstrous  delusion  that  slavery  was  a  divine  institution ;  that  it  was  the 
natural  basis  for  society ;  that  a  slave  empire  could  be  established  so  powerful 
that  abolitionism  would  forever  be  abashed,  and  southern  interests  reign 
supreme.  The  politicians  clamored  for  war,  the  editors  wrote  up  war,  the 
clergy  preached  up  a  war  for  slavery,  until  the  poor  deluded  common  people 
rushed  blindly  into  the  conflict.  The  North  had  no  choice ;  Mr.  LINCOLN,  as 
the  President,  had  no  choice  but  to  enforce  the  laws,  and  to  use  whatever 
powers  the  Constitution  gave  him  for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion.  This  is 
not  the  place  to  recount  the  varied  fortunes  of  the  field.  In  the  west  the 
national  arms  were  almost  uniformly  successful ;  in  the  east  the  forces  of  the 
Union  failed  to  capture  Richmond  until  weary  years  of  effort  had  been  wasted, 
and  several  successive  generals  tried  and  removed.  But  the  elasticity  of  free 
institutions  permitted  of  these  changes  of  commanders,  and  the  patriotism  of 
the  people  supported  the  President  in  whatever  appointments  he  deemed  best 
tor  the  furtherance  of  the  cause,  until  by  his  happy  selection  of  Grant,  who  had 
proved  victorious  in  the  west,  and  Grant's  no  less  admirable  appointments  of 
Sherman,  Sheridan,  Thomas,  and  others,  the  power  of  the  South  has  been  com 
pletely  crushed.  President  LINCOLN,  at  first,  incurred  much  odium  among 
many  sincere  friends  of  the  slave  in  this  country,  and  was  taunted  by  the  sup 
porters  of  the  slave  confederacy,  because  he  did  not  from  the  outset  inaugurate 
an  anti-slavery  war.  But  his  true  position  began  to  be  appreciated.  Some  of 
the  border  slave  States  remained  loyal,  and  he  could  not  at  once  attack  slavery 
without  encroaching  upon  the  right  of  these  loyal  people  to  regulate  their  own 
affairs.  The  northern  democrats,  moreover,  polled  more  than  one  million  of 
votes,  while  the  purely  abolitionist  element  among  his  own  supporters  was 
comparatively  small  Had  he  at  once  raised  an  anti-slavery  banner,  in  all  likeli 
hood  he  would  have  retarded  in  place  of  advancing  the  cause.  He  repressed 
all  attempts  prematurely  to  proclaim  emancipation,  until  perfectly  satisfied  in 
his  own  mind  that  he  had  the  constitutional  power  during  a  state  of  war  to  do 
so,  and  that  the  proclamation  would  tend  to  lessen  the  power  of  the  rebels  and 
more  .speedily  bring  peace  to  his  torn  and  bleeding  country.  The  policy  has 
been  the  saving  of  the  Union.  The  slaves  crowded  the  federal  lines  in  order 
to  gain  their  freedom,  and  eagerly  availed  themselves  of  the  privilege  to  enlist 
under  the  federal  banners  to  aid  in  the  freedom  of  their  friends  and  brethren 
of  the  negro  race.  The  emancipation  proclamation  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was 
a  grand  and  sublime  act ;  and  when,  in  announcing  his  policy  to  Congress,  he 
declared  that  they  who  were  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  those  times  could  not 
escape  history,  he  truly  shadowed  forth  that  all  who  had  in  any  way  contributed 
to  that  crowning  act  of  justice  would  occupy  in  history  a  most  conspicuous  and 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       519 

enviable  place.  The  cause  of  the  Union  has  prospered  from  the  day  the  pro 
clamation  was  issued,  until  at,  length  the  greatest  army  of  the  rebels  has  surren 
dered  to  the  great  soldier  whom  President  LINCOLN'S  sagacity  selected  as  the 
fit  man  to  lead  the  armies  of  the  republic. 

The  personal  appearance  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  often  been  described.  He 
was  six  feet  four  in  height,  and  of  that  thin,  wiry  build  which  is  somewhat 
characteristic  of  Americans.  But  all  observers  unite  in  describing  his  counte 
nance  as  singularly  pleasing,  and  the  eye  mild  and  gentle.  One  English 
observer,  not  particularly  prepossessed  in  his  favor,  describes  his  countenance 
as  peculiarly  soft,  with  an  almost  feminine  expression  of  melancholy.  While 
all  observers  unite  in  thus  describing  the  late  President,  those  who  knew  him 
more  intimately  are  equally  of  one  opinion  as  to  his  disposition  being  as  kind, 
courteous,  and  gentle  as  his  mild  expression  denoted.  lie  was  never  heard  to 
say  a  bitter  word  against  the  rebels,  but  invariably  in  his  public  proclamations, 
and  by  his  acts,  he  sought  to  win  them  back  to  their  fealty  without  undue 
shedding  of  blood.  But  with  all  this  gentleness,  he  was  inexorably  firm.  Men 
of  all  parties  have  gone  to  him  to  attempt  to  move  him  from  some  of  his  posi 
tions;  but  while  listening  courteously  to  their  statements,  he  never  failed  to 
indicate  that  what  he  had  himself  resolved,  after  careful  consideration,  he  should 
abide  by  until  he  saw  that  it  was  unsuited  to  the  circumstances  of  his  country. 
He  had  an  overflowing  and  ready  humor.  This  trait  in  his  character  has  given 
many  shafts  to  the  venomous  slanderers  of  the  great  man  who  has  been  so 
suddenly  removed  from  his  proud  position ;  but  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say 
that  all  the  bon-mots  attributed  to  the  President  are  not  genuine.  One  slander 
which  has  been  often  repeated  by  his  enemies  it  may  be  as  well  to  contradict 
here,  once  for  all.  It  has  been  asserted  and  reasserted,  and  is  now  apparently 
deemed  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  cavil,  that  Mr.  LINCOLN,  when  riding  over 
the  field  of  Gettysburg,  called  for  a  comic  song  to  drive  away  serious  thoughts. 
The  statement  is  a  gratuitous  and  baseless  calumny,  invented  by  those  who 
would  as  readily  destroy  a  reputation  as  the  southern  assassins  would  wreak 
their  vengeance  upon  a  helpless  victim.  These  have,  indeed,  accomplished  the 
death  of  a  noble-hearted  patriot ;  but  while  they  have  killed  the  body,  they 
cannot  touch  his  deathless  fame;  they  cannot  mar  his  glorious  work;  they 
cannot  rob  him  of  his  immortal  reward. 


[From  the  London  Evening  Star,  May  2,  18GT>.] 


The  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  in  a  spirit  worthy  of  its  ancient  fame,  has 
unanimously  expressed  its  deep  and  earnest  feeling  of  sympathy  with  the  gov 
ernment  and  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  hour  of  their  dire  affliction.  The 
addresses  to  the  Crown  which  were  voted  by  both  houses  last  night  were  no 


520  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

merely  formal  acts.  They  represented  the  solemn  and  deliberate  sentiments 
of  both  branches  of  the  legislature — they  embodied  that  sense  of  grief  which 
has  weighed  upon  the  heart  of  the  nation  ever  since  the  perpetration  of  the 
atrocious  crime  has  been  known  in  this  country.  The  appearance  of  the  two 
chambers  indicated  the  serious  nature  of  the  business  which  was  announced  for 
discussion.  The  attendance  of  members  was  unusually  large,  and  the  languor 
of  an  uneventful  session  was  once  more  broken  by  a  mournful  episode.  The 
crowd  which  assembled  in  Westminster  Hall,  and  filled  the  corridors  and  lob 
bies,  showed  the  deep  interest  which  the  subject  excited  among  the  classes 
who  are  never  attracted  to  this  quarter  unless  the  popular  mind  is  stirred  by 
some  deep  emotion.  While  such  was  the  temper  of  the  spectators,  we  may 
justly  affirm  that  those  who  more  directly  assisted  on  the  occasion  were  moved 
by  no  vague  curiosity  to  be  present  at  the  deliberations  of  Parliament,  and  that 
the  chief  actors  performed  their  appointed  task  with  befitting  dignity  and  earn 
estness.  It  would  be  too  much  to  say  that  the  evil  spirit  of  a  faction  which 
cruelly  maligned  the  martyred  patriot  when  he  was  living  was  quenched ;  but 
in  the  presence  of  the  awful  calamity  which  has  befallen  our  American  kinsmen, 
it  at  all  events  exhibited  the  grace  of  silence  and  held  its  peace.  Even  that 
faction,  while  it  could  not  recant  its  recorded  opinions  or  atone  for  the  past, 
with  the  memories  of  which  it  must  be  forever  dishonored,  without  doubt  con 
curred  heartily  in  those  execrations  of  the  assassin's  cruel  deed  which  were 
uttered  by  the  chiefs  of  the  two  great  parties  in  the  state.  Both  houses  were 
absolutely  unanimous  in  their  expressions  of  horror  at  the  crime ;  and  no  voice, 
no  sound  was  heard  which  did  not  imply  profound  sympathy  with  the  character 
of  the  illustrious  man  who,  by  the  common  consent  of  every  civilized  nation,  has 
been  elevated  to  a  position  in  history  which  a  long  line  of  the  world's  greatest 
heroes  have  coveted,  but  in  vain. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  say  who  among  the  speakers  last  night  gave  proof 
of  the  most  discriminating  appreciation  of  the  peculiar  excellencies  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN'S  large-hearted  nature.  But  although  they  differed  in  form,  they 
agreed  in  essence.  All  'combined  to  do  justice  to  his  manliness,  his  sincerity, 
and  his  generous  feeling.  Lord  Russell,  who  appropriately  reminded  the 
assembly  which  he  addressed  that  the  late  President  was  twice  legally  elected 
the  Chief  Magistate  of  the  American  nation,  declared  that  he  was  exactly  suited 
by  his  natural  disposition  for  the  conjuncture  which  taxed  his  energies  during 
his  four  years  of  power.  With  honesty  and  frankness  he  combined  conciliation, 
the  quality  which  would  temper  the  pride  of  victory.  The  noble  speaker  was 
singularly  felicitous  in  his  eulogy  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  moderation  on  the  slavery 
question,  the  gradual  but  sure  measures  he  adopted  to  effect  the  abolition  of 
what  he  saw  from  the  beginning  was  the  one  crime  of  his  country,  and  the  only 
source  of  her  civil  troubles;  and  he  was  equally  just  in  pointing  to  the  influ 
ence  of  that  same  moderation  in  smoothing  over  the  difficulties  which  had 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       521 

arisen  from  time  to  time  between  the  two  governments.  If  Lord  Derby  spoke 
in  more  guarded  terms  on  the  political  aspects  of  the  American  war,  he  was  not 
less  energetic  in  his  reprobation  of  the  dastardly  murder  which  has  disgraced 
the  annals  of  that  contest,  and  not  less  happy  in  the  tribute  he  paid  to  the 
virtues  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  character,  that  singular  wisdom  and  prudence  com 
bined  with  conciliation,  which  he  said  had  distinguished  his  conduct  of  public 
affairs.  In  the  lower  house  Sir  George  Grey,  in  the  unavoidable  absence, 
through  indisposition,  of  Lord  Palmcrston,  proposed  the  motion  in  an  admirable 
speech.  The  only  expression  of  dissent  was  provoked  by  his  perfectly  true 
statement  that  the  majority  of  this  country  have  sympathized  with  the  North 
during  its  arduous  struggle.  The  few  gentlemen  below  the  gangway  on  the 
tory  side  of  the  house  who  sought  to  cast  distrust  upon  the  assertion,  provoked 
a  counter-cheer  which  served  to  make  their  own  insignificance  the  more  con 
spicuous.  Sir  George  Grey  dwelt  forcibly  upon  the  wise  forbearance  and 
generosity  of  President  LINCOLN — qualities  which,  as  the  speaker  truly  said, 
would,  if  he  had  lived,  have  added  greater  lustre  to  the  fame  he  had  already 
acquired.  But  to  Mr.  Disraeli  once  again  attached  the  honor  of  elevating  a 
mournful  theme  by  the  inspiration,  not  only  of  a  genuine  feeling,  but  of  a  classic 
eloquence.  His  words  blended  the  graces  of  the  orator  with  an  acute  percep 
tion  of  the  noble  traits  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  nature  and  the  true  dignity  with  which 
death  had  invested  him.  It  was  a  genuine  power  of  discrimination  and  no 
mere  trick  of  rhetoric  which  enabled  him  to  point  out  that  the  homely  and 
innocent  character  of  the  victim  and  the  accessories  of  his  latest  moments  ''take 
the  subject  out  of  the  pomp  of  history  and  the  ceremonial  of  diplomacy,  and  make 
it  touch  the  heart  of  nations  and  appeal  to  the  sentiments  of  mankind."  Never 
did  the  conservative  leader  appear  to  greater  advantage,  never  did  his  acknowl 
edged  genius  seem  to  be  more  closely  allied  with  all  that  is  great  and  good  in 
human  sympathy,  than  when  he  affirmed  that  President  LINCOLN  in  a  time  of 
sore  trial  had  performed  his  duty  with  "simplicity  and  strength,"  and  when  he 
reminded  the  English  people  of  his  kinship  with  them,  and  expressed  his  tiiith 
that  the  United  States  would  emerge  from  the  ordeal  of  discipline  and  suffering 
elevated  and  chastened  by  what  they  had  endured.  The  reassuring  words, 
founded  upon  the  experience  of  mankind,  to  which  he  gave  utterance,  may  well 
make  us  believe  that  the  assassin's  arm  in  striking  down  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  no 
power  to  injure  the  cause  of  which  he  was  the  elected  representative;  but  his 
profound  declaration  of  sympathy  with  the  American  people  will  do  something 
more  than  allay  groundless  alarms.  It  will  essentially  assist  to  consolidate 
those  friendly  relations  between  England  and  America  which  Lord  Stratford  de 
Redcliffe  and  every  other  speaker  desired  to  see  established  upon  a  firm  and 
lasting  basis. 

The  two  houses  have  agreed  to  address  the  Queen,  praying  that  she  would 
communicate  their  sentiments  as  well  as  her  own  to  the  government  of  the 
66 


522  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

• 
United  States.     In  advance  of  the  action  of  Parliament  instructions  have  been 

sent  out  to  the  British  minister  at  Washington  to  make  known  the  feelings  of 
the  imperial  government.  There  was  only  one  other  manifestation  of  grief  and 
indignation  at  the  great  tragedy  which  could  have  been  desired,  and  that  has 
been  given.  The  Queen  has  with  her  own  hand  written  a  letter  of  sympathy 
to  Mrs.  Lincoln.  The  act  is  as  graceful  as  it  is  touching.  The  royal  widow 
seeking  to  afford  consolation  to  her  sister  in  affliction  is  an  incident  of  which 
history  will  be  proud.  Every  Englishman  will  feel  that  this  last  instance  of 
tenderness  on  the  part  of  the  Sovereign — this  truly  gentle  and  womanly  deed — 
binds  him  by  a  closer  tie  of  loyalty  and  affection  to  the  illustrious  lady  who  sits 
upon  the  throne  of  these  realms.  It  is  an  act  which  will  serve  as  much  as 
anything  to  bury  all  discord  in  a  common  grave.  Queen  Victoria  is  as  much 
revered  in  America  as  she  is  in  her  own  land ;  and  we  believe  that  if  Mr. 
Adams  had  delivered  his  admirable  speech  to-day  instead  of  yesterday,  he  would 
feel  himself  able  to  assert  that  no  circumstance  could  have  occurred  which 
would  be  more  certain  to  afford  consolation  to  his  countrymen  or  to  reunite  the 
two  nations. 


[From  the  London  Daily  Telegraph,  April  27,  18C5.] 
ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

One  universal  feeling  of  horror  and  grief  will  thrill  through  the  breasts  of 
Englishmen  this  morning,  if  we  do  not  mistake  our  countrymen,  as  they  read 
in  our  columns  the  sad  news  which  has  come  to  us  across  the  Atlantic.  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN  has  fallen  by  the  assassin's  hand  ;  fallen  as  Julius  Csesar  fell  on  those 
fatal  "  Ides  of  March,"  but  by  the  hand  of  a  baser  Brutus  ;  fallen  as,  to  our 
human  eyes  and  fallible  judgment,,  he  little  deserved  to  fall — shot  through  the 
head  with  a  pistol  fired  by  a  wretched  conspirator,  as  he  sat  in  a  private  box  at 
Ford's  theatre,  Washington,  on  the  evening  of  the  14th  instant.  The  wound, 
it  was  at  once  seen,  was  mortal,  and  the  President  expired  soon  after  sunrise  on 
the  following  morning ;  his  colleague,  Mr.  Seward,  having,  about  the  same 
time  and  hour,  sustained  a  similar  attack  from  the  dagger  of  the  same  or  a 
fellow-assassin. 

Such  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  the  melancholy  news  which  is  told  in 
another  column,  with  additional  victims  and  details  of  butchery ;  and  we  have 
elsewhere  attempted  to  give  an  estimate  of  the  probable  effect  of  this  sad  event 
on  the  war  and  on  the  politics  of  America.  It  is  our  duty,  however,  to  offer 
here  an  outline  of  the  career  and  public  character  of  the  eminent  man  who  has 
thus  been  suddenly  cut  off  when  scarcely  past  his  prime,  and  at  the  outset  of 
a  second  period  of  rule,  having  fallen,  as  even  the  stanchest  southerner  must 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  523 

admit,  like  Epaminondas  of  old,  and  like  Wolfe  in  modern  times,  in  the  very 

hour  of  victory. 

******** 

(Here  follows  an  account  of  the  life  and  services  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  con 
cluding  with  the  following:) 

The  rest  of  the  President's  life,  if  we  were  to  write  it,  would  really  be  little 
less  than  the  history  of  the  fearful  and  fatal  war  which  has  laid  waste  America 
for  the  last  four  years.  The  chief  event  in  it,  perhaps,  is  the  re-election  of 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  to  the  presidential  chair  last  summer.  At  that  time,  as  will 
be  remembered,  the  leaders  of  the  abolition  party  seemed  bent  on  withdrawing 
from  him  their  support.  He  was,  however,  so  firmly  rooted  in  the  affections 
of  the  mass  of  the  electors,  who  identified  him  with  the  Union  cause,  that  it 
wras  deemed  unwise  to  bring  forward  a  rival  republican  candidate.  Had  that 
party  become  divided,  as  seemed  probable  at  one  time,  General  McClellan 
would  certainly  have  been  returned.  Thanks  to  the  forbearance  and  foresight 
of  the  abolitionists,  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  elected  by  a  triumphant  majority,  with 
full  power  to  control  the  destinies  of  those  States  at  least  which  had  elected 
him  for  a  new  term  of  four  years. 

"  Man  proposes,  but  God  disposes."  Within  a  few  short  months  the  assas 
sin's  pistol  has  set  aside  the  wishes  of  the  northern  people,  thrown  transatlantic 
politics  into  the  most  sad  confusion,  and  caused  all  New  York  to  array  itself  in 
robes  of  black. 

The  face  of  "Honest  Abe"  has  been  made  familiar  to  most  English  readers 
by  the  aid  of  photography  ;  but  the  following  sketch  of  his  person,  from  the 
pen  of  one  who  knew  him  well,  is  so  perfect  that  we  may  be  excused  for 
repeating  it  here:  "  Old  Abe  is  a  gaunt  giant,  more  than  six  feet  high,  strong 
and  long-limbed.  He  walks  slowly,  and,  like  many  thoughtful  men — Napoleon 
and  Wordsworth  for  example — he  keeps  his  head  inclined  forward  and  down 
wards.  His  hair  is  black  and  wiry ;  his  eyes  are  dark-gray ;  his  smile  is  frank, 
sincere,  and  winning.  Like  most  American  gentlemen,  he  is  loose  and  careless 
in  dress,  turns  down  his  flapping  white  collars,  and  wears  habitually  what  we 
should  call  evening  dress.  His  head  is  massive,  his  brow  full  and  wide,  his 
nose  large  and  fleshy,  his  mouth  coarse  and  full ;  his  eyes  are  sunken,  his  face 
is  bronzed  and  thin,  and  drawn  down  into  strong  corded  lines,  which  disclose 
the  machinery  that  moves  his  broad  and  formidable  jaw.'' 

Honest,  straightforward,  practical,  energetic,  and  indifferent  to  censure  so 
long  as  he  was  conscious  of  his  own  integrity,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  seems  to  have 
been  one  of  those  men  whose  latent  talents  are  called  forth  by  great  emergen 
cies,  and  hence  his  sudden  death  is  a  national  loss.  Under  a  rough  and  even 
forbidding  exterior  he  concealed  a  great  and  good  heart,  and  it  deserves  to  be 
recorded  to  his  credit  that,  throughout  this  long  and  painful  struggle,  he  never 
once  signed  the  death-warrant  of  a  political  enemy,  though  often  urged  to  do  so. 


524  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

It  is  perhaps  too  early  as  yet  to  pronounce  sentence  definitively  on  his  character ; 
for  that  we  must  appeal  from  the  bar  of  contemporary  criticism  to  the  verdict  of 
posterity ;  and  theijp  is  little  doubt  that  future  generations  will  accord  a  very 
high  position  to  him  who,  as  President  of  the  United  States,  has  just  fallen 
by  the  same  cruel  and  horrible  fate  which  half  a  century  ago  robbed  us  of  our 
own  Premier,  Spencer  Perceval. 

No  fouler  crime  stands  chronicled  in  all  history  than  the  murder  of  ABEAHAM 
LINCOLN.  The  sorry  pleas  of  state  necessity  or  political  interest  that  have  been 
advanced  time  out  of  mind  to  palliate  assassination  cannot  even  be  heard  with 
toleration  in  such  a  case  as  this,  for  the  act  is  one  that  outrages  humanity  and 
shocks  the  common  conscience  of  the  world.  It  is  accursed  and  supremely 
infamous  ;  it  is  most  cowardly,  most  cruel.  Every  war  has  its  horrors,  and  the 
great  fight  between  the  North  and  the  South  has  been  no  exception  to  the  rule  ; 
but  there  never  was  anything  more  atrocious  than  this — never  anything  more 
base  than  the  slaughter  of  a  man  who,  during  the  years  of  great  excitement, 
had  scarcely  made  a  single  personal  enemy.  In  the  agony  and  crisis  that  pre 
ceded  Robespierre's  reign  of  terror,  Danton  said,  "The  Revolution,  like  Saturn, 
is  beginning  to  devour  its  own  children  !"  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  the  child — 
in  no  invidious  sense,  we  may  even  say  the  puppet — of  the  passions  of  his  time, 
and  now  he  has  become  their  victim.  A  fine  spirit  of  popular  enthusiasm  made 
him  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  greatest  republic  ever  known  ;  the  ferocity  and 
the  madness  of  a  few  desperadoes  have  abruptly  ended  a  career  which  already 
loomed  so  largely.  A  wonderful  life  was  LINCOLN'S — a  life  quite  as  startling 
and  surprising  as  his  death;  but,  at  any  rate,  the  worst  part  of  his  work  seemed 
over.  The  resistance  of  the  South  had  been  crushed.  A  sturdy,  sensible  west 
ern  man,  with  long  limbs  and  a  longer  head,  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  worked  his  way 
in  the  world  without  any  dishonorable  subterfuges  or  mean  devices.  Clear, 
direct,  simple,  and  straightforward,  he  had  already,  during  his  brief  term  of 
office,  outlived  many  suspicions,  jealousies,  misconstructions,  and  dislikes.  He 
bore  his  honors  well,  and  was  settling  down  into  a  quiet  simple  dignity  of  man 
ner,  and  a  kindly  moderation  of  thought  and  temper.  Terrible  had  been  the 
trial  through  which  he  had  victoriously  passed.  He  was  emphatically  one  of 
the  people,  but  his  homespun  virtues  seemed  to  justify  the  people's  choice.  At 
any  rate,  he  had  diligently,  faithfully,  and  not  unskilfully,  labored  according  to 
such  light  as  was  given  him ;  and  now,  as  he  seemed  to  touch  the  goal,  his 
course  is  abruptly  checked.  To-day,  all  party  feeling,  all  political  jealousies, 
must  be  hushed  and  suspended ;  to-day,  no  man  is  a  sympathizer  with  North 
or  South  ;  we  are  all  mourners  over  the  fate  of  an  honest  citizen. 

The  war  was  practically  over.  When  the  news  came  that  Lee  had  surren 
dered,  when  people  like  Butler  were  crying  for  vengeance,  President  LINCOLN 
stepped  forward  and  made  a  speech  that  was  eminently  conciliatory.  His  last 
public  oration  was  also  his  best;  it  was  just,  manly,  sage,  and  charitable.  We 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       525 

have  now  the  authority  of  Mr.  Stanton  for  saying  that  in  council  his  tone  was 
precisely  the  same;  and  there  is  something  which  should  touch  all  honest  hearts 
in  that  one  sentence,  "He  spoke  very  kindly  of  Lee."  This  was  in  the  morning ; 
in  the  evening  of  Friday,  April  14,  he  was  at  a  theatre  in  Washington.  He 
had  been  to  Richmond  ;  had  authoritatively  marched  into  Jefferson  Davis's 
house  ;  had  received  the  salutes  of  negro  regiments  in  the  capital  of  the  con 
federacy  ;  but,  so  far  from  allowing  this  singular  turn  in  the  whirligig  of  fate  to 
excite  him,  he  grew  more  moderate;  he  had  obviously  made  up  his  mind  to  act 
as  pacificator.  He  sat  in  a  private  box  at  Ford's  theatre,  with  his  wife,  another 
lady,  and  Major  Rathburn.  It  was  easy  enough  to  approach  him  ;  that,  indeed, 
had  never  been  very  difficult.  The  Jacques  Clement  or  Ravaillac  of  the 
occasion  had  not  to  thrust  his  way  through  any  guards,  for  LINCOLN  had  always 
lived  in  the  open  air,  fearlessly  and  frankly.  At  half  past  nine  o'clock  the  door 
of  the  box  was  opened,  and  before  the  President  could  turn  around  to  meet  the 
intruder  with  his  broad  genial  smile,  a  pistol  was  clapped  to  the  back  of  his 
head.  The  shot  went  through  his  brain.  The  assassin,  drawing  a  huge  knife 
and  brandishing  it,  leaped  out  from  the  box  to  the  stage,  yelled  "  Sic  semper 
tyrannis!"  and  fled  from  the  theatre.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  never  again 
conscious.  His  last  words  had  been  said  before  he  repaired  to  the  theatre,  and 
they  were  words  of  friendliness  and  conciliation.  We  do  not  know  that  he 
even  spoke  once  after  the  bullet  pierced  his  brain  ;  but  he  lingered  on  through 
the  night,  dying  hard,  as  became  a  man  of  his  tough,  indomitable  temper. 
While  he  was  thus  agonizing,  another  murderer  had  obtained  admission  to  the 
sick-room  of  Secretary  Seward,  and  had  stabbed  the  sufferer  in  his  bed;  then, 
confronted  by  his  son,  had  stabbed  him  too,  and  made  his  escape.  It  was  to 
have  been  a  night  of  wild,  hellish  butchery  ;  for  Stanton's  life  also  had  been 
threatened,  and  it  is  supposed  that  Ulysses  Grant,  who  was  likewise  to  have 
attended  at  Ford's  theatre,  was  down  in  the  list  of  the  doomed.  On  the  morn 
ing  of  Saturday,  the  15th,  President  LINCOLN  died ;  Andrew  Johnson  succeeded 
him  at  the  White  House;  and  the  assassin  was  arrested.  He  proved  to  be  one 
Wilke.s  Booth,  brother  of  Edwin  Booth,  an  actor  of  some  repute.  The  news 
is  so  sudden  and  so  startling  that  its  full  import  can  hardly  be  realized  at  once. 
That  shot  in  a  private  box — the  wild  stir  and  alarm  of  the  audience — the  horror 
of  the  actors,  as  the  assassin  jumped  upon  the  stage  and  mocked  their  mimic 
drama  by  his  own  awful  crime — these  tilings  picture  themselves  as  a  dim,  con 
fused,  terrible  vision,  whose  outlines  can  scarcely  be  traced  even  by  the 
steadiest  eye  and  the  calmest  hand.  The  deed  seems  all  the  metre  frightful 
because  it  was  so  easily  committed  ;  because  no  soldiery  with  drawn  swords 
and  glittering  helmets  guarded  the  approach  to  LINCOLN'S  box ;  because  any 
citizen  could  approach  him,  just  as  any  citizen  the  day  before  could  have  walked, 
scarcely  questioned,  into  his  official  residence.  This  splendid  reliance  upon  tho 
people  has  hitherto  been  safe ;  but  every  land  has  its  felons,  and  the  miscreant 


526  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Booth  has  perchance  murdered  that  mutual  confidence  between  ruler  and  ruled 
which  was  the  essence  of  republicanism. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'S  life  was  not  particularly  happy.  He  was  a  sagacious, 
toilsome,  dogged,  patient  man ;  he  rose  by  his  energy  and  his  shrewdness  from 
a  very  humble  position  to  the  presidential  chair ;  but  the  presidential  chair 
itself  was  not  a  luxurious  resting-place,  and  even  the  strong  Kentuckian  frame 
of  the  man  was  sorely  tried.  Mr.  Tennyson  speaks  of  the  fierce  light  which 
beats  upon  a  throne  ;  fiercer  yet,  even  more  broad,  open,  dazzling,  and  glaring, 
was  that  which  played  so  terribly  around  the  President.  It  has  lit  up  many 
noble  points  in  his  character,  to  which,  as  the  years  roll  on  and  as  party  passions 
fade  away,  full  justice  will  assuredly  be  done ;  but  even  viewed  in  this  utter 
publicity,  this  sheer  nakedness  of  life,  his  character  stands  singularly  clear  of 
all  that  was  mean  or  base.  It  was  easy  to  caricature  his  ungainly  form,  and  it 
was  often  necessary  to  dwell  upon  his  mental  limitations  and  defects ;  his  jests 
were  sometimes  in  bad  taste,  his  language  exaggerated  and  heedless ;  yet  upon 
everything  that  he  said  or  did  there  was  the  stamp  of  strong  individual  man 
hood.  In  truth,  those  who  knew  him  best  were  convinced  that  his  life  was 
really  sad;  that  his  jokes  were  but  the  efforts  of  a  jaded,  melancholy  nature  to 
relieve  its  sense  of  weariness ;  that,  knowing  he  had  no  time  to  cry,  he  laughed 
as  often  as  he  could.  Be  this  said  to  his  honor — whatever  cruel  things  have 
been  done  by  his  subordinates,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  himself  never  sent  a  rnan  to 
the  scaffold.  The  journalists  of  his  own  country  have  not  spared  him ;  yet, 
after  all,  the  sum  of  their  accusations  was  also  the  basis  of  his  glory.  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  who  had  been  a  "  rail-splitter"  and  then  a  "  village  lawyer,"  contrived 
by  shrewd  mother-wit  and  robust  integrity  of  character  to  win  the  esteem  of 
the  stout  men  of  the  west — a  nobler  type  of  Americanism  than  the  motley 
tribes  of  New  York;  whilst  at  last  he  became  the  foremost  man  in  the  greatest 
republic  of  the  world  at  the  hour  of  its  supremest  need.  His  acts  are  on 
record — they  fill  a  large  volume ;  and  whoever  may  study  them  as  a  part  of 
history,  not  as  material  for  party  polemics,  they  will  prove,  upon  the  whole, 
singularly  sagacious  and  astute.  It  has  often  been  our  lot  to  blame  them — 
often  been  our  lot  to  question  the  wisdom  of  the  policy  which  he  pursued ;  nor 
do  we  retract  what  we  have  said,  even  now  that  we  have  to  review  it  so 
solemnly  and  sadly.  But  from  vulgar  corruption,  from  factious  hatred,  from 
meanness,  jealousy,  uncharitableness,  this  ruler  was  nobly  free.  The  strange 
grim  face,  that  was  yet  illuminated  so  often  by  a  gleam  of  honest  humor  or  a 
glance  of  genuine  kindliness,  has  been  quietly  covered  by  the  sere-cloth  ;  the 
almost  gigantic  frame,  lifeless  and  limp,  has  been  coffined  and  palled.  He  had 
given  the  republic  all  he  had — his  time,  his  peace,  his  reputation,  his  children. 
One  son,  his  eldest,  he  had  sent  to  the  front  with  General  Grant ;  another  he 
lost  while  the  war  was  raging;  and  yet  the  office-seekers  would  not  give  him 
an  hour's  rest,  but  almost  tortured  him  into  madness  by  their  importunities 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       527 

Throughout  the  dreariest  time  of  national  reverses  and  calamity,  he  never 
despaired.  Almost  solemn  now  are  those  well-remembered  familiar  phrases, 
"  I  have  put  my  foot  down,"  and  "  We  must  keep  pegging  away."  They  were 
but  rough  translations  of  a  sentiment  which,  expressed  in  more  knightly  phrase, 
we  should  regard  as  heroical.  And  at  last  came  what  seemed  to  be  the  fruition 
of  his  labors,  the  reward  of  his  patience  and  his  courage.  He,  the  man  of 
Kentucky  and  Illinois,  entered  Richmond  as  a  conqueror ;  but  he  launched  no 
decree  of  proscription ;  for  the  fight  appeared  over,  and  it  was  not  in  the  man's 
large  heart  to  bear  malice  against  a  beaten  foe.  "  He  spoke  very  kindly  of 
Lee,"  said  Stanton ;  and  on  the  night  of  that  memorable  council,  where  he 
pleaded  for  peace  and  for  mercy,  a  villain  killed  him.  Not  for  LINCOLN  him 
self  can  the  end  be  considered  as  unhappy.  To  the  extent  of  his  power  he  has 
done  his  duty,  with  singleness  of  heart,  with  honesty  of  purpose ;  and  if  ever 
man  needed  rest,  he  needed  it.  That  rest  he  has  obtained,  and,  with  it,  the 
reward  that  follows  honest  service.  There  is  a  wonderful  old  song  of  Shirley 
the  dramatist — a  song  of  which  Charles  II  is  said  to  have  been  strangely 
enamored — which  tells  us  that  "the  glories  of  our  birth  and  state  are  shadows, 
not  substantial  things,"  and  which  preaches  the  sublime  equality,  the  sacred 
fraternity,  of  the  tomb.  In  the  last  verse  of  that  famed  lyric  we  read :  "  Upon 
death's  purple  altar  now,  see  where  the  victor-victim  bleeds !"  The  victor- 
victim  of  democracy  was  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  twice  President  of  the  United 
States. 


[From  the  London  Daily  Telegraph,  April  28,  1865.] 

Last  night  in  both  houses  of  the  legislature  the  representatives  of  the 
English  government  announced  that  on  Monday  next  our  senate  would  give 
expression  to  the  feeling  of  indignation  which  had  been  occasioned  in  this 
country  by  the  murder  of  President  LINCOLN.  The  course  taken  is  undoubt 
edly  the  best.  Even  on  the  most  important  night  of  the  parliamentary  year 
there  would  have  been  no  lack  of  generous  eloquence  upon  such  a  theme;  but 
it  was  more  especially  desirable  that  the  sympathy  of  the  whole  people  should 
be  formally  expressed  by  the  Queen  and  her  responsible  advisers.  Had  the 
matter  been  left  to  the  feelings  of  individual  members,  no  delay  need  have 
occurred;  but  then  the  words  of  condolence  would  have  represented  merely 
the  personal  opinions  of  the  speakers.  In  this  case  it  was  essential  that  not 
only  the  leaders  of  party  and  the  chieftains  of  debate  should  rise  to  denounce 
the  infamous  atrocity,  but  that  the  voice  of  the  British  empire  itself  should  be 
heard  in  solemn  reprobation  of  a  most  hideous  crime.  Nor  are  there  many 
grander  things  in  history  than  such  an  expression  of  a  whole  nation's  mind. 
Doubtless  from  every  court  upon  the  continent  messages  of  sympathy  and 


528  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

regret  will  be  forthcoming ;  hut  it  behooved  the  one  people  of  the  Old  World 
that  is  absolutely  free  to  rise  to  the  height  of  so  great  and  terrible  an  occasion, 
and  to  speak  in  tones  which  would  be  remembered  centuries  hence.  So,  not 
disregarding  ancient  rule  and  order,  but  adapting  them  with  a  wise  liberality  to 
the  actual  necessities  of  the  day,  lords  and  commons  will  desire  her  Majesty  to 
speak  for  them  as  well  as  for  herself.  Whatever  may  be  the  faults  of  our 
Parliament,  it  is  in  all  cases  involving  national  reputation  or  national  sentiment 
substantially  at  one  with  the  people.  We  never  look  to  it  in  vain  when  there  is 
an  outrage  to  be  resented  or  a  generous  action  to  be  performed ;  we  can  trust 
it  safely  with  our  honor — confide  to  it  without  misgiving  the  keeping  of  our 
conscience.  France,  Russia,  Austria,  young  Italy,  and  the  states  of  Europe 
may  vie  with  each  other  in  their  expressions  of  regret ;  but,  unless  the  civil  war 
has  strangely  altered  the  nature  of  Americans,  the  first  inquiry  across  the 
Atlantic  must  be,  "  What  will  they  think  of  this  at  home  ?"  Nor  will  they  be 
left  long  in  suspense.  Were  the  little,  throbbing,  eloquent,  electric  wire  now 
working  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  there  would  have  been  flashed  hours  ago  a 
message  from  Windsor  Castle  to  Washington — a  message  from  Queen  Victoria 
to  Andrew  Johnson,  which  would  have  been  practically  a  message  from  one 
great  people  to  another.  The  petty  jealousies,  the  small  bickerings,  that  may 
have  been  engendered  in  a  time  of  war,  must  end  in  presence  of  so  stern  and 
horrible  a  fact.  Be  it  ours,  as  a  nation,  to  show  that  whatever  we  may  have 
thought  of  the  contest  while  it  lasted,  we  sympathize  with  the  affliction  of  a 
kindred  race;  that  we  loathe,  we  men  of  the  old  mother-land,  the  dastardly 
crime  which  has  been  committed;  that  we  honestly  wish  our  cousins  good 
speed  through  a  sad  time  of  trial.  Party,  as  we  have  said,  has  nothing  to  do 
with  this  simple  question.  If  anywhere  abroad  there  is  a  notion  that  upon  the 
American  war  we  are  split  into  two  hostile  factions  of  aristocrats  and  democrats, 
we  may  as  well  nail  that  base  coin  to  the  counter  at  once,  before  it  passes  any 
further,  and  clear  the  good  name,  the  honest  repute  of  England  in  the  eyes  of 
the  whole  land.  From  the  leader  of  the  Conservatives — the  fourteenth  Earl  of 
Derby-,  the  Stanley  whose  ancestors  influenced  our  history  before  Christopher 
Columbus  set  sail  for  the  "unknown  world" — there  will  come  as  eloquent  and 
as  honest  an  expression  of  manly  sympathy  as  from  any  radical  member  of  the 
House  of  Commons.  Our  peers,  our  squires,  the  representatives  of  past  glories, 
and  the  tribunes  of  modern  wants,  can  have  but  one  thought  just  now  ;  and  that 
thought  will  find  its  highest  and  most  constitutional  expression  in  the  letter  of 
the  Queen  herself. 

The  people  of  England,  however,  who  were  not  bound  over  to  silence,  and 
who  had  no  considerations  of  parliamentary  etiquette  to  guide  or  to  restrain 
them,  have  already  expressed  in  a  hundred  ways  their  abomination  of  the  crime, 
and  their  sympathy  for  its  victim.  No  man  who  walked  in  the  streets  of  Lon 
don  at  noon  on  Wednesday  will  readily  forget  the  scene  as  the  news  spread 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        529 

throughout  the  great  city.  There  was  one  vast,  universal  sense  of  horror  and 
dismay;  for  the  act,  in  truth,  seemed  an  outrage  upon  humanity  itself — an  out 
break  of  devilish  passion  which  menaced  all  society.  That  sense  of  abhorrence 
was  not  confined  to  London.  We  could  only  assume  yesterday  what  we  can 
assert  to-day — that  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other  there  has  been  a  cry 
of  rage  at  this  most  foul  assassination.  The  men  of  Liverpool  have,  on  the 
whole,  been  southern  in  their  sympathies,  but  when  the  news  reached  them 
they  grieved  as  earnestly  as  the  most  fervid  abolitionist  of  Massachusetts.  A 
creature,  indeed,  there  was — and  we  wish  we  could  pillory  the  offender  by  his 
name — who  cried  "Hurrah,"  but  a  southerner  seized  him,  and  helped  to  kick 
him  from  the  room.  National,  indeed,  was  the  sorrow  and  the  anger.  South 
ampton  heard  the  news,  and  instantly  a  meeting  for  condolence  was  resolved 
upon;  far  away  in  the  north  Newcastle  heard  it,  and  the  dwellers  by  the  Tyne 
gave  vent  to  their  wrath  with  unmistakable  Northumbrian  emphasis;  Dublin 
learnt  the  horrid  tidings,  and  the  warm-hearted  Irish  people  at  once  grew  elo 
quent  in  their  indignation ;  at  Manchester,  at  Birmingham,  everywhere  throughout 
the  land — from  the  great  centres  of  industry  to  the  quiet  little  country  towns — 
there  was  but  the  same  expression  of  opinion.  The  London  press,  always 
unanimous  on  such  a  point,  had  already  spoken  out,  and  its  words  of  sympathy 
may  have  done  more  to  restore  an  absolutely  friendly  feeling  between  the  two 
great  sections  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  than  a  host  of  diplomatic  despatches. 
The  corporation  of  London — interesting  whenever  it  becomes  a  spokesman  for 
the  whole  metropolis — postponed  all  business  until  it  had  placed  upon  official 
record  its  "detestation  of  the  atrocious  crime."  The  demonstrations  of  feeling 
were  not,  of  course,  confined  to  Englishmen.  The  Americans  in  London 
assembled,  under  the  chairmanship  of  a  gentleman  who  was  among  the  late 
President's  political  opponents,  and  although  the  meeting  was  adjourned,  then; 
can  be  no  doubt  that  citizens  of  both  sections  of  the  States  will  join  in  express 
ing  on  Monday  night  their  condemnations  and  their  regrets.  Meanwhile,  the 
Germans  in  London  had  also  gathered  together,  and  helped  to  swell  the  general 
shout  of  human  indignation — a  shout  which  is  now  echoed  from  the  other  side 
of  the  channel  by  the  journalists  of  France. 

Little  enough  that  is  new  has  yet  reached  us  from  America ;  to-day  we 
have  only  a  summary  that  is  but  five  hours  later  than  the  telegrams  we  pub 
lished  yesterday  morning,  but  in  this  intelligence  there  are  some  items  of 
importance.  Chief  of  these  is  the  statement  that  hopes  were  still  entertained 
of  Mr.  Sevvard's  recovery,  and  that,  at  any  rate,  he  was  still  living.  We  cannot 
profess  to  feel  very  sanguine  on  this  point;  the  Secretary  of  State  is  growing 
old,  and  his  recent  accident  was  almost  enough  to  kill  a  stronger  man,  without 
the  foul  supplementary  violence  of  the  assassin.  As  he  threw  himself  from  his 
carriage  before,  so  he  seems,  when  the  murderer's  knife  had  gashed  his  face,  to 
have  thrown  himself  from  his  bed,  and  thus  to  have  escaped  the  last  deadly 
07 


530  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

thrust;  but  it  is  difficult  for  a  man  of  his  age  to  survive  such  an  accumulation 
of  physical  calamities.  His  son,  who  was  reported  to  be  dead,  survives;  but 
his  condition  is  most  critical,  and  the  many  Englishmen  who  knew  Frederick 
Seward  well  must  wait  with  a  painful  anxiety  for  the  next  telegrams.  The 
last  item  in  the  news  is  the  saddest ;  the  assassins  are  still  at  large,  and  in 
such  a  time  of  general  confusion  they  may  possibly  contrive  to  make  their 
escape.  If  they  go  south  and  reach  any  part  of  the  country  which  is  still 
under  confederate  authority,  their  summary  arrest  and  subsequent  surrender  to 
their  pursuers  may  be  reckoned  as  certain.  Wherever  they  go,  the  curse  of 
Cain  is  perhaps  more  markedly  upon  these  men  than  on  any  other  political 
murderers  in  the  world's  history. 


[From  the  Spectator,  April  29,  1865.] 
THE    MURDER    OF    MR.    LINCOLN. 

It  is  hard  sometimes  to  abstain  from  accusing  Providence  of  irony.  In  the 
supreme  hour  of  his  career,  when  the  cnfranchisment  of  a  race  and  the  future 
of  a  continent  seemed  to  hang  upon  his  safety,  when,  after  four  years  of  battle, 
the  peace  for  which  he  had  longed  throughout  appeared  almost  in  sight,  and 
ai'ter  four  years  of  depreciation,  the  whole  world  at  last  recognized  his  value, 
when  men  had  ceased  to  speak  of  the  importance  of  his  life  because  the  thought 
of  his  death  seemed  to  impugn  the  kindness  of  Heaven,  America  has  lost  Mr. 
LINCOLN.  It  has  lost  him,  too,  in  the  only  way,  which  his  death  could  by 
possibility  have  neutralized  any  of  the  effects  of  his  life.  There  never  was 
a  moment  in  the  history  of  his  country  when  firmness  and  shrewdness  and 
gentleness  were  so  unspeakably  important,  and  the  one  man  in  America  whose 
resolve  on  the  crucial  question  was  unchangeable,  whose  shrewdness  statesmen 
indefinitely  keener  than  himself  could  never  baffle,  whose  gentleness  years  of 
incessant  insult  had  failed  to  weary  out,  who,  possessed  of  these  qualties,  was 
possessed  also  of  the  supreme  power,  and  who  had  convinced  even  his  enemies 
that  the  power  would  be  exerted  under  the  influence  of  these  qualities,  has  been 
taken  away  from  his  work.  The  future  of  the  black  race  still  oscillates  between 
serfage  and  freedom,  and  the  one  man  sure  to  have  preferred  freedom,  and, 
preferring,  to  have  secured  it,  has  been  removed ;  the  feeling  of  the  white  race 
fluctuates  between  forgiveness  and  vindictiveness,  and  the  one  whose  influence 
would  have  insured  mercy  has  been  murdered  amidst  the  race  who  are  striving 
to  forgive  by  the  class  towards  whom  he  forbade  vindictiveness.  As  if  to  show 
that  the  South  is  unworthy  of  pardon,  a  southerner  assassinates  the  ruler  who 
on  that  very  day  was  contending  with  his  cabinet  for  the  policy  of  pardon  to 
the  South,  and  who  must  be  succeeded  by  a  man  who,  avowedly  worshipping 
the  people,  can  scarcely,  even  to  conciliate  that  people,  restrain  his  own  desire 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        531 

for  a  policy  of  vengeance.  Whatever  of  vindictiveness  is  latent  in  the  northern 
heart  has  been  supplied  at  once  with  an  excuse  which  even  the  South  will  not 
deny,  and  with  the  very  agent  whom  vindictiveness  in  full  swing  might  have 
prompted  the  nation  to  elect.  It  is  the  very  irony  of  fate,  a  calamity  for  which 
the  single  consolation  lies  in  the  old  expression  of  a  trust  to  which  political 
faith  is  mere  suspicion,  "  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  world  do  right?"  With 
the  ship  barely  over  the  bar  the  pilot  falls  dead  upon  the  deck — and  it  must  bo 
well,  but  the  sailors  may  be  pardoned  if  for  the  moment  they  feel  as  if  the  har 
bor  would  never  be  attained.  It  is  hard  to  estimate  even  the  immediate  effects 
of  a  disaster  so  great  and  so  unexpected  ;  the  consequences  are  so  vast,  the  data 
so  numerous,  that  the  mind  is  bewildered  by  the  effort  preliminary  to  calcula 
tion.  The  main  datum  of  all  is,  however,  secured  ;  the  law-abiding  North 
rejects  the  idea  of  revolution,  and  intends  to  accept  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson  as  its 
Chief  Magistrate,  and  that  fact  once  granted,  two  or  three  results  will,  we  think, 
seem  to  reflecting  men  almost  inevitable :  1.  The  North  has  suffered  an  im 
mense  loss  of  power.  2.  Tlv:  prospect  of  peace  has  been  weakened,  if  not 
materially,  still  perceptibly ;  but  (3)  the  triumph  of  the  great  cause  itself  is  as 
secure  as  ever. 

1.  The  North  has  lost  in  Mr  LINCOLN  an  advantage  of  organization  great 
always,  but  greatest  in  a  democracy — a  ruler  whose  power  was  based  upon  the 
laws,  but  who  was  in  action  nearly  absolute.  Mr.  LINCOLN  entertained  from 
the  first  a  high  idea  of  his  own  responsibility  as  the  elected  representative  of 
the  nation,  and  four  years  of  incessant  strife,  passed  almost  without  a  blunder,  had 
secured  him  a  popular  confidence  which  made  his  will  almost  irresistible.  Not 
originally  a  statesman,  and  always  hampered  by  defective  knowledge,  as,  for 
example,  in  finance,  he  had  risen  gradually  above  circumstances  till  his  enemies 
denounced  him  as  an  autocrat,  till  his  ministers  became  clerks,  his  generals 
instruments,  his  envoys  agents  to  carry  out  his  commands.  So  thoroughly  had 
the  belief  in  his  honesty  and  capacity  penetrated  the  national  mind,  that  had 
he,  five  hours  after  the  fall  of  Richmond,  dismissed  General  Grant  from  the 
service  without  a  reason,  the  people  would,  while  still  sore  and  wondering,  have 
believed  that  the  reason  must  be  adequate.  When  once  resolved  on  his  course 
no  politician  ventured  to  dictate  to  him,  no  general  to  disobey  him,  no  State  to 
lock  the  wheels  of  the  machine.  "In  the  end,"  he  said  once,  "the  decision 
must  rest  with  me,"  and  the  people  had  learned  to  know  that  it  was  best  it 
should  so  rest.  An  authority  so  wide  gave  coherence  to  the  national  action, 
brought  to  it  all  the  advantages  of  Cajsarism  without  the  tendency  to  depend 
ence  which  is  apt  to  be  its  heaviest  drawback.  The  nation  still  thought  and 
decided  lor  itself,  but  so  perfect  was  the  harmony  between  it  and  its  head  that 
his  command  had  the  irresistible  force  of  an  utterance  of  the  national  will, 
against  which  any  individual,  whether  he  represented,  like  Fremont,  a  great 
territorial  section,  or,  like  Mr.  Seymour,  a  compact  organization,  or,  like  General 


532  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

McClellan,  an  entire  party  in  the  army  and  the  nation,  shattered  himself  in  vain. 
Mr.  LINCOLN  had  come  to  be,  like  Cavour,  a  man  whose  spoken  word  carried 
with  it  the  crushing  authority  of  a  popular  vote,  who,  while  in  appearance  only 
representative,  was  in  reality  as  absolute  as  if  the  people  itself  had  been  em 
bodied  in  him.  Such  a  man  is  the  necessity  of  every  revolution,  and  in  losing 

him  the  Union  has  lost  the  strongest  link  in  its  momentary  organization. 

*  *  *****  #  * 

2.  The  chances  of  peace  are  diminished,  to  what  degree  it  is  impossible 
to  say,  but  still  diminished.     The  mad  ruffian  who  has  just  murdered  the  repre 
sentative  man  of  his  country  as  he  would  have  murdered  an  opponent  in  a 
southern  tavern  broil,  has  killed  the  one  man  on  whom  the  South  could  have 
relied  for  justice  and  moderation.     Mr.  LINCOLN'S  mere  existence  as  President 
was  a  permanent  offer  of  peace  upon  unchangeable  terms,  a  guarantee  to  every 
State  in  the  confederacy  that  if  it  would  do  certain  acts  it  would  at  once  be 
replaced  in  a  certain  position — acts  and  position  being  alike  endurable.     Where 
is  the  guarantee  now  ?     Mr.  Andrew  Johnson  is  probably  far  more  merciful  than 
his  talk,  may  follow  his  predecessor's  policy,  may  indeed  have  only  expressed 
a  wish  for  severity  because  as  Vice-President  he  had  no  other  means  of  being 
individual  at  all.     But  there  is  and  can  be  no  proof  of  all  this,  and  till  it  is  proved, 
till,  for  instance,  it  is  certain  that  the  new  President  is  no  advocate  for  confis 
cation,  every  State  which  can  hesitate,  will,  even  if  its  mind  had  been  previously 
made  up.     Mr.  Johnson  has  lived  the  life  of  a  border  abolitionist,  a  man  whose 
one  great  idea  has  forced  him  daily  to  take  his  life  in  his  hand,  who  has  learned 
to  regard   the   slaveholders  as  deadly  personal  foes,  to  view  them  as  a   class 
deserving  neither  mercy  nor  justice.     That,  as  far  as  the  system  is  concerned, 
is  well ;  but  it  is  the  worst  mood  in  which  a  reformer  can  approach  the  indi 
viduals  whom  his  reform  affects.     The   South  by  its  own  act  has  exchanged  a 
conqueror  whom  it  could  trust  for  a  conqueror  it  has  reason  to  dread,  and  it 
must  therefore  hesitate,  if  it  can,  to  place  itself  finally  in  that  conqueror's  hand, 
Add  to  this  cause  of  delay  the  shock  to  the  negroes,  who,  like  all  half-civilized 
men  understand  a  principle  chiefly  through  a  name ;  the  new  excitement  to 
southern   imagination  in  the  prospect,  of  northern  confusion;    the  new  hope 
which  will  spring  in  southern  statesmen  that  Mr.  Johnson  may  affront  France 
or  menace  England,  and  we  shall  see  ample  cause  to  fear  the  protraction  of  the 
war.     Fortunately  the  catastrophe  occurred  when  success  had  been  in  sub 
stance  achieved,  and  it  is  not  the  fact  but  only  the  time  of  victory  which  is  in 
question,  but  still  there  may  be  delay. 

3.  And  yet  the  cause  must  win,  not  only  because  Providence  governs  as 
well  as  reigns — though  events  like  the  one  we  deplore  force  even  politicians  to 
recall  the  single  certainty  of  politics — not  only  because  a  cause  never  hangs 
upon  a  single  life,  but  because  of  the  special  circumstances  of  this  individual 
case.     This  war,  from  first  to  last,  has  been  a  people's  war,  commenced,  con- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        533 

ducted,  and  sustained  by  the  instinct  of  a  whole  nation,  slowly  shaping  itself 
into  action  and  finding  for  itself  expression.  The  singular  position  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN — a  position  unparalleled,  we  believe,  in  modern  history,  or  paralleled 
by  that  of  Cavour  alone — was  that,  while  intensely  individual,  he  was  in  the 
most  perfect  and  complete  degree  a  reflector  of  the  national  will  His  convic 
tions,  originally  those  of  an  average  American  of  the  western  States,  advanced 
in  perfect  independence  at  the  same  rate  as  those  of  the  country,  from  recogniz 
ing  the  need  of  an  expedition  to  enduring  the  sacrifices  of  continued  campaigns, 
from  a  distrust  of  the  extension  of  slavery  to  an  iron  resolve  that  it  should 
cease,  until  at  last  his  public  utterances  attained  something  of  that  volume  of 
sound  and  depth  and  variety  of  meaning  which  belong  to  the  expression  of 
genuinely  national  opinions.  When  Cavour  resigned  after  Villafranca,  men 
knew  without  telling  that  Italy  had  made  up  its  mind  that  Villafranca  should 
be  a  phrase  ;  when  Mr.  LINCOLN  declared  that,  should  the  negroes  ever  be 
re-enslaved,  "  another,  not  I,"  would  be  the  agent,  the  world  perceived  that 
abolition  had  become  a  fixed  constituent  in  the  national  creed.  The  people 
have  lost  their  mouthpiece,  but  not  the  determination  which  he  so  clearly 
expressed.  His  death,  whatever  else  it  may  do,  will  certainly  not  diminish 
their  hatred  of  slavery,  or  of  that  habit  of  violence,  that  contempt  of  all 
obstacles,  human  and  divine,  when  they  stand  in  the  way  of  self-will,  which 
slavery  engenders.  "  The  black  man  resists — lash  him  ;  the  white  man  defies 
us — kill  him  ;"  that  is  the  syllogism  of  slavery,  which  Wilkes  Booth  has  worked 
out  in  the  face  of  all  mankind.  lie  killed  Mr.  LINCOLN  as  he  would  have  killed 
a  man  who  preached  abolition,  or  crossed  his  speculations,  or  defeated  him  at 
cards,  as  men  used  to  be  killed  every  day  in  New  Orleans,  if  they  gave  offence 
to  men  trained  from  boyhood  to  regard  their  own  will  as  almost  sacred.  The 
North  will  not  love  the  slaveholders  the  more  for  perceiving  so  clearly  whither 
their  system  tends,  for  realizing  that  in  the  murder  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  as  in  the 
assault  on  Mr.  Sumner,  lawless  force  is  the  natural  expression  of  the  spirit  of 
the  institution.  Slavery  was  doomed  before — it  will  be  hated  now  ;  and  the 
motive  power  of  the  revolution  is  the  necessity  of  ending  slavery.  Nor  is  the 
organization  framed  for  that  end  shattered  by  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  death.  The  frame 
work  has  been  terribly  tested  by  that  great  shock ;  but  it  has  stood.  *  *  * 


MR.    LINCOLN    AND   HIS    FATE. 

It  is  but  seldom  lhat  men  kick  against  the  pricks  of  a  foreign  political 
calamity  as  they  do  against  those  of  a  sudden  private  grief;  seldom  that  they 
feel  as  if  to  realize  it  were  almost  too  painful,  and  feed  their  mind  on  those 
tulile  " ifs"  and  "might-have-beens"  which  give  an  intellectual  relief  by  restor 
ing  the  old  natural  point  of  view  at  the  expense  of  the  keener  pang  which 


534  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

reminds  them  that  all  these  probabilities  of  yesterday  are  the  impossibilities  of 
to-day.  Yet  there  were  many  Englishmen,  not  a  few  passionless  Englishmen 
who,  though  knowing  nothing  personally  of  the  late  President  of  the  United 
States,  felt  thus  rebellious  against  the  news  received  on  Wednesday  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN'S  murder.  This  was  no  doubt  in  some  degree  due  to  the  political 
anxiety  excited  by  the  murder  of  a  ruler  pledged  to  a  policy  of  gentleness 
towards  the  South  and  peace  towards  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  his  murder  in 
a  manner  likely  to  unloose  the  worst  passions  of  civil  \var.  But  it  was  due  in 
a  far  greater  degree  to  the  moral  and  imaginative  shock  of  the  event  itself,  to 
the  striking  incompatibility  between  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  mild  and  patient  temper 
and  slow  constitutional  methods,  and  the  deed  of  treachery  and  blood  which 
has  closed  his  career.  No  one  felt  this  peculiar  bitterness  when  John  Brown, 
a  man  in  some  respects  of  more  fascinating  and  picturesque,  though  not  of 
more  noble  character,  was  hanged  in  Virginia  for  his  attempt  on  Harper's  Ferry. 
Then  we  could  but  say  that  "  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  church," 
and  acquiesce  in  the  noble  old  man's  own  expressed  faith  that  he  was  "  worth 
inconceivably  more  to  hang  than  for  any  other  earthly  purpose."  He  had  made 
up  his  mind  to  the  chivalric  duty  of  laying  down  his  life  for  the  slave,  to  pre 
cipitate  the  conflict  between  slavery  and  freedom;  and  though  many  condemned 
this  apparent  impatience  of  the  slowly  ripening  purposes  of  Providence,  all  felt 
that  it  would  not  be  laid  down  in  vain.  He  had  chosen  his  own  fate,  and  there 
was  something  of  satisfying  moral  sublimity  in  the  tragedy  of  his  heroism.  It 
was  impossible  to  blame  a  slave  State  for  executing  a  violent  destroyer  of  its 
institutions  and  invader  of  its  peace,  though  our  deepest  sympathies  were  with 
the  sufferer  and  against  his  judges. 

But  there  is  nothing  of  this  consolation  in  the  violent  and  apparently 
unmeaning  tragedy  of  this  second  and  far  more  shocking  martyrdom.  Although 
Mr.  LINCOLN'S  official  life  began  with  a  foiled  attempt  at  assassination,  and  has 
closed  thus  awfully  when  he  had  just  succeeded  in  nearing  the  end  of  the 
country's  troubles — though  his  short  four  years'  service  in  the  cause  of  freedom 
has  been  framed  as  it  were  in  blood — there  is  nothing  which  seems  less  con 
sonant  to  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  character  than  the  violent  death  which  wicked  men 
planned  for  him.  Unlike  John  Brown,  it  was  his  first  and  dearest  wish  to 
avoid  appealing  to  the  sword.  There  was  absolutely  nothing  of  the  impatience 
of  revolutionary  feeling  about  him,  nothing  of  the  spirit  which  cries  to  God  for 
vengeance  on  the  oppressor  If  there  was  any  one  remarkable  characteristic 
about  Mr.  LINCOLN,  it  was  his  almost  undue  disposition  to  wait  upon  Providence, 
and  not  to  act  till  the  one  duty  that  was  clearly  visible  to  his  mind  and 
thoroughly  grasped  by  his  conscience  required  him  to  act.  Instead  of  precipi 
tating  the  conflict  like  John  Brown,  and  appealing  hastily  to  the  arbitrament 
of  the  sword,  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  whole  heart  was  set  on  the  desire  to  avert  judgment, 
to  see  if  God  had  not  some  better  way  in  store  for  the  salvation  of  the  country 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE    AND    SYMPATHY.  535 

than  tlic  lit  TV  trial  of  battle.  When  in  the  autumn  of  1858,  the  year  before 
.John  Brown's  raid,  Mr.  LINCOLN  canvassed  the  State  of  Illinois  as  senator 
against  Mr.  Douglas,  (the  advocate  of  the  spread  of  slavery  into  the  Territories,) 
his  speeches  literally  teemed  with  declarations  of  his  ardent  desire  to  delay  and. 
if  possible,  prevent  the  conflict  which  he  anticipated.  "I  have  again  and  again 
said,"  reiterated  Mr.  LINCOLN,  "  that* I  would  not  enter  into  any  of  the  States 
to  disturb  the  institution  of  slavery."  All  he  demanded — and  he  demanded  it 
expressly  to  avert  this  otherwise  inevitable  conflict — was  a  "  national  policy  with 
regard  to  the  institution  of  slavery  that  acknowledges  and  deals  with  that  insti 
tution  as  being  wrong."  This  was  two  years  before  the  possibility  of  the 
presidency  was  even  a  dream  to  him.  But  all  he  said  in  this  struggle  with  Mr. 
Douglas  was  singularly  characteristic  of  the  future  President — all  was  patience, 
moderation,  conspicuous  lucidity  as  to  matters  of  principle,  distinct  determina 
tion  not  to  hurry  the  course  of  events  as  to  matters  of  policy.  He  was  as  much 
the  opposite  of  John  Brown  as  one  noble  and  good  man  could  be  of  another 
noble  and  good  man.  The  one  was  anxious  to  cut  knots  with  the  sword  ;  the 
other  to  loose  them  gradually,  though  it  should  take  generations,  even  centuries. 
to  effect  it.  The  one  chafed  under  the  slowness  of  God's  purpose;  the  other 
shrank  from  the  rashness  of  precipitating  His  judgments  through  not  adequately 
understanding  them.  The  one  was  of  the  fiery,  revolutionary  temperament  which 
assumes  its  divine  commission  and  rushes  into  the  battle ;  the  other  of  the  vigi 
lant,  naturalistic  temperament  which  watches  the  issue,  and  cannot  believe  that 
it  has  any  commission  to  fight  till  the  tide  of  war  interferes  with  the  discharge 
of  some  plain  and  long  accustomed  duty.  Hence  while  the  martyrdom  of  John 
Brown  seems  the  natural  close  to  a  noble  but  half-presumptuous  career,  the 
murder  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  looks  like  an  anomaly  in  history — an  act  of  bloody  per 
sonal  revenge  committed  on  the  most  impersonal,  the  most  patient,  the  most 
tardy,  though  the  most  firm  of  rulers — a  violent  death  inflicted  on  a  cautious  ex 
ponent  of  national  convictions  who  never  ii  his  life  expressed  an  uncharitable 
view  of  his  enemies,  who  never  stirred  into  activity  one  hostile  feeling  which 
could  single  him  out  as  its  individual  object,  who  moderated,  even  while  he 
gave  effect  to,  the  will  of  the  nation  which  he  governed.  Such  an  end  to  such 
a  man  is  less  tragic  than  terrible,  for  it  does  not  tend  to  "  purity  by  pity  and 
by  fear,"  but  rather  to  distress  by  the  jar  of  incoherent  feelings. 

Yet  from  another  point  of  view  there  is  something  grand  and  pathetic  about 
the  sacrifice.  It  is,  we  may  fairly  say,  representative  of  the  great  conflict. 
We  do  not  mean  for  a  moment  to  suppose  that  this  cruel  and  cowardly  act  has 
received  any  sanction  from  the  confederate  government.  Even  Mr.  Davis  is 
probably  not  evil  enough  for  that,  and  General  Lee  would  abhor  it  with  his 
whole  soul.  But,  no  doubt,  as  Mr.  LINCOLN  may  be  fairly  considered  especially 
representative  of  the  northern  movement,  this  violent  and  treacherous  Baltimore 
rowdy  may  fairly  be  called  especially  representative  of  the  southern  movement — 


536  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LIN7COLN. 

of  the  party  which  proposed  and  attempted  to  carry  out  the  treacherous  murder 
of  a  nation  for  the  sake  of  revenging  the  gentle  curb  which  had  been  imposed 
on  their  lust  for  extended  power  and  extended  slavery.  The  leaders  in  the 
South,  nay,  we  believe,  the  mass  of  the  southern  people,  have  been  better,  far 
better,  than  the  principle  which  impelled  them  into  this  strife.  But  what  that 
principle  was  there  has  been  no  manner  of  doubt  from  the  moment  when  the 
South  Carolinian  bully,  Brooks,  half  murdered  Mr.  Sumner  in  the  Senate  honse 
for  attacking  slavery,  and  became  himself  almost  an  object  of  apotheosis  in  his 
native  State  for  his  brutal  and  cowardly  act,  up  to  the  moment  when  the  evil 
passions  of  southern  society  culminated  in  this  foul  murder  of  Mr.  LINCOLN. 
No  doubt  Mr.  Davis  sanctioned  these  passions  only  in  moments  when  he  him 
self  succumbed  to  them,  as  when  he  called  upon  the  Georgians  the  other  day 
to  "  whip  the  Yankee  spaniels,"  and  teach  them  their  true  masters ;  but  it  is  none 
the  less  true  that  he  used  these  passions  for  his  own  purposes,  and  that  without 
them  he  could  never  have  hounded  on  the  South  to  battle.  Wilkes  Booth  may 
have,  we  trust  has,  no  accomplice  but  the  cowardly  wretch  who  at  the  same 
time  attempted  and  probably  effected  the  murder  of  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son ; 
but  yet  no  one  who  looks  at  history  can  deny  that  his  act  is  symbolic  of  the 
passions  of  the  slave  society,  from  which  it  proceeds,  and  is,  indeed,  but  one 
new  and  more  fatal  explosion  of  the  same  destructive  forces  which  engendered 
the  rebellion.  Mr.  LINCOLN,  no  doubt,  has  shown  a  spirit  as  much  higher  than 
the  average  spirit  of  the  North  as  this  dastardly  act  is  below  the  average  spirit 
of  the  South.  But  his  murder  by  this  self-styled  tyrannicide  is  not  on  that 
account  less  representative  of  the  struggle ;  for  it  is  the  highest  spirit  in  the 
North — the  true  birth  of  freedom,  which  has  at  last  secured  its  conquest ;  and 
it  is  the  worst  spirit  in  the  South — the  true  birth  of  slavery,  which  has  at  last 
secured  its  defeat.  Mr.  LINCOLN  said  at  Philadelphia,  when  his  life  was  first 
threatened,  just  before  he  assumed  the  presidency,  in  1861  :  "If  this  country 
cannot  be  saved  without  giving  up  the  principle  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  I  was  about  to  say,  I  would  rather  be  assassinated  on  this  spot  than 
surrender  it ;"  and  the  sacrifice  was  accepted.  For  refusing  to  give  up  that 
principle — the  vital  principle  of  northern  liberty — he  was  some  years  later 
assassinated,  though  not  till  after  he  had  firmly  secured,  as  we  may  hope,  the 
triumph  of  that  principle. 

And  if  he  did  not  secure  it  by  his  life,  we  may  hope  that  he  secured  it  by 
his  death.  To  all  appearances,  indeed,  the  prospect  seems  gloomy  enough. 
Succeeded  by  a  man  of  very  different  character,  and  called  to  lead  a  people 
whose  first  instinct  can  scarcely  be  otherwise  than  bitterly  resentful,  nothing 
short  of  the  example  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  set  to  the  nation,  no  less  than  to 
his  successor,  could  arrest  revenge.  But  with  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  administration 
before  them — with  the  evidence  they  have  of  the  sincere  patriotism,  the  reve 
rence  for  law,  and  the  religious  faith  with  which  he  took  every  great  step  in  his 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       537 

short  but  eventful  official  life,  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  they  should  fall  into 
the  temptation  of  treating  the  South  with  southern  passion.     Only  Washington 
among  the  Presidents  of  the  United  States  could  compare  with  Mr.  LINCOLN 
for  temper  and  scrupulous  self  command  under  extraordinary  trials.     Indeed, 
when  Mr.  LINCOLN  assumed  office,  he  did  not  disguise  from  himself  that  he  had 
a  part  no  less  arduous  than  Washington  to  play,  and  that  it  could  be  played  with 
equal  credit  only  by  the  help  of  the  same  Power.     "  My  friends,"  he  said,  when 
leaving  his  home  in  Illinois,  in  1861,  "no  one  not  in  my  position  can  appreciate 
the  sadness  I  feel  at  this  parting.     To  the  people  I  owe  all  that  I  am.     Here 
I  have  lived  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  here  my  children  were  born,  and 
here  one  of  them  lies  buried.     I  know  not  how  soon  I  shall  see  you  again.     A 
duty  devolves  upon  me  which  is,  perhaps,  greater  than  that  which  has  devolved 
upon  any  man  since  the  days  of  Washington.     He  never  could  have  succeeded 
without  the  aid  of  Divine  Providence,  upon  which  he  at  all  times  relied.     I  feel 
that  I  cannot  succeed  without  the  same  divine  aid  which  sustained  him.     In 
the  same  Almighty  Being  I  place  my  reliance  for  support,  and  I  hope  you,  my 
friends,  will  all  pray  that  I  may  receive  that  divine  assistance  without  which  I 
cannot  succeed  ;  but  with  which,  success  is  certain."     The  same  tone  of  trust 
and  self-distrust  ran  through  all  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  official  acts,  from  the  first  mes 
sage  in  which,  before  the  war  broke  out,  he  declared  his  intention  to  do  the 
very  least  that  was  consistent  with  his  duty,  by  "  holding"  United  States  pro 
perty  wherever  he   had  the  power,  to  that  last  affecting  message  in  March 
last,  when  he  confessed  the  complicity  of  the  North  in  the  guilt  of  the  South, 
and,  while  praying  for  peace  and  for  the  opportunity  "  to  bind  up  the  nation's 
wounds,"  confessed  that  "  if  it  be  God's  will  that  the  scourge  of  war  continue 
until  the  wealth  piled  up  by  bondsmen  during  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of 
unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  that  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  by  the  lash 
shall  be  repaid  by  another  drawn  by  the  sword,  as  it  was  said  two  thousand 
years  ago,  still  it  must  be  true,  that  the  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and 
righteous   altogether."     With    such   an    example   of   pure    and    self-forgetful 
patriotism  running  in  their  memories,  it  will  be  barely  possible  for  the  North 
to  give  themselves  up  to  vindictive  feeling.     The  memory  of  their  simple-* 
hearted  and  noble-minded  ruler  would  be  a  greater  hindrance  to  such  a  course 
than  his  living  authority.     And  we  may  well  hope  that  the  strong  and  gentle 
nature  whose  last  official  words  were  words  of  sympathy  for  his  foes,  will  inspire 
the  future  policy  of  the  North  as  completely  as  if  Mr.  LINCOLN  could  still  rule 
them.     The  greatest  revenge  the  North  could  take  on  the  society  which  nourished 
the  spirit  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  assassin  would  be  to  make  it  reverence  his  memory. 
The  time  will  no  doubt  come  when  the  rustic  Illinois  lawyer  who  showed  so 
great  an  equanimity  alike  in  adversity  and  success  will  be  ranked  with  Washington 
by  North  and  Soulli  alike,  and  when  perhaps  his  murder  may  be  spoken  of  as  the 
turning-point  which  taught  his  enemies  to  know  what  spirit  they  were  of. 
68 


538  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[From  the  John  Bull,  London,  April  29,  18fi5.] 
THE    NEWS    FROM    AMERICA. 

Among  all  the  surprises  by  which  this  wonderful  war  in  America  has  been 
signalized,  none  is  so  amazing  in  its  dramatic  outbursts — none  so  fraught  with 
the  elements  of  pity  and  horror  as.the  fall  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  in  the  proud 
est  moment  of  his  triumph,  by  an  assassin's  dastard  blow.  The  story  discloses 
just  such  an  argument  as  would  have  impressed  itself  most  forcibly  on  the 
imagination  of  a  Greek  dramatist ;  indeed  it  may  almost  be  said  to  be  but  a 
repetition  of  that  tragic  theme  which  the  greatest  of  Greek  dramatists  has 
wrought  out  with  such  consummate  genius.  Agamemnon  returning  to  his 
home  at  the  summit  of  his  pride — "  the  lord  of  ships  and  conqueror  of  Troy  " — 
only  to  perish  at  his  own  threshold  by  the  stab  of  a  murderess,  does  but  stand 
out  of  the  old  epic  legend  as  a  type  of  the  late  President  as  he  sat  in  the  theatre 
on  that  eventful  evening  of  the  14th  of  April.  For  four  terrible  years  Mr. 
LINCOLN  had  borne  the  weight  of  the  most  fearful  responsibility  which  was 
ever  cast  upon  man.  He  had  felt  himself  called  upon  by  an  imperious  sense 
o/  duty  to  plunge  his  country  into  a  civil  war,  and  he  had  seen  that  war  deepen 
and  widen  beyond  all  calculations  that  could  have  been  formed — he  had  seen 
the  opposition  arrayed  against  him  erect  itself  into  a  power  which  bade  fair  to 
beat  back  even  the  swarming  soldiery  which  his  vast  resources  had  enabled 
him  to  call  forth — and  had  still  held  on  with  a  tenacity  which  all  must  own  to 
be  heroic,  and  which  would  have  been  sublime  if  it  had  been  shown  in  a  better 
cause.  And  now  it  seemed  as  if  the  reward  had  come.  The  North  had  at  all 
events  made  up  its  mind  that  the  capture  of  Richmond  and  the  surrender  of 
Lee  amounted  to  a  virtual  overthrow  of  the  "rebellion ;"  and  when  Mr.  LINCOLN 
took  his  seat  in  the  theatre  it  was  perhaps  under  haughtier  circumstances  of 
success  than  ever  a  ruler  of  men  secured  for  a  public  appearance.  He  has 
wrestled  with  the  Titans,  so  he  may  think,  and  has  overthrown  them.  There  is 
a  yet  more  difficult  task  before  him — the  task  of  reconstruction.  But  there  is 
^  glory  about  this  task  that  may  well  compensate  for  the  difficulty.  If  he  can 
accomplish  it,  surely  his  name  will  be  one  of  the  most  memorable  in  history. 
As  he  stands  between  so  grand  a  past  and  so  glorious  a  future,  the  foot  of  the 
crawling  assassin  is  behind  him,  and  he  drops  a  dying  man  on  the  floor. 

Who  shall  say  that  we  live  in  a  tame  arid  prosaic  age  in  the  face  of  the 
marvels  which  recent  events  in  America  have  yielded  us  \  It  has  been  a  sur 
prise  to  many  to  see  the  utter  bouleversement  of  those  theories  which  were  built 
on  the  assumed  regard  of  Americans  for  popular  rights — to  find  the  solemn 
formula  that  all  legitimate  power  is  based  on  the  will  of  the  people,  treated  with 
as  much  contumely  by  the  northern  majority  as  ever  it  could  have  been  by 
some  incarnation  of  oriental  despotism  decked  with  all  the  pomp  of  barbaric 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        539 

pearl  and  gold.  Those  shrewd  observers,  who  were  fully  prepared  to  see  the 
greed  and  insolence  of  human  nature  crop  out  under  the  brave  words  which 
inaugurated  American  republicanism,  were  still  confounded  by  the  unexpected 
tenacity  with  which  the  American  people,  both  North  and  South,  clung  through 
blood  and  ruin  to  the  purpose  which  they  had  respectively  formed,  carried  for 
ward  to  the  most  terrific  reality  that  which  was  at  first  regarded  as  merely  a 
game  of  brag,  and  gave  conclusive  evidence  that  even  in  America  there  are 
popular  passions  astir  that  can  at  once  override  the  influence  of  the  "  almighty 
dollar."  The  most  sanguine  calculations  as  to  the  resources  of  America  must 
have  been  dwarfed  by  the  stupendous  efforts  made  on  both  sides,  and  the 
gigantic  scale  on  which  the  war  has  been  carried  on.  And  it  is  more  startling 
than  all — to  an  Englishman  no  less  startling  than  humiliating — to  find  that, 
while  among  ourselves  the  outbreak  of  a  war  passion  is  assuming  a  more  and 
more  debased  type,  all  the  ferocities  engendered  by  civil  discord  were  not  suffi 
cient  to  prevent  the  Americans  from  carrying  into  their  great  contest  much  of 
that  chivalry  and  generosty  which  was  characteristic  of  medieval  warfare.  The 
worst  atrocities  of  Butler  leave  him  a  paladin  and  courteous  knight  in  comparison 
with  many  an  English  "officer  and  gentleman"  who  claimed  honor  and  reward 
at  the  hands  of  his  country  for  services  rendered  during  the  Indian  mutiny. 
The  most  rowdy  journals  of  NewYork  would  never  have  stooped  to  degrade 
themselves  to  the  brutalized  level  of  our  Anglo-Indian  press  at  the  same  period. 
And  if  there  were  at  the  time  of  which  we  speak  peculiar  circumstances  of 
aggravation  that  might  palliate  the  popular  yell  for  blood,  we  must  not  forget 
that  during  the  Russian  war — a  struggle  remarkably  free  from  any  elements  of 
popular  excitement — many  of  our  journals  at  home  turned  the  same  cowardly 
thirst  for  human  slaughter  to  excellent  pecuniary  account,  as  far  as  they  them 
selves  were  concerned,  and  left  us  to  bear  the  discredit  and  the  pain  of  so 
unpleasant  a  remembrance.  And  now,  last  of  all,  comes  this  assassination  of 
the  President,  rivalling  in  its  appalling  interest  the  blow  which  Brutus  struck 
at  the  foot  of  Pompey's  statue,  the  murder  of  Henry  IV,  and  the  avenging 
arm  of  Charlotte  Corday  uplifted  over  Marat's  bath. 

What  will  be  the  result  of  this  foul  crime,  and  in  what  manner  is  it  likely 
to  modify  the  future  history  of  America  ?  It  is  difficult  to  speculate  on  the 
answer  to  this  question.  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  not  certainly  during  the  period  of 
his  power  shown  himself  a  statesman  of  higli  capacity.  It  may  be  doubted 
whether  if  he  had  had  the  opportunity  he  would  have  proved  himself  equal  to 
the  herculean  and  delicate  task  of  reconstructing  the  American  Union — even 
assuming  that  its  constituent  States  are  willing  to  be  united. 


540  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[From  the  London  Punch,  May  G,  1865.] 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Foully  assassinated  April  14,  1865. 

You  lay  a  wreath  on  murdered  LINCOLN'S  bier; 

Tow,  who  with  mocking  pencil  wont  to  trace, 
Broad  for  the  self-complacent  British  sneer, 

His  length  of  shambling  limb,  his  furrowed  face, 

His  gaunt,  gnarled  hands,  his  unkempt,  bristling  hair, 
His  garb  uncouth,  his  bearing  ill  at  ease, 

His  hick  of  all  we  prize  as  debonair, 

Of  power  or  will  to  shine,  of  art  to  please; 

You,  whoso  smart  pen  backed  up  the  pencil's  laugh, 
Judging  each  step  as  though  the  way  were  plain  : 

Reckless,  so  it  could  point  its  paragraph, 
Of  chief's  perplexity  or  people's  pain. 

Beside  this  corpse,  that  bears  for  winding-sheet 
The  Stars  and  Stripes  ho  lived  to  rear  anew, 

Between  the  mourners  at  his  head  and  feet, 
Say,  scurril-jester,  is  there  room  for  you? 

Yes,  he  had  lived  to  shame  me  from  my  sneer, 
To  lame  my  pencil,  and  confute  my  pen; 

To  make  me  own  this  hind  of  princes  peer, 
This  rail-splitter  a  true-bom  king  of  men. 

My  shallow  judgment  I  had  learnt  to  rue, 
Noting  how  to  occasion's  height  he  rose, 

How  his  quaint  wit  made  home-truth  seem  more  true, 
How,  iron-like,  his  temper  grew  by  blows. 

How  humble  yet  now  hopeful  he  could  bo; 

How  in  good  fortune  and  in  ill  the  same; 
Nor  bitter  in  success,  nor  boastful  he; 

Thirsty  for  gold  nor  feverish  for  fame. 

He  went  about  his  work — such  work  as  few 
Ever  had  laid  on  head  and  heart  and  hand — 

As  one  who  knows,  where  there's  a  task  to  do, 

Man's  honest  will  must  Heaven's  good  grace  command ; 

Who  trusts  the  strength  will  with  the  burden  grow, 
That  God  makes  instruments  to  work  his  will, 

If  but  that  will  we  can  anivc  to  know, 
Nor  tamper  with  the  weights  of  good  and  ill. 

So  he  went  forth  to  battle  on  the  side 
That  he  felt  clear  was  liberty's  and  right's, 

As  in  his  peasant  boyhood  he  had  plied 

His  warfare  with  rude  nature's  thwarting  mights. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY        541 

The  uncleared  forest,  the  unbroken  soil, 

The  iron  bark,  that  turns  the  lumberer's  axe, 
The  rapid,  that  o'erbears  the  boatman's  toil, 

The  prairie,  hiding  the  mazed  wanderer's  tracks, 

The  ambushed  Indian,  and  the  prowling  bear; 

Such  were  the  needs  that  helped  his  youth  to  train. 
Rough  culture,  but  such  trees  large  fruit  may  bear, 

If  but  their  stocks  bo  of  right  girth  and  grain. 

So  he  grew  up,  a  destined  work  to  do, 

And  lived  to  do  it;  four  long-suffering  years' 
Ill-fate,  ill-feeling,  ill-report,  lived  through, 

And  then  he  heard  the  hisses  change  to  cheers, 

The  taunts  to  tribute,  the  abuse  to  praise, 

And  took  both  with  the  same  unwavering  mood; 
Till,  as  he  came  on  light,  from  darkling  days, 

And  seemed  to  touch  the  goal  from  where  he  stood, 

A  felon  hand,  between  the  goal  and  him, 

Reached  from  behind  his  back,  a  trigger  prest, 
And  those  perplexed  and  patient  eyes  were  dim, 

Those  gaunt,  long-laboring  limbs  were  laid  to  rest ! 

The  words  of  mercy  were  upon  his  lips, 

Forgiveness  in  his  heart  and  on  his  pen, 
When  this  vile  murderer  brought  swift  eclipse 

To  thoughts  of  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men 

The  Old  World  and  the  New,  from  sea  to  sea, 

Utter  one  voice  of  sympathy  and  shame! 
Sore  heart,  so  stopped  when  it  at  last  beat  high, 

Sad  life,  cut  short  just  as  its  triumph  came. 

A  deed  accurst!     Strokes  have  been  struck  before 

By  the  assassin's  hand;    whereof  men  doubt 
If  more  of  horror  or  disgrace  they  bore; 

But  thy  foul  crime,  like  Cain's,  stands  darkly  out. 

Vile  hand,  that  branded  murder  on  a  strife, 

Whate'er  its  grounds,  stoutly  and  nobly  striven; 
And  with  the  martyr's  crown  crownest  a  life 

With  much  to  praise,  little  to  bo  forgiven! 


[From  the  Liverpool  Daily  Post,  April  27,  1865.] 
ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


In  the  hour  of  northern  victory  the  northern  President  has  been  martyred. 
His  faithfulness  to  his  sworn  duty  has  cost  him  his  life.  A  few  hours  after  he 
had  uttered  in  council  sentiments  of  kindness  and  conciliation  towards  the 
prostrate  South,  the  remorseless  aim  of  an  assassin  robbed  the  almost  reunited 


542  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

republic  of  its  wise  and  honest  guide.  The  world  will  echo  with  loud  and 
bitter  detestation  the  hellish  act  by  which  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  sacrificed  ; 
while  those  who  have  watched  with  sympathy  the  conduct  of  the  departed 
President  will  rejoice  that  he  lived  just  long  enough  to  be  consoled  by  apprecia 
tion  and  success. 

It  were  futile  to  endeavor  to  express  the  feelings  which  the  horrible 
occurrence  at  Washington  has  excited,  for  as  yet  they  are  too  poignant  for 
utterance.  The  vast  issues  which  impend  almost  daze  the  understanding  and 
numb  the  sensibilities.  It  is  only  possible  at  such  a  moment  to  retrace  the 
story  of  the  life  so  sadly  ended,  and  to  balance  with  forced  calmness  the  ele 
ments  of  the  character  which  now  lies  like  a  fallen  tree,  unchangeable,  with  no 
trait  to  be  developed  and  no  lineament  to  be  added.  If  there  ever  was  a  man 
who  in  trying  times  avoided  offence  it  was  Mr.  LINCOLN.  If  there  ever  was  a 
leader  in  a  civil  contest  who  shunned  acrimony  and  eschewed  passion,  it  was  he. 
In  a  time  of  much  cant  and  affectation  he  was  simple,  unaffected,  true,  trans 
parent.  In  a  season  of  many  mistakes  he  was  never  known  to  be  wrong 
Where  almost  all  were  dubious,  he  was  clear ;  where  many  were  recreant,  he 
was  faithful.  Yet  there  was  nothing  ill-timed  or  blunt  in  his  sincerity  and 
straightforwardness.  By  a  happy  tact,  not  often  so  felicitously  blended  with 
pure  singleness  of  soul,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  knew  when  to  speak,  and  never 
spoke  too  early  or  too  late.  True  from  the  first  to  his  solemn  purpose,  the 
restoration  of  the  Union,  many  who  remembered  that  he  had  been  chosen  as  a 
man  opposed  to  slavery  deemed  him  almost  a  traitor  because  he  did  not  con 
stantly  thrust  forward,  as  imprudently  -as  they  hoped  he  would,  the  principle 
of  emancipation.  But  those  who  approached  him  never  failed  to  discover  what 
was  nearest  his  heart  and  what  most  truly  animated  his  policy.  The  result  has 
justified  his  conduct,  for  it  was  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  who  put  an  end  to  American 
slavery,  against  which  men  who  seemed  greater — for  Heaven's  ways  are  not  as 
ours — had  long  contended  in  vain. 

It  is  especially  to  be  remembered  that  one  of  the  sublimest  state  papers 
of  modern  times  was  that  simple  message  in  which,  at  the  turning  point  of  the 
war,  LINCOLN  expressed,  in  language  worthy  of  the  grandest  theocratic  eras,  his 
faith  in  the  justice  of  Heaven,  and  his  devout  willingness  to  accept  in  common 
with  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion  the  character  of  instruments  in  the  hand  of 
Providence.  The  English  press  deserves  little  honor  for  its  behavior  towards 
America;  but  the  Americans  will  not  forget  that,  even  before  success  had  tinged 
Mr.  LINCOLN'S  career  with  what  has  sadly  proved  a  setting  glory,  the  simple 
grandeur  of  his  recreant  speeches,  delivered,  be  it  observed,  at  the  earliest 
proper  moment,  had  extorted  even  from  organs  which  deeply  sympathized  with 
the  confederacy  the  acknowledgment  that  he  was  a  good,  a  strong,  a  generous,  a 
stately  man.  Fine  gold  such  as  this  could  not  be  dimmed  by  the  breath  of 
calumny,  nor  will  it  be  shattered  by  the  shot  of  the  assassin.  The  mortal  part 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       543 

of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  will  be  consigned  to  an  honorable  and  long-remembered 
tomb ;  but  the  memory  of  his  statesmanship,  translucent  in  the  highest  degree, 
wise  above  the  average,  and  openly  faithful  more  than  almost  any  this  age  has 
witnessed  to  fact  and  right,  will  live  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  whole 
Anglo-Saxon  race  as  one  of  the  noblest  examples  of  that  race's  highest  quali 
ties.  Add  to  all  this  that  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  the  kindliest  and  pleasantest 
of  men,  that  he  had  raised  himself  from  nothing,  and  that  to  the  last  no  grain 
of  conceit  or  ostentation  was  found  in  him,  and  there  stands  before  the  world  a 
man  whose  like  we  shall  not  soon  look  upon  again. 

Happily  it  is  not  needful  as  yet — let  us  hope  it  will  not  be — to  sketch  the 
character  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  Secretary  of  State.  Mr.  Seward  may  yet  recover ; 
and  though  nothing  can  mitigate  the  horrors  of  the  attack  to  which  he  was 
subjected,  every  one  would  be  well  pleased  to  evade  the  duty  of  dwelling  upon 
an  event  so  horrible. 

As  to  the  future,  the  speculations  of  yesterday  were  very  anxious.  The 
reputed  character  of  the  Vice-President,  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  legal  and  actual 
successor,  filled  many  who  were  friendly  towards  the  United  States  with  vague 
uneasiness,  and  more  than  one  scheme  was  suggested  by  which  the  dangers  of 
Mr.  Johnson's  accession  might  be  averted.  Some  told  us  that  General  Grant 
would  at  once  become  provisional  dictator,  and  keep  Washington  calm  and  the 
ark  of  the  Union  secure,  until  some  new  and  safe  arrangement  could  be  made 
for  the  carrying  on  of  the  government.  Others  suggested  that  Andrew  Johnson 
would  be  induced  to  resign,  so  that  both  offices  might  be  left  vacant,  an  under 
standing  being  entered  into  with  him  that  he  should  be  re-elected  to  his  old 
office  of  Vice-President.  These  were  the  most  moderate  of  the  ideas  which 
prevailed,  many  not  hesitating  to  anticipate  anarchy  of  the  wildest  kind,  and  a 
complete  collapse  of  American  institutions.  But,  before  the  afternoon  had  worn 
over,  the  telegraph  bore  to  us  a  rebuke  of  these  imaginings.  The  Americans 
have  done  the  best  thing  possible  to  reassure  the  world,  and  to  attest  the 
immobility  of  their  government.  Immediately  after  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  decease, 
the  Vice-President  was  sworn  in  before  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  Andrew  Johnson  is  now  de  jure  and  de  facto  President  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  said  that  he  exhibited  the  most  appropriate  emotion,  and  indeed  the 
circumstances  could  hardly  have  failed  to  solemnize  any  mind ;  but  the  satis 
faction  to  be  derived  from  his  demeanor  is  not  so  solid  as  that  which  is  afforded 
by  the  regular  and  simple  manner  in  which  the  installation  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S 
successor  has  been  proceeded  with.  No  Amurath  ever  succeeded  Ainu  rath, 
or  Harry  Harry,  with  more  certainty  or  less  disturbance.  The  Americans  know, 
if  we  do  not,  that  institutions  such  as  theirs  depend  upon  no  one  man  for  their 
stability.  Even  when  assassination  rudely  severs  the  line  of  the  presidential 
succession  it  is  instantaneously  and  noiselessly  repaired.  Englishmen  have 
learned  much  of  late  about  America  and  the  Americans.  They  have  now  an 


544  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

opportunity  of  understanding  that  to  an  American  the  idea  of  a  break  in  the 
chain  of  his  government's  history  is  as  little  likely  to  occur  as  is  tlie  notion  of 
a  hiatus  in  the  English  succession  among  ourselves. 

We  shall  indulge  in  no  guesses  as  to  the  effect  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  assassination 
on  the  settlement  of  American  affairs.  Some  prophesy  the  application  of 
vengeful  rigor  to  the  defeated  South.  We  would  rather  foretell  such  a  ready 
and  unanimous  burst  of  manly  indignation  throughout  the  southern  States  as 
will  effectually  disarm  the  North  and  unite  the  whole  republic  in  abhorrence 
of  the  atrocious  crime  which  has  sullied  the  conclusion  of  a  gallant  war,  and  in 
yearnings  for  a  renewal  of  the  Union  which  was  the  object  of  the  dead  Presi 
dent's  dutiful  devotion.  Who  can  believe  that  men  who  have  astounded  the 
world  by  the  noblest  virtues  of  warfare,  and  the  boldest  determination  of  policy, 
could  be  driven  even  by  the  chagrin  of  failure  to  the  degrading,  cowardly,  and 
criminal  expedients  of  the  bravo  and  the  cutthroat  ?  Rather  let  us  suppose 
that  these  horrible  catastrophes  were  the  result  of  individual  fanaticism,  or 
even,  as  the  name  of  Booth  suggests — though  one  laments  to  find  a  name  long 
linked  with  genius  associated  with  crime — from  theatrical  and  bombastic  excite 
ment.  Any  hypothesis  rather  than  affix  to  a  brave  and  noble  people,  who  but 
lately  were  deemed  a  nation,  the  black  bloodguiltiness  of  these  terrible  deeds ! 
There  will  probably  be  no  violence  and  no  general  vengeance ;  but  in  repentant 
mournfulness  the  ashes  of  good,  brave,  sterling  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  will  be 
strewn  upon  the  grave  of  civil  discord. 


[From  the  Leeds  Mercury,  Thursday,  April  27,  18G5.] 
ASSASSINATION    OF    PRESIDENT    LINCOLN. 

The  heart  fails  and  the  hand  trembles  as  we  record  the  fearful  news 
which  reaches  us  like  a  knell  from  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  The  North 
has  gained  its  triumph,  but  the  great  man  to  whose  wise  counsels  and  brave 
spirit  that  triumph  is  so  largely  attributable  lies  a  corpse  in  the  capital  of 
the  States  which  he  had  once  more  united.  On  the  14th  of  April,  on  the 
very  day  after  the  federal  flag  had  been  triumphantly  hoisted  on  the  fort  at 
which  the  first  shot  was  fired,  President  LINCOLN  fell  by  the  hand  of  an 
assassin.  His  chief  Secretary  of  State,  not  yet  recovered  from  the  effects  of 
the  injury  he  had  sustained  by  his  recent  accident,  was  a  second, victim,  and 
was  lying  apparently  at  the  point  of  death  when  the  mail  which  brings  this 
fatal  news  quitted  America.  God  only  knows  to  what  this  terrible  crime 
may  lead.  For  ourselves,  we  tremble  to  think  of  the  possible  consequences. 
In  that  one  head  and  heart  seemed  to  be  shut  up  the  better  genius  of  the 
reconstructed  States.  There  are  times  when  the  fate  of  even  the  strongest 
nations  seems  to  hang  upon  a  thread ;  when  a  little  event,  the  murder  of  a 
single  man,  may  determine  its  doom  for  weal  or  woe,  almost  for  life  or  death. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       545 

While  the  vessel  is  in  the  open  sea,  it  can  matter  little  whether  the  helm  is 
turned  a  trifle  too  much  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left.     But  when  driving 
through    narrow   and   intricate    channels,   with    dangerous    banks   and    sharp 
ledges  of  rock  on  either  side,  the  smallest  mishap  in  the  guidance  of  the  rudder 
may  send  the  vessel  to  destruction.     God  grant  it  may  not  be  so  with  that 
noble  vessel,  which,  after  surviving  a  tempest  of  unparalleled  fury  and  duration, 
seemed  at  last,  in  calmer  seas,  but  through  winding  and  difficult  channels, 
reaching  the  longed-for  haven!     We  have  still  faith  in  that  large-hearted,  broad- 
minded  view  which  the  mass  of  the  northern  people  have  continued  to  hold, 
even  in  the  midst  of  the  great  agony  which  has  convulsed  the  nation  for  the 
last  four  years.     A  certain  amount  of  froth  and  folly  there  has  been,  as  in  all 
great  disturbances,  but  underneath  this  spray  of  angry  words  and  hasty  counsels 
the  deep,  strong,  majestic  roll  of  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  a  mighty  nation, 
basing  its  strength  on  justice,  and  animated   by  motives    at  once   pure  and 
elevated,  has  been  visible  to  every  discerning  eye.     But  the  greatest  and  wisest 
nation  needs  at  the  head  of  its  executive  one  who  can  give  form  to  its  feelings 
and  practical  expression  to  its  wishes.     LINCOLN  has  been  the  very  man  to 
embody  the  national  policy  at  such  a  moment.     As  a  lawyer,  acquainted  with 
technical  forms  and  deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  written  Constitution, 
he  was  admirably  qualified  to  carry  out  the  great  half-conservative,  half- revolu 
tionary  work  of  reconstructing  the  nation  on  the  old  basis,  made  new  by  the 
excision    of   slavery,   without    shocking   those    prejudices    or  violating    those 
principles  to   which  the  American   mind  always   clings  with  such   peculiar 
tenacity.     As  a  man  of  great  good  sense  and  cool  judgment  he  was  able  to 
read  the  signs  of  the  age  with  more  clearness  than  most  of  his  contemporaries, 
and  thus  acquired  the  rare  faculty  of  not  only  doing  the  right  thing,  but  of 
doing  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time.     His  great  resolution,  shown  by  his 
unflinching  firmness  of  purpose  during  four  of  the  most  eventful  years  in  the 
world's  history,  would  have  enabled  him  steadily  to  pursue  his  wise  and  benev 
olent  purpose  amid  all  the  conflict  of  opinions  and  the  confusion  of  counsels  by 
which  he  was  surrounded.     Lastly  his  large-hearted  philanthropy,  the   truly 
patriotic  and  Christian  spirit  in  which  he  has  ever  viewed  this  great  national 
crisis,  would  have  shut  out  any  fear  of  that  bloody  retribution  which  in  almost 
any  other  country,  and  in  any  other  age,  would  have  visited  the  leaders,  and 
perhaps  even  the  people,  of  the  revolted  States.     Was  ever  such  a  man  cut 
off  at  such  a  season?     Truly  it  may  be  said  in  this  case  that  "man  proposes, 
but  God  disposes."     The  prop  and  hope  of  the  nation  suddenly  broken.     The 
destroyer  of  his  country's  peace  marked  out  by  the  popular  voice  for  forgive 
ness;  its  restorer  struck  down   by  the  shaft  of  a  vengeance   which   counted 
everything  noble  and  good  its  mortal  foe,  a  vengeance  which  we  earnestly  pray 
may  not  bring  down  a  fearful  retribution  on  the  heads  of  those  in  whose  sup 
posed  interest  the  blow  was  struck. 
69 


546  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

President  LINCOLN'S  career  has  been  one  of  the   most  remarkable  ever 
recorded.     Born  in  Kentucky;   educated,  so  far  as  he  was  educated  at  all,  in 
Indiana ;  in  youth  settled  in  the  recently  formed  State  of  Illinois,  he  spent  his 
whole  life  far  away  from  the  refining  influences  of  large  cities  and  polished 
society.     Uncouth  in  figure,  plain  in  features,  endowed  with  neither  the  natural 
advantage  of  a  good  address  nor  the  derived  advantage  of  a  careful  education — 
an  orator  only  in  the  greatness  of  his  thoughts,  not  in  the  purity  of  his  language, 
the  poetry  of  his  ideas,  or  the  graces  of  his  manner — modest  in   demeanor, 
utterly  averse  to  all  ostentation  or  idle  display — he  seemed  the  very  last  man 
in  the  United  States  likely  to  captivate  the  multitude,  or  to  win  the  lofty 
position  to  which  he  was  twice  elected,  and  from  which  he  has  now  at  length 
been  deposed  by  the  hand  of  the  great  leveller.     The  speeches  which  won  him 
so  high  a  reputation  as  to  suggest  his  name  for  the  Presidency  of  the  Union 
are  not  speeches  which  in  this  country  would  be  called  fine  or  eloquent ;  still 
less  are  they  speeches  of  the  kind  usually  supposed  to  constitute  the  staple  of 
American  oratory.     The  crowds  which  flocked  from  all  parts  of  Illinois  to  hear 
his  great  encounters  with  the  celebrated  Douglas,  the  crowds  which  filled  the 
Cooper  Institute  when  he  addressed  the  republicans  of  New  York  after  the 
canvass  of  his  own  State,  were  not  drawn  by  any  hope  of  listening  to  withering 
invective,  exquisite  humor,  delicate  pathos,  grand  bursts  of  oratorical  splendor, 
or  loud-sounding  praises  of  the  country  and  flattery  of  the  national  prejudices. 
Never  were  speeches  more  devoid  of  clap-trap.     He  treats  his  opponent  with  a 
calm  respect  and  courtesy  from  which  neither  the  sarcasms  with  which  he  was 
attacked  nor  the  growing  warmth  of  the  contest  ever  induced  him  to  swerve. 
He  dealt  with  slavery  as  one  who  strongly  disapproved  it,  but  was  prepared  to 
leave  it  wherever  it  constitutionally  existed,  and  was  never  for  a  moment  led 
to  confound  the  system  with  the  men,  or  to  denounce  the  slaveholders  in  the 
language  of  indignation  and  invective.     For  the  rest,  his  speeches  are  remarka 
ble  only  for  the  clear,  broad  definition  of  constitutional  principles,  the  unerring 
logic  with  which  he  applies  these  principles  to  existing  facts,  and  the  startling 
fairness  and  candor  with  which  he  always  states  the  arguments  of  his  opponents. 
Many  men  can   speak  eloquently  who  cannot  act  wisely.     But  no  man  ever 
spoke  with  the  sound  sense,  clearness  of  view,  and  definiteness  of  purpose 
which  mark  his  speeches,  without  having  the  wisdom  which  will  make  him 
great  in  action.     His  speeches  are  a  photograph  of  his  character.     Full  of 
transparent   honesty  and  candor;    without  the  smallest  infusion  of  political 
rancor  or  personal  vanity ;   singular  in  their  forgetfulness  of  self;  singular  in 
their  devotion  to  the  cause  of  truth ;  never  skimming  the  surface,  but  always 
grappling  fairly  with  the  whole  question  at  issue ;  never  shirking  difficulties  or 
shrinking  from  admissions,   but  meeting  the  one,  and  making  the  other,   as 
calmly  as  if  they  were  a  part  of  his  own  case ;  overflowing  with  great  thoughts, 
and  strong  in  manly  sense,  which  the  very  boldness  of  expression  seemed,  like 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       547 

the  severe  simplicity  of  the  Egyptian  architecture,  to  set  off  in  more  massive 
proportions:  such  were  his  speeches ;  such  was  his  mind;  such,  too,  was  his 
policy. 

Apart  from  the  future,  there  is  something  singularly  affecting  in  his  mur 
der  at  this  particular  crisis.  His  great  work  of  crushing  the  rebellion,  a  work 
especially  uncongenial  to  such  a  spirit,  at  last  accomplished ;  the  bright  dawn 
of  peace  already  breaking,  and  his  heart  beginning  to  expand  to  the  happier 
duties  which  seemed  now  about  to  engage  his  attention ;  the  dark  frown  van 
ishing  from  his  brow,  and  the  smile  of  ge'utle  loving  welcome  beginning  to  play 
upon  his  features ;  all  that  was  necessarily  stern  and  repulsive  in  the  character 
of  his  administration  clearing  away,  and  sunshine  and  brightness  bursting  out 
over  the  scene ;  at  such  a  moment  to  be  quenched  in  terrible,  total,  sudden 
eclipse !  It  is  indeed  a  hard  fate.  And  by  whom  was  this  ever-detestable 
crime,  which  will  rank  its  authors  with  the  worst  assassins  in  history — with  the 
murderers  of  William  of  Orange  and  Henry  IV  of  France — by  whom  was  this 
act  of  hideous  wickedness  committed  ?  By  the  South  we  cannot  and  will  not 
say ;  with  all  its  crimes,  the  nation  which  produced  Lee  and  Jackson  cannot 
be  chargeable  with  such  a  deed ;  but  by  a  party,  a  faction,  a  knot  of  dark, 
cowardly  assassins  in  the  south,  whose  names  and  numbers  it  is  impossible  yet 
to  know.  Yes,  it  was  the  moment  when  his  mind  was  revolving  schemes  of 
reconstruction  and  reconciliation,  when  his  heart  was  yearning  to  forgive  all 
that  it  had  suffered,  when  peace  was  in  all  his  thoughts  and  mercy  in  all  his 
words,  that  this  treacherous  blow  was  aimed  at  his  life.  His  great  work  was 
cut  short,  its  sadder  features  alone  brought  to  light,  its  brighter  hidden  and 
now  blotted  out  forever.  But  posterity  will  give  him  his  due.  It  will  tell  that 
though  his  work  was  bloody,  his  heart  was  kind ;  it  will  tell  with  what  joy  he 
was  preparing  to  cast  aside  the  sword,  and  welcome  back  those  who  had  forced 
him  to  use  it;  it  will  tell  how  he  loved  peace,  how  he  sought  it,  and  how,  when 
it  seemed  on  the  point  of  coming,  when  his  arms  were  stretched  out  to  wel 
come  it,  he  fell  dead,  struck  down  by  a  murderous  hand,  at  the  post  of  duty  and 
of  honor.  It  will  tell,  too — and  distant  generations  will  repeat  the  story  with 
growing  enthusiasm — how,  before  his  day's  toil  was  done,  the  colossal  fabric  of 
negro  slavery  had  been  shivered  to  its  base.  For  this  he  lived.  His  work 
accomplished  in  the  appointed  way,  he  met  his  tragic  end.  While  the  echo  of 
joyful  salvoes  was  yet  ringing  in  his  ears,  joyful  to  him  more  because  they 
heralded  peace  than  because  they  celebrated  victory,  he  passed  away — leaving 
the  world  half  stupefied  with  the  horror  of  the  crime  and  the  magnitude 
of  the  loss. 

History,  which  embalms  few  reputations  so  spotless  and  so  sacred  as  his, 
will  do  justice  to  his  memory.  The  present  generation,  and  especially  his  own 
countrymen,  can  best  mark  their  sense  of  his  worth  by  following  in  his  foot 
steps.  In  the  few  dignified  words  which  he  so  lately  uttered  when  asked  lo 


548  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

consecrate  the  cemetery  of  the  heroes  who  fell  at  Gettysburg,  President  LINCOLN 
said  :  "  It  is  not  we  that  consecrate  them,  but  they  that  consecrate  us."  May  his 
own  memory  consecrate  the  great  nation  it  was  his  lot  to  rule.  His  successor  is 
unfortunately  very  unfavorably  known,  and  is  certainly  not  the  person  we  should 
like  to  see  in  the  place  of  the  great  statesman  whose  o.ffice  he  now  holds.  But 
Andrew  Johnson,  with  all  his  faults,  is  not  a  man  without  abilities  or  without 
virtues.  His  words  on  accepting  the  new  office  were  words  indicating  a  due 
sense  of  the  solemn  nature  of  the  duties  he  is  called  upon  to  perform.  With  a 
cabinet  trained  to  official  duties  under  his  noble  predecessor,  with  a  people 
resolute  in  maintaining  the  wise  and  moderate  policy  to  which  they  have  so 
magnanimously  adhered,  there  is  no  reason  to  despair  of  the  prospects  of  the 
federal  States.  They  have  had  a  fearful  loss,  but  the  greatness  of  LINCOLN  was 
that  he  embodied  the  public  feeling,  not  at  all  that  he  created  it.  In  a  free 
state  this  feeling  will  find  its  natural  expression,  and  LINCOLN'S  work  may  sur 
vive,  and  LINCOLN'S  spirit  may  still  rule,  though  his  voice  is  quenched  in  the 
silence  of  death,  and  a  bleeding  nation  mourns  over  his  tomb.  It  may  well 
mourn — but  it  may  also  rejoice.  In  that  tomb  lies  the  corpse  of  slavery. 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN. 

The  great  man  whose  assassination  has  left  so  remarkable  a  blank  in  the 
history  of  the  world  was  not  one  of  those  who  enjoyed  the  favors  of  fortune. 
He  was  bred  in  poverty,  and  whatever  greatness  he  attained  was  attained  by 
his  own  abilities  and  his  own  exertions. 

(Here  follows  an  account  of  the  life,  services,  and  assassination  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN,  concluding  with  the  following:) 

So  died  this  great  and  good  man,  after  one-half  of  his  work  was  com 
pleted,  but  while  another  half,  which  no  one  can  execute  as  he  would  have  done, 
remains  to  be  finished.  The  mildest  and  most  peace-loving  of  men,  it  was 
reserved  for  him,  during  the  comparatively  short  period  in  which  he  has  played 
a  prominent  part  in  the  history  of  the  world,  to  be  but  the  minister  of  a  terrible 
and  desolating  war.  The  firmness  of  his  character,  the  comprehensiveness  of 
his  acts,  the  wisdom  of  his  policy,  have  been  fully  displayed.  The  largeness 
of  his  heart,  the  noble  forgivingness  of  his  nature,  and  the  temperate  wisdom 
which  can  at  once  conciliate  and  command,  have  been  nipped  in  the  bud.  Alas, 
for  the  hopes  of  the  country  that  has  lost  such  a  man ! 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        549 

[From  the  Renfrewshire  Independent,  Paisley,  Saturday,  April  29,  1865.] 
THE    ASSASSINATION    OF   PRESIDENT     LINCOLN THE     CONFEDERATE     CUTTHROATS. 

Tlie  "chivalry"  of  the  the  American  slave  States  has  found  a  frightful 
vindication  in  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  attempted  assas 
sination  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward.  This  crime — the  most  atrocious  political 
outrage  of  modern  times — is  but  a  fitting  close  to  the  revolt  of  the  southern 
slaveholders — the  heroes  of  the  lash,  the  bowie-knife,  and  the  revolver.  When 
General  Lee  had  surrendered,  and  had  washed  his  hands  of  the  filthy  business 
of  defending  the  right  to  lash  black  men  and  outrage  black  women,  it  is  not  an 
unexpected  result  that  the  confederates  should  have  chosen  to  put  in  force  a 
matured  plan  of  assassination,  and  have  attempted  to  win  back  by  the  dagger 
what  they  had  lost  by  the  sword.  In  the  south,  where  assassination  has  been 
an  habitual  practice,  the  murder  of  "Honest  ABE  LINCOLN"  will  be  received 
with  applause,  and  will  renew  confidence  in  a  lost  cause.  When  the  brute 
Brooks,  of  South  Carolina,  attempted  to  assassinate  Senator  Sumner  at  Wash 
ington,  instead  of  being  execrated  for  his  ruffianism,  he  became  a  hero  in  his  own 
State,  and  was  especially  honored  by  the  "  ladies"  of  the  South,  who  have  a  real 
admiration  for  ruffianism,  especially  when  practiced  on  such  helpless  people  as 
negro  men  and  women.  On  this  side  the  Atlantic  the  execrable  deed  already 
finds  abundance  of  apologists  in  the  commercial  scoundrelism  that  has  been 
engaged  in  blockade-running  and  building  privateers.  The  public  organs 
devoted  to  the  interest  of  our  commercial  speculators,  and  the  whole  class  of 
Jews  and  hucksters  who  desire  the  perpetuation  of  slavery,  take  care  to  express 
no  exultation,  but  they  at  the  same  time  show  the  want  of  that  indignation 
which  every  honest  heart  must  feel.  There  is,  Heaven  be  praised,  a  class 
undemoralized  by  the  ledger  and  the  yard-stick,  and  to  them  the  infamous 
tragedy  is  a  sincere  regret.  Those  Englishmen  who  in  reality  abhor  slavery 
have  had  reason  to  regard  President  LINCOLN  as  in  some  measure  the  scourge 
of  the  curse,  raised  up  to  crush  it,  not  by  the  merciless  slaughter  of  all  who 
dared  to  defend  it,  but  by  a  combination  of  military  and  political  measures  that 
have  finally  trampled  out  the  accursed  system.  Recognizing  in  the  federal 
President  an  instrument  of  Providence  appointed  to  fill  one  of  the  most  merci 
ful  missions  ever  committed  to  man,  liberal  and  intelligent  men  have  watched 
with  an  anxious  dread  every  step  of  the  avenger.  How  wisely,  how  humanely, 
and  how  effectually  lie  has  fulfilled  his  beneficent  duty,  his  bitterest  enemies 
have  at  last  been  obliged  to  declare.  No  paper  has  more  ferociously  vituperated 
Honest  AIJE  than  the  London  Times,  and  but  a  few  days  since,  and  when  no 
warning  of  the  President's  death  had  reached  that  journal,  it  passed  an  eulogium 
upon  him  such  as  no  man  of  our  day  and  generation  dare  lay  claim  to.  The 
London  Times  has  declared  that  during  the  trying  ordeal  of  his  presidency — 
an  ordeal  unsurpassed  for  danger  and  difficulty,  as  his  death  has  proved  it  to 


550  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

be — ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  had  done  nothing  he  had  any  means  to  feel  ashamed 
of.  The  wannest  admirer  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  hottest  partisan  of 
his  administration,  could  have  said  nothing  further  in  laudation,  and  we  shall 
not  attempt  to  add  a  higher  compliment.  That  the  abominable  and  odious  lan 
guage  used  towards  the  President  by  a  large  section  of  our  own  press  was  false 
and  calumnious  could  find  no  fuller  refutation  than  the  Times  has  written ;  but 
it  is  to  be  feared  the  brutal  words  of  low-bred  scribblers  may  have  produced 
effects  the  recantation  of  the  Times  will  not  suffice  to  efface.  That  the  repub 
lican  party  of  the  States  should  have  had  the  sagacity  to  pick  out  of  a  private 
station  a  man  so  rarely  gifted  for  the  work  he  has  had  to  do  is  a  wonderful 
tribute  to  the  sagacity  of  the  American  people.  And  the  election  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN  has  no  less  clearly  proved  the  intense  dislike  of  a  large  section  of  our 
mercantile  and  aristocratic  classes  to  the  progress  of  such  liberal  institutions  as 
flourish  in  America.  Because  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  had  begun  life  as  a  rail- 
splitter,  had  educated  himself,  and,  we  may  add,  did  not  consider  it  proper  to 
own  human  cattle,  the  Tory  papers,  written  to  please  the  npper-class  flunkies, 
and  the  unprincipled  journals  that  serve  the  interest  of  the  upstart  commercial 
gentility  of  Glasgow  and  other  commercial  communities,  described  the  Presi- 
dent-as  a  vulgar,  low-bred  fellow,  a  brute,  buffoon,  tyrant,  and  baboon.  Such 
language  can  only  fall  back  upon  those  who  so  undeservedly  have  made  use  of 
it;  but  the  liberal  class,  and  especially  the  working  men  belonging  to  it,  should 
never  forget  the  ebullition  of  rage  which  has  been  directed  against  a  plain  man 
of  the  people  like  Honest  ABE,  because  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  dictate  terms 
to  "a  real  gentleman"  like  Jeff.  Davis,  who  had  aristocratic  notions  about  keep 
ing  negroes  under  the  lash.  The  language  which  has  been  used  by  a  portion 
of  the  public  press  of  this  country  to  support  the  cause  of  slavery  in  the  con 
federacy,  and  vituperate  those  who  have  attempted  to  suppress  it,  has  been  a 
scandal  the  most  abominable  that  has  befallen  us  for  many  a  year,  and  we  must 
confess  that  it  is  passing  strange  no  voice  has  been  raised  against  it  even  in  our 
own  town,  among  a  population  so  sensitive  to  political  questions  of  import.  But, 
indeed,  the  ignorance  and  prejudice  shown  upon  the  American  question  by  the 
same  class  of  working  men  who  have  in  past  times  been  in  some  measure 
regarded  as  political  oracles  leads  to  the  suspicion  that  political  zeal  is  dying 
out,  and  that  a  generation  of  idlers  and  fools  are  supplanting  the  same  race 
whose  intelligent  views  and  energetic  action  won  in  times  past  for  the  middle 
classes  such  large  concessions  from  the  upper.  While  we  thus  lament  over  the 
untimely  death  of  good  honest  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and,  worse  still,  grieve  over 
the  vile  spirit  of  tyranny  and  oppression  so  rampant  among  ourselves,  we  do  not 
think  the  federal  cause  will  now  suffer  much  from  the  loss  of  its  ablest  leader. 
The  struggle  between  freedom  and  slavery  was  closed  by  the  capture  of  Rich 
mond  and  Lee.  The  confederates  still  in  the  field  might  safely  be  left  to  one 
(he  armies  now  in  pursuit  of  them.  Tiie  remnant  of  troops  still  led  by  Joe 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       551 

Johnston  are  being  pursued  by  Sherman's  army,  Grant's  troops,  and  Hancock's 
division.     If  they  should  escape  from  the  Carolinas,  Thomas,  who  is  in  Ala 
bama,  will  fall  upon  their  rear;  and  if  Davis  and  an  escort  of  runaways  reach 
the  Mississippi  and  escape  into  Texas,  it  is  more  than  can  be  expected.     Some 
of  our  Tory  papers  believe  that  the  confederates  will  escape   to  the  Rocky 
mountains — a  sad  plight,  it  must  be  confessed,  tor  the  heroes  who  were  to  burn 
Washington  and  New  York ;  but  if  they  do,  it  will  be  but  a  scattered  remnant 
who  will  find  a  fraternal  refuge  among  the  savage  Indians  and  outcast  thieves 
of  the  far  west.     While  the  armed   hordes  of  the  confederacy  will  thus  be 
speedily  accounted  for,  the  new  federal   President,  Andy  Johnson,  will  find 
means  to  pacify  the  South  in  a  way  which  may  prove  to  the  assassins  of  LINCOLN 
that  in  him  they  have  lost  their  best  friend.     Educated  among  "  southern  gen 
tlemen,"  and  habituated  to  the  paradise  of  a  slave  State,  Johnson,  it  is  believed, 
will  turn  out  to  be  a  man  after  the  southern  heart.     Belonging  to  the  slave  State 
of  Tennessee,  the  new  President,  it  is  rumored,  has  imbibed  the  savagery  so 
characteristic  of  southern  chivalry,  and  has  already  been  advocating  the  gallows 
pretty  freely.     ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was   not  the  man  to  desire  his  death   to 
be  avenged  in  any  way,  but  it  is  feared  Andy  Johnson  will  take  upon  himself 
what  he  may  consider  to  be  a  public  duty  with  some  zeal  for  the  work.     Now 
that  Robert  Lee  has  left  behind  him  the  patrons  of  the  assassin  Booth,  not  much 
regret  will  be  expressed  among  the  humane  and  intelligent  of  this  country  if 
Jeff.  Davis  and  his  whole  gang  expiate  on  the  gallows  the  crime  they  have  been 
guilty  of  in  instigating  a  rebellion  without  better  reason  for  it  than  the  preser 
vation  of  southern  rights  in  human  cattle.     If  it  be  still  denied  that  slavery 
was  the  mainspring  of  the  revolt,  we  have  but  to  point  to  the  demands  of  the 
southern  leaders  to  save  the  confederacy  by  making  soldiers  of  the  negroes,  and 
to  the  fact  that  up  to  the  last  hour  the  slaveholders  would  not  part  with  their 
black  chattels.     There  is  not,  however,  a  shred  of  argument  to  support  the 
southern  revolt,  and  it  is  but  fitting  that  those  who  inspired  it  for  the  most  foul 
purpose  should  now  suffer  for  the  guilt  of  all  the  desolation  that  has  been 
caused.     In  Andy  Johnson  vengeance  may  have  a  terrible  minister,  but  let  us 
remember  that  the  crimes  committed  against  the  negro  race  for  half  a  century 
have  likewise  to  be  cast  into  the  scale.     As  for  the  pacification  of  the  South, 
that  will  be  an  easy  matter.     Some  two  hundred  thousand  black  troops  quar 
tered  upon  their  old  masters,  and  officered  by  a  few  Butlers  and  Blenkers,  will 
solve  the  difficulty  readily  enough.     It  may  perchance  happen  that  under  such 
a  regime  the  white  men  may  occasionally  get  their  throats  cut,  and  the  white 
women  may  find  their  old  servants  rather  unpleasant  masters;  but  if  murder 
and  outrage  occur,  it  will  only  be  a  continuance  of  southern  customs,  with  the 
difference  that  black  instead  of  white  men  will  be  in  the  ascendant.     We  write 
witli  an  indignation  of  the  fiendish  crime  committed  that  we  expect  will  appeal 
to  not  a  few  of  our  readers ;  and  to   these  we   especially   recommend   the 


552  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

propriety  of  some  immediate  public  expression  of  sympathy  with  the  families  of 
President  LINCOLN  and  Secretary  Seward.  The  contemptible  silence  Paisley 
has  observed  during  the  whole  course  of  the  American  conflict  goes  far  to  blot 
out  the  recollection  of  the  public  and  liberal  spirit  our  town  once  had  a  repu 
tation  for ;  but  the  present  emergency  offers  an  opportunity  for  asserting  our 
sympathy  with  the  triumph  of  emancipation  on  the  American  continent,  and  the 
admiration  we  had  for  the  honest  old  man  whose  life  has  been  so  ruthlessly 
sacrificed  in  the  struggle. 

In  furthering  this  purpose  we  will  readily  aid  in  any  way,  give  publicity  to 
letters,  or  make  public  such  suggestions  as  may  be  communicated  to  us,  and 
we  only  hope  the  proposal  may  meet  with  an  immediate  and  fitting  response. 


[From  the  West  Surrey  Times,  Saturday,  April  29,  1865.  ] 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  kind  and  good  President  of  the  United  States,  has 
been  assassinated,  and  among  all  the  news  of  startling  import  which  reaches 
us  this  week — the  death  of  the  amiable  Czarowitz  of  Russia,  the  uncertain 
state  of  the  health  of  the  king  of  the  Belgians,  the  assassination  of  the  assistant 
secretary  of  the  Russian  legation  at  Paris,  the  capitulation  of  his  army  by 
General  Lee,  and  the  confession  of  the  murder  of  her  little  brother,  five  years 
ago,  by  Constance  Kent — that  is  the  one  subject  which  engrosses  public  atten 
tion  and  occupies  the  minds  of  all  thinking  men.  A  full  account,  so  far  as  it 
has  yet  reached  us,  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  will  be  found  in 
another  column.  Let  us  briefly  recapitulate  a  few  of  the  events  which  have 
been  hurrying  forward  with  such  terrific  rapidity  in  the  United  States  within 
the  last  few  weeks,  and  drop  a  tear  to  the  memory  of  a  man  who,  in  circum 
stances  of  unparalleled  difficulty,  did  as  much  for  his  country  as  any  of  his 
predecessors  in  the  high  office  which  he  held — Washington  or  Adams,  Jefferson 
or  Madison,  Monroe  or  Quincy  Adams,  Jackson  or  Van  Buren,  Harrison  or 
Tyler,  Polk  or  Taylor,  Fillmore,  Pierce,  or  Buchanan ;  and  these  names 
constitute  the  whole  of  the  men  who  have  presided  over  the  United  States  of 
North  America  since  their  government  was  fairly  established  on  its  present 
basis  in  1789. 

*  *  *  *  ***** 

LINCOLN  was,  withal,  so  good  a  man ;  his  country  looked  to  him  so 
earnestly  in  her  hour  of  need ;  his  patriotism  was  so  great ;  his  honesty  so 
sterling ;  his  clemency  so  marked ;  his  piety  so  pure ;  his  firmness  so  inex 
haustible,  that  none  but  miscreants  such  as  these  could  have  entertained  for  a 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       553 

moment  the  atrocious  idea  of  a  crime  like  this.     In  the  magnificent  language 
of  Macbeth,  when  soliloquizing  upon  the  proposed  murder  of  the  gentle  Duncan — 

"  He  hath  borne  his  faculties  so  meek,  hath   been 
So  clear  in  his  great  office,  that  his  virtues 
Will  plead  like  angels,  trumpet-tongned,  against 
The  deep  damnation  of  his  taking  off; 
And  pity,  like  a  naked,  new-born  babe, 
Striding  the  blast,  on  Heaven's  cherubim  horsed, 
Upon  the  sightless  couriers  of  the  air, 
Shall  blow  the  horrid  deed  in  every  eye, 
That  tears  shall  drown  the  wind." 


GEEECE. 


[Translation.  ] 

MINISTRY  OF  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 

Athens,  May  9,  1865. 

The  infamous  assassination  attempted  lately  against  the  person  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  as  also  against  the 
enlightened  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Mr.  William  H.  Seward,  has  filled 
with  horror  arid  indignation  the  whole  Greek  nation  and  the  government  of  Ins 
Royal  Highness,  so  much  more  as  at  the  moment  when  this  dreadful  crime  was 
being  perpetrated  the  end  of  the  sanguinary  war  was  being  ushered  in  which 
for  so  many  years  had  shaken  a  free  and  intelligent  country,  to  which  Greece 
has  never  ceased  feeling  the  greatest  sympathy. 

The  death  of  a  man  of  such  high  fame  as  the  now  immortal  LINCOLN  is 
an  irreparable  and  common  loss,  felt  not  only  by  the  United  States,  but  by 
mankind  in  general,  because,  as  a  truly  great  politician,  Mr.  LINCOLN  proved  by 
results  that  he  knew  how  to  protect  the  real  interests  of  the  nation  by  turning 
the  laurels  of  his  victorious  troops  towards  the  common  good  of  his  country 
and  mankind,  and  by  endeavoring  to  cement  a  union  by  clemency. 

You  are  solicited,  Mr.  Botassii,  to  express,  officially,  to  the  government  of 
the  United  States  the  deep  sympathy  of  the  Greek  nation  and  the  condolence 
which  it  would  convey  to  them  for  the  disaster  which  has  occurred,  and  you 
will  add  in  your  despatch  that  we  will  in  Greece  pray  that  the  United  States 
will  pass  unshaken  through  this  qrdeal,  being  confident  in  the  capacity  of  the 
man  who  has  succeeded  in  the  government  of  his  country. 

The  Minister, 

D.  BRAILAS. 

Mr.  D.  N.  BOTASSIF, 

Consul  of  his  Roi/al  Highness  in  New  York. 
70 


554  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

HANSEATIC  REPUBLICS. 


Mr.  Rosing  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

HANSEATIC  LEGATION, 

Washington,  April  16,  1865. 

SIR  :  It  was  with  deep  commotion  and  profound  sorrow  that  I  learned  the 
sad  events  of  which  your  note  of  yesterday  bears  intelligence. 

The  death  of  President  LINCOLN  will  be  lamented  throughout  this  country 
not  only,  but  throughout  the  world. 

My  heartfelt  sympathies  are  with  the  much-tried  Secretary  of  State  and 
the  Assistant  Secretary.  A  benign  Providence  may  spare  their  precious  lives 
and  let  them  witness  their  nation's  resurrection  from  the  mortal  blow  it  has 
suffered. 

I  trust  President  Johnson  will  inherit  the  people's  respect  and  confidence, 
of  which  his  predecessor  was  possessed  to  such  a  remarkable  degree. 

With  feelings  of  high  personal  regard,  sir,  I  have  the  honor  to  be  your 
most  obedient  servant, 

JOHANNES  ROSING. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  Wa-sJdngton. 


BREMEN. 

[Translation.] 

The  Senate  of  the  city  of  Bremen  to  President  Johnson. 

The  appalling  news  of  the  atrocious  deed  which  brought  to  so  sudden  an 
end  the  life  and  labors  of  President  LINCOLN  has  caused  horror  and  indignation 
wherever  it  has  gone,  but  perhaps  nowhere  in  a  higher  degree  than  in  our  city, 
whose  citizens  have  ever  since  the  first  foundation  of  the  American  Union 
maintained  with  its  people  uninterrupted  friendly  relations  of  commerce  and 
personal  intercourse,  and  which  at  the  present  time  has  more  numerous  connec 
tions,  comparatively,  with  the  great  transatlantic  republic  than  any  other  state 
of  the  European  continent. 

Indeed  the  loss  which  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States 
have  sustained  by  the  hand  of  a  fanatical  assassin  is  felt  the  same  as  a  public 
calamity  in  our  midst,  and  it  is  this  universal  sentiment  of  deep  sorrow  and 
indignation  which  prompts  us,  the  representatives  of  the  Bremen  republic,  to 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       555 

express  to  your  Excellency,  as  the  successor  of  President  LINCOLN,  the  feelings 
of  hearty  sympathy  with  which  we  in  common  with  all  our  citizens  regard  this 
severe  visitation  upon  your  country. 

May  Almighty  God,  who,  in  His  inscrutable  providence,  has  permitted 
the  commission  of  this  awful  crime,  avert  a  similar  calamity  from  the  United 
States  in  all  future  time;  and  may  He  by  His  richest  blessings  heal  the  wounds 
from  which  the  Union  is  suffering,  and  crown  by  an  early  peace  the  patriotic 
labors  in  which  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  died  as  a  martyr. 

We  avail  ourselves  of  this  mournful  occasion  to  commend  ourselves,  and 
the  republic  which  we  have  the  honor  of  representing,  to  the  friendly  considera 
tion  of  your  Excellency,  and  to  express  to  you  our  sentiments  of  distinguished 
esteem  and  regard. 

The  senate  of  the  free  Hanseatic  city  of  Bremen : 

The  President  of  the.  Senate, 

J.  D.  MEIER. 

His  Excellency  the  PRESIDENT 

of  the  United  States,  Washington,  D.  C. 


[Translation.] 

Address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  of  the  Bremen  House,  of  Burgesses  to  the 
United  States,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  President  Lincoln. 

BREMEN,  May  8,  1865. 

In  consideration  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  the  commit 
tee  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  the  free  state  of  Bremen  wishes  to  express  its 
warmest  and  most  cordial  sympathy  with  the  United  States  for  the  loss  of  a 
man  who  devoted  his  life  to  the  cause  of  freedom  and  equality  among  all  men. 

At  a  moment  when  the  deceased  President  and  the  people  of  the  United 
States  were  hoping  to  see  the  end  of  a  terrible  war  that  had  been  waged  tor 
years,  with  desperate  efforts  to  perpetuate  the  work  of  the  immortal  Washing 
ton  and  his  successors,  and  to  restore  a  lasting  peace  to  the  country  by  concilia 
tion  and  lenity,  the  weapon  of  a  ruthless  murderer  destroyed  the  man  who  did 
not  waver  in  days  of  the  greatest  trouble,  but  humbly  bent  before  the  Lord  of 
Hosts,  and,  always  mindful  of  his  high  duty,  marched  before  his  fellow-country 
men  in  the  path  of  rectitude,  giving  them  and  the  world  a  grand  example,  to 
show  how  a  real  honest  citizen  could  finally  accomplish  a  difficult  and  dangerous 
task  by  constancy  and  determination. 

While  we  earnestly  lament  the  death  of  such  a  distinguished  man,  who  had 
already  merited  the  highest  consideration  for  his  civic  virtues,  understood  and 
appreciated  by  the  citizens  of  Bremen  before  all  other  political  corporations,- we 


556  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

regret  the  attack  made  OB  his  true  and  consistent  friend  and  helper  Mr.  Seward, 
the  Secretary  of  State,  and  cherish  the  hope  that  it  may  please  Divine  Provi 
dence  to  preserve  that  distinguished  statesman  yet  many  years  to  do  good  to 
his  native  land  and  bless  his  fellow-countrymen. 

The  close  and  friendly  relations  which  have  long  existed  between  the 
United  States  and  the  free  state  of  Bremen,  the  deep  interest  we  take  in  the 
success  of  your  affairs,  and  the  just  indignation  which  the  bloody  deed  of  assas 
sination  has  caused  among  our  people  of  every  rank,  induce  us  to  hope  that  the 
expression  of  our  sympathy  and  condolence  with  the  people  of  the  United 
States  will  be  kindly  received  as  a  feeble  testimonial  of  our  good  wishes,  to  be 
added  to  the  many  honors  that  have  already  been  paid  by  many  nations  to  the 
memory  of  your  lamented  President. 

May  his  successor,  by  the  help  of  Providence,  be  enabled  to  carry  out  the 
great  plan  of  peace,  the  result  of  distinguished  victories,  and  show  the  world 
that  a  republican  government  has  been  saved  through  all  its  trials  and  troubles, 
and  that  the  helm  of  the  ship  of  state  is  placed  in  strong  and  skilful  hands. 

In  conclusion,  we  beg  you  to  act  as  the  interpreter  of  these  our  cordial 
sentiments  to  your  fellow-citizens,  and  request  you  to  communicate  this  address 
to  the  proper  authorities,  while  we  remain  your  devoted  friends  of  the  free  state 
of  Bremen. 

In  the  name  of  and  by  order  of  the  Bremen  House  of  Burgesses  : 

Dr.  FRIEDRICH  ADOLPH  MEYER, 

President. 

Mr.  HENRY  BOERNSTEIN, 

United  States  Consul. 


HAMBURG. 

[Translation.  ] 

TJie  Senate  of  the  city  of  Hamburg  to  President  Johnson. 

HAMBURG,  May  8,  1865. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  The  news  of  the  criminal  deed  which  so  unexpectedly 
terminated  the  life  and  usefulness  of  President  LINCOLN  has,  everywhere  else, 
evoked  in  all  circles  of  our  republic  just  indignation  and  sincere  grief.  The 
many  friendly  and  important  relations  which  connect  our  two  republics  forcibly 
urge  us  to  express  to  your  Excellency  our  warmest  sympathy  for  the  great  loss 
which  the  United  States  have  sustained  in  the  death  of  their  esteemed  Presi 
dent  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin. 

The  assembly  of  citizens  of  Hamburg,  in  their  session  of  the  3d  instant, 
resolved  unanimously  to  join  us  in  the  expression  of  our  feeling  of  profound 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        557 

May  it  please  Providence  to  avert  further  calamities  from  the 
United  States,  and  allow  them  soon  to  enjoy  again  the  blessings  of  peace,  of 
which  they  have  been  so  long  deprived,  and  may  your  Excellency  be  con 
vinced  that  we  shall  always  take  the  warmest  interests  in  the  destiny  of  the 
United  States. 

With  the  assurance  of  our  distinguished  regard,  we  subscribe  ourselves, 
the  Senate  of  the  free  and  Hanseatic  city  of  Hamburg. 

N.  F.  HALLER,  DR., 

The  President  of  the  Senate. 
W.  CROPP,  DR.,  Secretary. 


HAMBURG,  May  2,  1865. 

At  a  meeting  of  American  citizens  held  this  day  in  Hamburg,  it  was 
Resolved,  That  whereas  our  Almighty  Father  has  permitted  to  be  removed 
from  us  our  beloved  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  we  afflicted  citizens,  at  this 
time  distant  from  our  country,  desire  to  place  on  record  the  overwhelming  grief 
which  this  sad  event  inspires.  God  in  his  mercy  permitted  him  to  live  long 
enough  to  impress  upon  us  a  deep  and  everlasting  affection  for  his  virtues,  and 
in  our  hearts  he  can  never  die.  His  memory  will  remain  to  us,  and  he  will 
share  with  the  "  father  of  our  country  "  the  honored  place  of  being  first  in  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen. 

Resolved,  That  our  chairman,  Hon.  James  R.  McDonald,  vice-consul  of  the 
United  States  in  this  city,  send  a  copy  of  this  resolution,  with  our  heartfelt 
condolence,  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  Secretary  of  State. 

JAMES  R.  MCDONALD.         JOHN  H.  KLIPPART,  of  Ohio. 

ALEX.  SOTTAN.  FREDERIC  WIPPERMANN. 

FR.  MEISSNER,  New  York.  JOHN  R.  WARBURG. 

EMANUEL  LYON.  P.  J.  BENJAMIN, 

RUD.  BORMANN.  EDWARD  NIEBUHR. 

AND  THITY  OTHER  NAMES. 


L  UBE  C. 
Mr.  Schumacher  to  Mr.  Seward. 

BALTIMORE,  June  3,  1865. 

SIR:  The  senate  and  people  of  the  republic  of  Lubec,  not  content  with 
the  oral  assurance  of  their  sincere  sympathy  for  the  loss  the  American  nation 
has  suffered  in  the  untimely  end  of  their  beloved  President — which  the  under- 


558  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

signed  had  the  honor  of  giving  in  their  name — desire  also  to  add  a  testimony 
in  writing  of  these  sentiments.  They  are  embodied  in  the  accompanying 
letter,  which  you  are  respectfully  requested  to  hand  to  his  Excellency  the 
President ;  and  if,  as  I  hope,  he  will  favor  the  senate  with  a  reply,  it  will  afford 
me  pleasure  to  transmit  the  same  to  that  body. 

I  remain,  with  sincere  regard,  your  obedient  servant, 

A.  SCHUMACHER, 

Acting  Charge  d 'Affaires  of  the  Hanseatic  Republic. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


[Translation.] 

LUBEC,  May  10,  1865. 

EXCELLENCY  :  The  news  of  the  assassination  whi  ch  terminated  the  life  of 
the  universally  honored  and  very  worthy  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  has 
filled  our  city  with  equal  horror  at  the  crime,  and  pain  and  sorrow  for  the  loss 
of  the  distinguished  man  who  fell  a  victim. 

It  is  this  sentiment  of  sincere  participation  in  the  mourning  for  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN  pervading  our  senate,  citizens,  and  the  entire  community,  to  which  we 
now  desire  to  give  heart-felt  expression. 

We  comprehend  the  magnitude  of  the  loss  which  the  government  and 
people  of  the  United  States  have  sustained ;  we  most  sincerely  wish  prosperity 
to  the  Union,  and  commend  our  republic  to  the  good  will  of  your  Excellency, 
feeling  ourselves  honored  in  tendering  you  the  assurance  of  our  particular 
regard  and  unaltered  esteem. 

The  senate  of  the  free  and  Hanseatic  city  of  Lubec : 

H.  BREHMER,  Dr., 

Presiding  Burgomaster. 

C.  II.  OVERBECK,  Dr.,  Secretary. 


DUCHY  OF  HESSE   DARMSTADT. 

CONSULATE  OF  THE  GRAND  DUCHY  OF  HESSE  DARMSTADT, 

Philadelphia,  June  7,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  been  directed  by  his  Royal  Highness  the  Gand  Duke  of 
Hesse,  through  his  prime  minister  the  Baron  von  Dalwigk,  to  express  to  your 
Excellency  the  sincere  sympathy  of  his  Royal  Highness,  and  of  all  his  faithful 
subjects,  at  the  assassination  of  the  justly  beloved  and  esteemed  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  and  the  wish 


EXPRESSIONS  OF   CONDOLENCE  AND   SYMPATHY.  559 

and  hope  that  under  your  Excellency's  administration  the  constitutional  authori 
ties  may  soon  be  re-established,  and  that  peace  and  plenty  may  reign  again 
over  the  whole  of  the  land. 

Enclosed  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  your  Excellency  a  letter  of  con 
dolence  (with  a  translation  attached)  addressed  to  me  by  the  prime  minister  of 
Darmstadt,  the  Baron  von  Dalwigk,  and  I  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to 
renew  my  expression  of  abhorrence  at  the  unhallowed  crime  which  deprived 
this  country  of  its  first  magistrate,  and  at  a  moment  when  friend  and  foe  began 
to  pay  their  just  tribute  of  admiration  to  the  deceased  martyr  for  the  almost 
accomplished  suppression  of  a  rebellion  that  finds  no  parallel  in  the  past,  and 
which,  it  is  to  be  hoped  in  God,  will  never  be  equalled  in  the  future.  Allow 
me  to  express  the  hope  that  under  your  Excellency's  administration  this  land 
may  again  teem  with  plenty,  that  its  commerce  may  flourish  more  than  ever 
and  unmolested  in  all  the  waters  of  the  world,  under  the  bright  stars  and 
stripes  under  which  such  glorious  deeds  have  been  achieved. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain  your  Excellency's  most  humble  servant, 

C.  F.  HAGEDORN, 
Consul  General  of  Hesse  Darmstadt. 

His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


'      Jll    0.   ,-N  (•    i 

[Translation.] 

DARMSTADT,  May  12,  1865. 

SIR  :  It  has  pleased  Providence  to  cut  short,  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin, 
the  life  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  at  the  moment  when  the  great  and  just  cause  to  which  his  life  had 
been  devoted  was  on  the  point  of  obtaining  a  complete  triumph  through  the 
victories  of  the  armies  of  the  Union. 

The  news  of  this  tragic  event  was  received  here,  as  in  all  the  civilized 
states  of  the  Old  and  the  New  World,  with  the  most  painful  surprise,  and  the 
grand  ducal  government  feels  itself  impelled  to  give  utterance  to  this  feeling  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States. 

By  order  of  his  Royal  Highness  the  Grand  Duke,  my  most  gracious  lord,  I 
therefore  request  you,  sir,  to  express  to  his  Excellency  Andrew  Johnson,  the 
present  President  of  the  United  States,  in  a  becoming  manner,  the  sincere 
sympathy  which  is  felt  here  at  the  much  to  be  lamented  decease  of  President 
LINCOLN.  At  the  same  time  I  request  you,  sir,  to  express  the  wish  and  the  hope 
that  the  Union,  which  has  become  the  second  fatherland  of  so  many  Germans, 
and  especially  of  so  many  who  belonged  to  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Hesse,  under 
the  guide  of  the  present  President,  will  soon  rejoice  in  the  re-establishment 


560  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

of  the  constitutional  authorities  over  the  whole  of  its  territory,  and  with  it  the 
enjoyment  of  a  new  period  of  peace  and  prosperity. 

Allow  me  to  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  express  to  you  the  renewed 

assurance  of  my  perfect  esteem. 

BARON  VON  DALWIGK. 
C.  F.  HAGEDORN,  Esq., 

Consul  General  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Hesse  Darmstadt, 


HAYTI. 


[Translation.] 

HAYTIEN  LEGATION  IN  WASHINGTON, 

New  York,  April  17,  1865. 

SIR  :  Your  note  of  the  15th  instant  brings  me  sad  confirmation  of  the 
horrid  crime  that  ended  the  days  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  news  of  the  atro 
cious  attempt  to  assassinate  Mr.  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  and 
Mr.  Frederick  Seward,  Assistant  Secretary. 

These  unfortunate  events,  which  have  thrown  the  whole  United  States 
into  consternation  and  mourning,  will  everywhere  excite  the  same  wail  of  sor 
row  and  condemnation. 

I  trace  these  lines  with  a  wounded  heart,  and  I  can  judge  by  my  own  feel 
ings  how  his  Excellency  the  President  of  Hayti  and  his  people  will  be  affected 
by  the  calamity  of  the  14th  of  April. 

You  will  oblige  me  greatly  by  having  the  enclosed  documents  transmitted 
to  their  destination,  and  at  the  same  time  I  beg  you  to  express  to  the  family  of 
the  late  President,  and  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  my  profound  sympathy  for 
them  in  their  deep  affliction. 

You  inform  me  that  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson,  the  Vice-President,  has  formally 
assumed  the  functions  of  President,  in  conformity  with  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  that  you  are  authorized  by  him  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  Secre 
tary  of  State  till  further  orders. 

In  expressing  my  wishes  that  Providence  may  watch  over  the  American 
Union  and  its  new  chief,  and  restore  Mr.  William  H.  Seward  and  Mr.  Frederick 
Seward  to  perfect  health,  I  beg  you  to  accept  the  assurance  of  the  respectful 
consideration  with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  ever  your  most  obedient 
and  humble  servant, 

D.  BRUNO, 
Secretary  and  Acting  Charge  of  the  Haytien  Legation 

near  tJie  Government  of  the  United  States. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       561 

HAWAIIAN   ISLANDS. 


NEW  YORK,  April  21,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  this  day  of  your  letter  of 
the  18th  instant,  enclosing  a  programme  of  the  obsequies  of  the  late  President 
and  inviting  my  attendance  at  the  religious  services  at  the  Executive  Mansion. 

Indisposition  having  prevented  my  presence  at  Washington  on  this  sad 
occasion,  I  take  this  opportunity  to  assure  you  that  it  was  with  the  deepest 
regret  that  I  learned  the  great  bereavement  which,  under  such  heart-rending 
circumstances,  has  befallen  the  late  President's  family  and  the  nation.  In  this 
regret  I  am  sure  his  Majesty  the  King  and  his  government  will  participate. 

Seldom  are  the  living  called  to  mourn  the  death  of  a  ruler  whose  noble 
deeds  had  gained  for  him  such  universal  respect  and  esteem. 

I  pray  you  will  be  pleased  to  express  to  the  family  of  the  late  President 
the  sentiments  which  I  feel  on  this  mournful  occasion. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  consideration,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  W.  F.  ODELL. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  §c.,  fyc.,  §c. 


NEW  YORK,  April  29,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  beg  to  express  to  you  the  great  satisfaction  I  have  in  the  continued 
favorable  reports  of  the  convalescence  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  as  well  as  of 
the  improving  health  of  his  son,  the  Assistant  Secretary.  It  gives  me  great 
pleasure  to  be  able  to  announce  the  same  to  the  Hawaiian  government  by  the 
mail  closing  this  day. 

I  pray  you  will  kindly  make  known  to  the  Secretary  of  State  the  deep 
interest  I  feel  in  the  recovery  of  himself  and  son.     May  the  all-merciful  God 
long  continue  their  lives  in  the  service  of  their  country. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  W.  F.  ODELL. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Sfc.,  Sfc,  Sfc. 


[Address  delivered  by  Rev.  E.  Corwin,  in  Fort  street  church,  Honolulu,  before  a 
crowded  assembly  of  American  and  other  foreign  residents,  Tuesday,  May  9, 
on  the  reception  of  the  news  of  the  murder  of  President  Lincoln. 

AMERICAN  FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  No  wonder  that  so  many  are  congregated 
here  to-day  to  testify  their   heartfelt  sorrow  for  our  nation's  loss.     And   no 

7] 


562  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

wonder  that  so  many  of  almost  every  clime  and  every  nationality,  deeply 
sympathizing  with  our  grief,  are  here  with  us  in  the  sanctuary  to-day.  That 
thrill  of  anguish  which  every  loyal  American  felt  all  across  yonder  continent, 
as  the  sad  tidings  were  borne  to  them  that  President  LINCOLN  had  fallen  by  the 
hand  of  an  assassin,  has  been  felt  not  less  deeply  by  every  one  of  us.  Why, 
yesternight,  did  strong  men,  little  accustomed  to  weep,  shed  tears  as  they  met 
each  other  on  our  streets  ?  Why  was  there  mourning  in  so  many  households  ? 
our  children  saddened  as  if  by  the  tidings  that  one  of  our  dearest  kindred  had 
died  ?  Why,  but  because  we  all  felt  that  this  was  to  each  one  of  us  a  personal 
bereavement — to  every  true  American  the  saddest  intelligence  that  had  ever 
reached  these  shores  ?  Our  isolation  from  our  fatherland  has  not  bleached  out 
our  love  of  country.  Not  all  the  waves  that  roll  between  us  and  yonder  far 
distant  shore  could  wash  out  our  patriotic  devotion  to  that  dear  land  from  which 
for  a  time  we  are  voluntary  exiles — as  not  all  those  waves  could  suffice  to  wash 
out  that  organized  crime  which  to-day  causes  a  whole  nation  to  mourn  as  they 
never  mourned  before.  Not  that  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  great  and  good  as  he  was, 
was  so  much  greater  or  so  much  better  than  all  others  of  our  illustrious  dead. 
But  as  none  other  had  ever  borne  the  responsibilities  of  Chief  Magistrate 
during  such  troublous  times,  and  thus  been  permitted  to  live  so  useful  a  life, 
so  neither  had  any  of  our  great  men  ever  died  such  a  death.  The  nation,  sorely 
bereaved,  had  wept  for  its  departed  statesmen  and  heroes  before,  but  never  had 
it  mourned  the  untimely  death  of  so  illustrious  a  martyr.  The  fathers  of  the 
republic,  with  fitting  honors,  had  been  laid  to  rest.  The  people,  devoted  to 
their  chosen  rulers  with  that  intelligent  devotion  which  liberty  alone  can  foster, 
had  shed  tears  of  commingled  sorrow  and  gratitude,  when  the  only  Washington 
the  centuries  could  afford  died  in  a  good  old  age  in  quietness  and  full  of  honors. 
Such  statesmen  as  Clay  and  Webster,  too  great  to  be  Presidents,  had  been 
almost  idolized  by  the  people  while  living,  and  sincerely  mourned  by  them 
when  they  died.  Twice  before  had  they  carried  to  the  grave  their  Chief 
Magistrate  when  as  yet  he  had  served  but  a  small  portion  of  his  official  term. 
But  never  before  had  they  mourned,  as  now  they  mourn,  for  one  stricken  down 
at  the  very  height  of  his  popularity,  from  the  very  pinnacle  of  earthly  glory, 
not  by  the  act  of  God,  but  at  the  instigation  of  the  devil ;  not  by  the  gradual 
approach  of  disease,  which  might  have  prepared  us  for  the  shock,  but  suddenly, 
by  the  blow  of  a  fiend  in  human  form,  a  rash  and  foolhardy,  yet  calculating  and 
deliberate  assassin. 

But  it  is  no  part  of  my  purpose  to  rouse  your  indignation  or  to  intensify 
your  grief,  as  it  is  alike  needless  and  impossible  to  increase  your  abhorrence 
of  this  monstrous  crime.  Let  me  the  rather,  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  of 
peace,  whose  mission  it  is  to  comfort  the  afflicted,  indicate  some  of  those 
elements  of  consolation  which,  while  they  serve  not  to  mitigate  the  crime  or  to 
lessen  our  loss,  may  help  to  assuage  our  grief. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       563 

Think  not  alone  of  the  nation's  loss  in  the  President's  death,  but  also  of 
what  the  nation  has  gained  by  his  most  useful  and  laborious  life,  through  more 
than  one  official  term  marvellously  preserved. 

Nobody  doubts  that  this  same  malignant,  murderous  spirit,  which  has  at 
length  culminated  in  organized  assassination,  has  been  cherished  in  the  hearts 
of  multitudes  at  the  south  and  the  north  ever  since  this  infernal  treason  was 
hatched.  It  plotted  and  thought  to  consummate  its  hellish  purpose  at  Baltimore, 
before  the  man  of  the  people,  that  man  of  common  honesty  and  common  sense, 
should  be,  installed  in  the  place  of  his  imbecile  predecessor,  who  was  content 
to  see  the  nation  die  under  his  hand  without  remedy,  and  who  knew  of  no  way 
in  which  rebellious  States  could  be  coerced ;  and  it  has  been  breathing  out 
threats  of  assassination  and  offering  bribes  and  large  rewards  for  assassination 
ever  since.  But  He,  the  all-wise  preserver  of  the  man  and  the  nation,  thwarted 
the  fiendish  purpose  for  more  than  four  long  years.  The  marvel  is,  not  that  he 
is  slain  at  last,  but  that  God  has  shown  His  great  love  to  our  nation  by 
preserving  him  so  long.  Think  you  that  he  who  for  those  long  anxious  years 
had  held  with  a  steady  hand  the  helm  of  state,  while  the  vessel  was  outriding 
the  protracted  storm,  and  had,  under  God,  guided  it  safely  through  the  breakers 
till  it  had  almost  reached  the  port  of  peace — think  you  that  when  Richmond 
was  taken  and  Lee  surrendered  he  was  not  ready  to  say,  with  one  of  old,  "  Now 
let  me  depart  in  peace  !"  Ah  yes;  if  it  had  only  been  in  peace,  then  we  could 
the  better  have  borne  it.  But  to  die  a  violent  death  in  the  midst  of  his  useful 
ness,  when  as  yet  the  work  was  not  finished,  and  the  proclamation  of  peace, 
signed  by  that  honored  name,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  had  not  as  yet  been  issued 
to  the  world — to  be  murdered  when  there  was  seemingly  less  cause  than  ever 
to  anticipate  it — to  fall  a  victim  to  that  malice  which  struck  at  the  head  of  the 
nation,  only  because  it  utterly  despaired  of  destroying  the  nation  itself — to 
come,  like  Moses,  to  the  very  border  of  the  promised  land,  and  by  faith  to 
behold,  as  from  the  heights  of  Nebo,  the  future  glory  of  the  republic,  and  yet 
not  be  permitted  to  enter  the  land  and  see  the  promise  fulfilled — this  seems 
sad  indeed.  But  what  if  the  nation  had  been  left  without  their  great  leader 
while  as  yet  wandering  in  the  wilderness,  and  no  promise  of  peace  had  greeted 
their  longing  eyes  ?  Yes,  even  in  the  bitterness  of  our  sorrow  there  is  this 
occasion  for  gratitude ;  the  dark  cloud  is  fringed  with  this  golden  edge,  and  we 
can  say,  thank  God,  he  lived  to  sec  this  promised  land,  towards  which,  with  the 
patience  of  a  patriotic  faith,  he  had  so  long  been  journeying.  Yes,  thank  God,  he 
was  permitted  to  behold  that  promised  land  ready  to  become  the  perpetual  and 
peaceful  heritage  of  a  great  and  strong  and  united  people ;  but  he  knew  not 
that  the  time  and  manner  of  his  own  death  should  be  the  miracle  by  which  the 
Jordan  waves  of  difficulty  and  doubt  should  be  rolled  away,  that  the  united 
tribes,  bearing  the  sacred  ark  of  liberty,  might  at  once  go  over  to  possess  it. 

O,  our  bereavement  is  bitter  ;  our  loss  is  great ;   our  hearts  are  very  heavy  ; 


564  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

but  we  accept  all  that  God  has  permitted,  with  an  unfaltering  faith  that  He 
will  bring  great  good  out  of  the  monstrous  evil,  and  that  He  will,  by  the 
sympathy  of  their  mutual  griefs,  bind  the  hearts  of  loyal  Americans  together, 
as  they  could  have  been  bound  together  in  no  other  way.  O,  my  countrymen ! 
was  such  a  sacrifice  needed  to  seal  with  more  than  royal  blood  our  bond  of  love 
to  our  country,  and  our  covenant  of  faith  in  freedom  ?  Who  shall  say  that  he 
who  has  died  for  that  faith  would  not  willingly  have  offered  himself  a  voluntary 
victim  ? 

It  is  also  comforting  to  think  that  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  poor  man's 
friend,  the  emancipator  of  the  oppressed,  the  chosen  champion  of  liberty  and 
law,  died  at  a  time  and  in  a  manner  most  favorable  for  his  own  already  illustrious 
fame ;  and  so,  as  a  martyr  for  liberty,  is  his  memory  most  securely  embalmed 
in  the  grateful  hearts  of  an  affectionate  people. 

Have  you  ever  thought  if  Moses,  the  great  leader  and  lawgiver  of  Israel, 
had  lived  to  enter  Canaan  and  to  attempt  the  adjustment  of  all  the  difficult 
questions  pertaining  to  the  driving  out  of  the  heathen  and  the  peaceful  settle 
ment  of  the  tribes,  he  might  have  left  some  slight  blot  upon  the  record  of  his 
fair  fame,  and  somewhat  tarnished  the  transcendent  brilliancy  of  a  most 
illustrious  career  ?  History  has  no  record  of  shame  to  make  on  all  those  pages 
devoted  to  the  life  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  As  his  best  legacy  to  his  bereaved 
country,  he  leaves  a  clean  record  and  an  unsullied  name. 

Nor  less  may  we  derive  comfort  from  the  thought  that  this  awful,  this 
aggravated  crime,  sweeps  away  the  last  vestige  of  an  apology  from  those  mis 
guided  sympathizers  with  treason,  at  home  and  abroad,  who  had  done  so  much 
to  weaken  our  faith  in  human  nature,  and  to  make  us  almost  ashamed  of  the 
race  to  which  we  belong.  The  true  spirit  of  the  rebellion  is  by  this  act 
written  as  in  letters  of  fire  across  the  very  heavens,  that  all  may  sec  it,  declaring 
that  in  theory  and  in  fact  it  is  nothing  less  than  organized  assassination.  He 
who  in  his  very  heart  condemns  the  crime  and  detests  the  perpetrators,  the 
instigators  and  the  sympathizers  with  it,  as  the  basest  of  villains,  may  claim  to 
be  your  friend  and  mine.  But  he  who  in  his  heart  rejoices,  or  by  word  or  look 
justifies  it,  is  our  worst  enemy.  He  is  himself  at  heart  a  murderer,  as  well  as 
a  traitor,  and  we  cannot  fellowship  with  him  without  ourselves  partaking  of  his 
guilt. 

This  event,  in  itself  so  evil,  will  bring  forth  its  legitimate  fruits  of  good,  if 
it  shall  serve,  as  it  surely  will,  to  show  to  all  men  how  vile  the  intent,  how 
malignant  the  spirit,  and  how  fiendish  the  hate  of  those  who  planned  and 
instigated  that  wholesale  assassination  which  has  slain  so  many  victims, 
bereaved  so  many  households,  and,  without  a  cause,  spread  desolation  and  woe 
over  one  of  the  most  favored  lands  that  yonder  sun  in  the  heavens  ever  shone 
upon. 

Nor  less  is  it  a  comfort  to  think  that  this  event,  in  its  immediate  effect,  is 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       565 

another  illustration  of  the  fact,  of  late  so  often  impressed  upon  us,  that  God 
muketh  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him,  and  turneth  the  counsels  of  the 
wicked  headlong.     What  those  assassins  sought  to  do  was  to  paralyze  the  nation. 
But  they  have  only  been  the  unwitting  instruments  of  rousing  it  to  new  life, 
and  of  calling  forth  all  its  latent  energies.     They  thought  to  help  the  already 
doomed,  hopelessly  doomed  rebellion,  but  they  only  wrote  its  death-warrant  in 
the  best  blood  of  the  nation,  and  robbed  the  South  of  its  most  kind  and  con 
ciliatory  friend.     That  mock-tragical  shout  of  the  fleeing  assassin,  Sic  semper 
fyrannis,  was  the  death-cry  of  despair,  destined  to  be  applied  to  the  real  tyrants 
over  the  revolted  States,  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion.     It  was,  in  behalf  of 
those  leaders,  a  decree  against  themselves,  saying — since  in  their  madness  and 
folly  they  have  rejected  the  terms  of  peace  so  often  extended  to  them,  and 
consummated  their  guilt  by  instigating  the  murder  of  the  most  lenient  of  rulers, 
the  kindest-hearted  of  men — so  let  them  perish  !     Vindicative,  but  not  vindic 
tive,  our  rulers  had  been  disposed  to  deal  too  tenderly  with  traitors — erring,  if 
at  all,  on  the  side  of  mercy.     But  those  plotters  of  treason  have  by  this  act 
demanded  strict  justice  instead.     Henceforth  there  can  be  no  compromise  with 
traitors  ;  no  sacrifice  of  principle  ;  no  permission  to  talk  and  think  treason,  much 
less  to  act  it.     To  this  standard  of  patriotism  and  this  test  of  nationality  has 
this  last  act  of  infamy  brought  the  great  bulk  of  the  nation  ;  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  that  land  treason  can  no  longer  be  tolerated  in  thought, 
speech,  or  behavior.     Henceforth  the  only  basis  of  settlement  is  unconditional 
surrender  and  uncompromising  loyalty.     And  what  more  shall  I  say,  but  that 
this  act,  if  it  does  not  seal  the  lips,  brands  with  lasting  shame  the  brow  of  every 
apologist  for  that  institution,  hated  of  man  and  accursed  of  God,  which  has  so 
far  debauched  the  conscience,  and  perverted  the  reason,  and  maddened  the 
heart  of  those  who,  because  of  their  devotion  to  slavery,  have  willed  that  the 
nation  should  die,  and  that  liberty  should  perish.     Go  read  the  record  of  our 
heroes  slain,  who  have  freely  poured  out  their  blood,  and  willingly  yielded  up 
their  lives  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the  nation ;  ask  who  slew  all  these,  and 
from  the  tomb  comes  back  but  one  response — slavery  !     Go  look  at  that  casket, 
all  unpolished,  which  held  a  diamond  of  rarest  worth — an  honest  patriot's  soul; 
ask  who  dealt    that    death-wound,  and   listen  to   the  verdict  of  a  mourning 
nation — it  was  slavery  !     Go  stand  by  the  bedside  of  that  great  statesman  who, 
with  such  masterly  ability,  has  conducted  the  foreign  correspondence  of  the 
government  for  more  than  four  years,  maintaining  the  honor  of  the  nation  abroad, 
saving  us  from  ever-threatening  complications,  and  extorting  honor  and  victory 
from  apparent  concessions  and  apologies — go  ask  who  struck  that  helpless  sick 
man  with  the  knife  of  a  cowardly  assassin,  and  there  comes  back  but  one 
response — slavery  ! 

As  Hamilcar,  the  father  of  the  greatest  of  the  Carthagenian  generals,  led 
his  son  Hannibal  to  the  altar  in  the  temple,  at  the  age  of  nine  years,  and  then; 


5(3(5  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

laying  the  hand  of  that  son  upon  the  bleeding  victim,  bade  him  swear  eternal 
hatred  to  Rome,  so  let  every  American  father  bring  his  son  into  the  temple  of 
liberty,  and  there,  laying  his  hand  all  reverently  upon  the  bleeding  victim,  exhort 
him  to  swear  eternal  fealty  to  freedom,  eternal  hatred  to  slavery.] 


[Translation.  ] 

The  residents  of  the  district  of  Lahaina,  Hawaiian  Islands,  met  in  the 
church  at  Maui  on  the  13th  of  May,  1865,  at  2  p.  m.,  on  account  of  the  death 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  republic  of  America. 

The  meeting  was  opened  with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  D.  Baldwin,  after  which, 
on  nomination  of  D.  Baldwin,  M.  Ihilie  was  chosen  chairman,  and  D.  Kahawlilio 
secretary.  On  motion  of  D.  Baldwin,  Mr.  J.  W.  H.  Kawnahie  read  his  reso 
lutions  expressive  of  the  sympathy  of  Lahaina,  on  account  of  the  assassination 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  The  resolutions  as  approved  are  as  follows,  viz  : 

Kin  killeth  kin ;  countryman  murdcreth  countryman ;  surely  this  rebellion 
and  calamity  verify  Sacred  Writ — "  a  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own 
household."  It  well  becometh  us  of  Lahaina-Maui,  Sandwich  Islands,  to  lament 
and  weep  together  with  the  republic  of  America  for  the  murder,  the  assassin 
ation,  of  the  great,  the  good,  the  liberator  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  victim  of 
hell-born  treason — himself  martyred,  yet  live  his  mighty  deeds,  victory,  peace, 
and  the  emancipation  of  those  despised,  like  all  of  us  of  the  colored  races: 
Therefore — 

Resolved,  That  we  of  Lahaina  mourn  together  with  the  republic  of  America, 
and  deeply  deplore  the  death  of  their  Chief  Magistrate,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Resolved,  That  we  unite  our  voice  of  lamentation  with  that  of  the  widows 
their  cruel  war  has  made,  in  sympathy  with  the  now  widowed  mother  of  all, 
Mrs.  Lincoln. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  eleven  be  chosen  to  present  our  sympathy 
in  this  national  bereavement  to  the  American  consul  of  this  district. 
•        Resolved,  That,  while  weeping  with  those  that  weep,  we  bow  in  submission 
to  the  divine  decree  of  Him  "  who  doeth  all  things  well ;"  for  thus  are  we 
taught,  and  thus  shall  we  be  blessed. 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  for  publication  in 
the  newspapers  Ke  au  O-Koa  and  in  the  Commercial  Advertiser. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  American  consul  for 
transmission  to  the  afflicted  widow. 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  of  eleven  present  to  the  American  consul 
the  assurances  of  our  highest  esteem  and  regard  for  the  President  of  the 
United  States. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       567 

On  motion  of  D.  Kelupuo  the  resolutions  were  read  a  second  time  by 
Charles  Kalu,  and  on  motion  of  J.  D.  Kahookano  were  fully  approved. 

On  motion  of  J.  W.  H.  Kawnahie  the  following  committee  of  eleven  were 
chosen,  viz  :  Hon.  J.  W.  H.  Kawnahie,  his  excellency  D.  Nahaolelua,  M.  Ihiki, 
M.  Kenui,  C.  W.  Kenui,  J.  D.  Kahookano,  Charles  Kalu,  Leni  Keliipio,  D. 
Alvolo,  D.  Kahawlilio,  and  Kaniaw. 

On  motion  of  J.  W.  H.  Kawnahie  it  was  decided  to  incorporate  the  minutes 
of  the  meeting  with  the  resolutions  to  be  forwarded. 

On  motion  of  ChaVles  Kalu  the  meeting  adjourned. 

D.  KAHAWLILIO, 

Secretary. 


ITALY. 


Mr.  Marmora  to  Mr.  Marsh. 

[Translation.] 

TURIN,  May  6,  18G5. 

Mr.  MINISTKR  :  I  have  received  the  note  which  you  have  done  me  the 
honor  to  address  me  under  date  of  May  5,  transmitting  to  me  a  copy  of  a  circular 
of  the  Department  of  State  at  Washington,  which  conveys  the  official  announce 
ment  of  the  assassination  committed  on  the  person  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  accession  of  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson  to  the  presidency. 

On  the  28th  of  April  last  I  hastened  to  transmit  to  the  minister  of  Italy 
at  Washington  the  address  which  the  Italian  Parliament  has  voted  to  the  Con 
gress  of  the  Union,  in  order  to  express  to  that  body  its  sentiments  of  lively, 
sympathy  and  the  indignation  which  the  execrable  crime  of  which  Mr.  LINCOLN 
has  been  the  victim  has  excited  in  Italy. 

The  King,  my  august  sovereign,  and  his  government,  fully  concur  in  this 
manifestation,  .and  I  renew  to  you,  Mr.  Minister,  the  warmest  expression  of  the 
sentiments  they  have  felt  in  common  with  the  whole  Italian  nation  on  this  sad 
occasion. 

In  forming  sincere  wishes  for  the  prosperity  of  the  States  of  the  Union, 
and  their  worthy  President,  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson,  I  beg  you  to  accept,  Mr. 
Minister,  the  assurance  of  my  high  consideration. 

ALPHONSE  LA  MARMORA. 


568  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.  ] 

TURIN,  April  28,  1865. 

SIR:  The  news  of  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  caused 
throughout  Italy  the  deepest  and  most  painful  sensation. 

The  Italian  Parliament,  by  spontaneous  act,  has  resolved  to  express  to  the 
American  nation,  in  this  their  sad  bereavement,  all  those  sentiments  of  genuine 
admiration  which  our  nation  entertained  for  the  eminent  man  who,  through 
times  so  fraught  with  danger,  so  wisely  and  steadily  directed  the  policy  of 
emancipation  of  the  noble  republic  of  North  America;  and  at  the  same  time  to 
represent  with  what  consternation  and  horror  that  honorable  body  apprized  the 
terrible  event.  The  house  of  representatives,  in  the  morning  session  of  yester 
day,  on  motion  by  Hon.  Mr.  Crispi,  seconded  by  several  other  members,  with 
the  entire  approval  of  the  ministry,  unanimously  concluded  "  That  the  flag  upon 
the  front  of  the  Carignani  palace  be  clad  in  mourning  during  three  consecutive 
days,  and  that  a  message  of  condolence  be  sent  to  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States." 

Herewith  I  enclose  you  said  message,  received  from  the  president  of  the 
house,  with  my  special  desire  that  you  will  transmit  it  to  its  address,  and  offer 
in  the  name  of  the  King's  government  to  the  President  of  the  United  States 
renewed  expressions  of  the  sympathy  and  grief  which  our  nation  feels,  and 
sincere  vows  for  the  welfare  of  the  republic. 
Accept,  sir,  &c.,  &c., 

The  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 

ALPHONSE  LA  MARMORA. 

Commander  BERTINATTI, 

Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  Italy  at  Washington. 


[Translation.] 

TURIN,  April  27,  1865. 

HONORABLE  SIR:  The  announcement  of  the  assassination  of  President 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  caused  a  profound  and  painful  sensation  in  the  Italian 
house  of  representatives.  From  every  political  party  into  which  this  house  is 
divided  a  common  cry  was  spontaneously  raised  of  condemnation  of  the  deed, 
and  of  high  commiseration  and  sympathy  for  the  illustrious  victim  and  the 
great  nation  of  which  he  was  the  worthy  chief. 

The  house,  by  unanimous  vote,  has  resolved,  "  That,  in  sign  of  grief,  the 
national  flag  be  clad  in  mourning  during  three  consecutive  days ;"  and  requested 
me  to  express,  in  a  special  message  to  you,  the  great  sorrow  which  Italy  herself 
and  all  the  friends  of  freedom  and  civilization  universally  share. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       569 

A  similar  feeling  has  been  awakened  by  the  news  of  the  attempt  to  take 
the  life  of  Secretary  Seward. 

Having  thus  fulfilled  the  melancholy  duty  assigned  me,  I  beg  you  now, 
honorable  sir,  to  accept  the  assurance  of  my  sympathy  and  high  personal  con 
sideration. 

The  President  of  the  House, 

G.  B.  CASSINIS. 
Hon.  Mr.  SPEAKER 

of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


[Translation.] 

ITALIAN  EMIGRATION  SOCIETY, 

Ancona,  May  4,  1865. 

When  the  unanimous  cry  of  sorrow  arose  from  every  corner  of  the  earth, 
lamenting  the  tragic  end  of  your  distinguished  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
and  of  execration  against  the  authors  of  the  atrocious  crime,  the  Italian  emigra 
tion  resident  in  the  '"Marshe,"  struck  by  such  a  misfortune,  shared  the  common 
sorrow  and  covered  with  black  crape  the  flag  of  the  Tiberian  wolf  and  Adriatic 
lion. 

LINCOLN,  promulgator  of  liberty,  defender  of  the  rights  of  man,  a  faithful 
follower  of  the  doctrine  taught  by  the  gospel,  desired  to  banish  slavery  from 
free  America,  and  to  put  an  end  to  this  stigma  upon  a  civilized  people.  Seeing 
that  any  compromise  with  the  oppressor  was  impossible,  he  was  able,  through 
the  energy  of  his  will  and  eloquent  words,  to  initiate  a  holy  war,  which,  owing 
to  the  valor  of  his  soldiers  and  the  free  sacrifices  of  the  northern  people,  was 
finished  by  federal  victories  and  the  planting  of  the  holy  flag  of  humanity  upon 
the  fortified  strongholds  of  the  slaveholders. 

Infamous  and  cowardly  men,  guided  by  fanaticism  and  selfishness,  through 
the  arm  of  an  assassin  struck  the  man  of  the  people  and  benefactor  of  humanity, 
with  other  illustrious  victims,  at  the  very  moment  when  the  Americans  were 
rejoicing  over  their  triumph,  believing  the  end  of  the  fratricidal  contest  to  be 
at  hand. 

LINCOLN  was  the  true  friend  of  humanity. 

LINCOLN  was  a  citizen  of  the  whole  world. 

LINCOLN  is  a  martyr  to  a  holy  principle. 

The  Italian  emigration,  faithful  to  their  principles  of  liberty,  brotherhood, 
and  sympathy  with  oppressed  nations,  have  always  followed,  with  great  anxiety, 
the  alternations  of  this  war  between  'civilization  and  barbarism,  and  rejoiced  at 
the  triumph  of  their  brothers,  while  they  wept  over  their  defeats.  Now,  filled 
with  the  most  intense  sorrow  at  this  tragic  and  unexpected  deed,  they  scarcely 

72 


570  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN 

know  how  to  express  their  feelings;  they  can  only  pray  God  for  the  pacifica 
tion  of  the  United  States,  and  for  the  abolition  forever  of  the  market  of  beings 
made  in  the  image  of  God,  that  sublime  object  which  was  the  aim  of  the  illus 
trious  martyr  of  whom  we  now  lament  the  sudden  and  bloody  death. 

The  commission  charged  to  present  this  address  beg  you  to  receive  and 
transmit  it  to  the  United  States  government  as  an  expression  of  their  friendship 
and  sympathy. 

M.  URGOLINUCCI, 

0.  CERRNI, 

G.  BERNARDINI, 

S.  DORIA, 

Committee. 
The  CONSUL  GENERAL 

of  the   United  States,  Florence. 


[Translation.] 

To  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America,  from  the  citizens  of  Acireale,  Sicihj. 

ACIREALE,  May  10,  1865. 

Your  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  has  fallen  the  victim  of  an  assassin's 
arm;  may  his  blood  weigh  in  the  balance  for  the  regeneration  of  your  States. 
We,  a  committee,  desire  to  transmit  to  your  proud  and  brave  people  a  word 
that  may  avail  to  express  the  intense  grief  experienced  here  on  the  announce 
ment  of  the  death  of  so  great  a  man.  We  assure  you  that  throughout  the  nation, 
as  if  it  were  one  individual,  the  human  heart  could  not  restrain  its  grief,  and 
staggered  beneath  the  weight  of  so  great  a  calamity. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  not  yours  only — he  was  also  ours,  because  he  was 
a  brother  whose  great  mind  and  fearless  conscience  guided  a  people  to  union, 
and  courageously  uprooted  slavery. 

Brothers,  the  trial  is  not  ended;  the  country  calls  for  fresh  martyrs — the 
last  contest — and  on  the  news  of  your  victory  we  will  rejoice  with  you,  as  we 
now  grieve  with  you. 
The  committee : 

PAOLO  GRAEJA  DIGA. 

GIUSEPPE  GRAZIE. 

AVE  MARIANO  COSTANZO. 

F.  ROSSI  MUSMEIZ. 

DR.  FRANCESCO  LEOTTO. 

DR.  GIUSEPPE  VIGO  LEONARDI. 

TYNAVIO  BARBAGALTO. 

GIUSEPPE  COSTARELLI. 

SALVATORE  CASTARINA. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       571 

[Translation.] 

Italian  Society  of  United   Workmen  of  Alessandria. 

ALESSANDRIA,  May  5,  18Gf>. 

HON.  SIR:  The  Society  of  United  Workmen  of  Alessandria,  impressed  with 
horror  at  the  mighty  crime  that  deprived  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  of  life,  that  great 
defender  of  the  oppressed  and  champion  of  liberty,  has  resolved  to  drape  its 
banner  in  mourning  for  thirty  days,  and  cherishes  the  most  ardent  hopes  for 
the  good  of  humanity  and  the  liberty  of  the  world,  that  the  grand  and  holy 
work  begun  by  this  illustrious  victim  of  treason  may  triumph  in  the  end;  and 
that  the  brave  people  of  America,  in  the  future  development  of  their  glorious 
republican  institutions,  may  continue  to  serve  as  a  model  to  free  nations,  and 
be  a  comfort  and  hope  to  those  that  mourn  under  the  yoke  of  oppression. 

PASTORE  CAMILLO,  President.     [L.  s.] 

Hon.  GEO.  P.  MARSH,  $c.,  $c.,  $c. 


[Translation.] 

BARGA,  May  12,  1865. 

HON.  SIR:  The  Workingmen's  Society  of  Barga,  (near  Lucca,)  at  a  meeting 
on  the  7th  instant,  commissioned  me,  the  undersigned,  to  express  to  you,  the 
worthy  representative  of  the  United  States  in  Italy,  its  profound  sorrow  for  the 
death  of  your  most  virtuous  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  who  fell  by  the 
hand  of  a  treacherous  assassin. 

The  horrid  crime  caused  a  shudder  in  the  bosoms  of  all  good  men,  and  a 
sorrow  that  will  never  be  blotted  from  the  hearts  of  those  who  love  liberty  and 
free  institutions  like  the  immortal  deceased;  but  it  will  not  delay,  for  a  moment, 
the  triumph  of  the  federal  cause,  the  abolition  of  slavery  and  the  emancipation 
of  the  people. 

Accept,  illustrious  sir,  for  the  generous  nation  you  represent,  the  best 
wishes  of  the  Workingmen's  Society  of  Barga  for  its  permanent  prosperity  and 
happiness. 

ANTONIO  MORUINI, 

President  and  member  of  the  Italian  Parliament. 
Hon.  PERKINS  MARSH, 

United  States  Minister  to  Italy,  Florence. 


[Translation.  ] 

MECHANICS'  MUTUAL  Am  SOCIETY  OF  BRESIA, 

May  10,  18G5. 

The  announcement  of  the  death  of  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  slain  by 
the  hand  of  an  assassin,  has   impressed  our  society  with  sincere  and  honest 


572  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

sorrow.  The  sad  news  that  justly  caused  consternation  and  grief  in  the  hearts 
of  all  lovers  of  justice  and  liberty  must  deeply  move  the  feelings  of  all  indus 
trial  associations,  as  they  have  lost  a  person  dear  to  humanity,  a  being  who  was 
the  living  incarnation  of  the  principles  of  equality  and  fraternity,  the  embodi 
ment  of  true  patriotism,  of  honest  intentions,  of  firmness,  and  integrity. 

But  if  the  death  of  LINCOLN  was  a  sad  and  serious  event,  like  that  of  Christ, 
it  may  be  the  cause  of  the  complete  triumph  of  the  humane  and  holy  principle 
of  true  liberty,  contended  for  by  the  great  citizen,  and  which,  in  the  generous 
American  nation,  does  not  depend  upon  one  man,  is  bound  to  the  life  of  no 
single  individual,  but  will  resurrect  with  more  beauty  and  effulgence,  and  reflect 
its  genial  rays  over  Europe  with  beneficent  effects. 

With  these  sentiments,  springing  spontaneously  from  the  hearts  of  the 
members  of  our  association,  we  beg  you,  sir,  to  be  their  interpreter  to  Mr. 
Andrew  Johnson,  the  worthy  successor  of  Mr.  LINCOLN;  and  while  we  express 
our  best  wishes  for  the  restoration  of  the  American  Union,  and  for  the  pros 
perity,  happiness,  and  glory  of  its  people,  we  ask  you  to  accept  the  expressions 
of  our  greatest  consideration  and  esteem. 

[SEAL.]  V1RGILIO  CIIITO, 

President. 

ANDREA  SALSECHI, 
GIACOMO  DRAGIII, 
GIUSEPPE  FOCCHINI, 
D.  BIANCHI, 

Members. 
FAUSTINO  PALAZZI, 

Secretary. 
A.  FRIGERIO. 
The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER. 


[Translation.  ] 

WORKINGMEN'S  SOCIETY  OF  BOLOGNA, 

(GENERAL  GARIBALDI,  HONORARY  PRESIDENT,) 

Bologna,  May  11,  1865. 

CITIZEN  PRESIDENT  :  Universal  grief  and  mourning  was  spread  abroad  at 
the  sad  announcement  of  the  violent  death  of  that  most  virtuous  republican 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  the  greatest  indignation  and  horror  was  felt  by  all  good 
people  against  the  brutal  parricide. 

He  was  barbarously  assassinated  on  the  eve  of  the  completion  of  his  great 
task,  the  abolition  of  slavery. 

May  the  malediction  of  God  descend  upon  those  who  conceived  and  con 
summated  the  most  abominable  deed  ! 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       573 

But  the  profound  sorrow  that  affected  all  was  greatly  alleviated  when  it 
was  known  that  the  great  American  nation  had  called  you  to  be  the  worthy 
successor  of  the  illustrious  deceased  Chief  Magistrate ;  because  it  is  hoped  that 
you  will  follow  in  his  footsteps  and  complete  the  great  task  that  he  begun ; 
and  not  only  that,  but  give  aid  to  a  neighboring  nation  whose  people  are  now 
subjugated  by  a  foreign  sovereign. 

In  expressing  these  sentiments  of  our  society,  inspired  by  republican  and 
humanitarian  principles,  we  cherish  the  firm  hope  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant 
when  the  glorious  country  discovered  by  our  Italian  Columbus  will  again  flour 
ish  as  formerly  among  the  great  nations  of  the  earth. 

Accept,  Mr.  President,  the  assurances  of  our  highest  respect  and  esteem. 

ANNIBALE  CALZONI, 

[SEAL.]  Vice-President. 

DOMENICO  SANGIORGIO, 

Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

BOLOGNA,  May  12,  1865. 

The  Ladies'  Society  of  Bologna,  of  which  Teresita  Garibaldi  is  honorary 
directress,  by  its  committee,  beg  you,  Mr.  Minister,  to  send  the  enclosed  address 
of  condolence  for  the  assassination  of  the  illustrious  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  to  Mr. 
Andrew  Johnson,  the  new  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

The  society  hall  shall  be  hung  with  mourning,  in  token  of  condolence  for 
the  memory  of  the  illustrious  martyr  of  liberty,  whose  holy  image  shall  ever  be 
graven  in  the  hearts  of  all  the  members  of  this  society. 

Accept,  citizen  ambassador,  the  sentiments  of  our  particular  esteem,  and 
be  kind  enough  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  this  note.  . 

MARIA  TECINI,  Directress. 
NINA  BONFIGLIOLI, 
CLAUDIA  CAMUZZINI, 
CARLOTTA  TKKHHI. 

Committee  of  Member*. 
Hon.  GEORGE  P.  MARSH,  Turin. 


[Translation.] 
Address  of  condolence  from  the  Ladies   Society  of  Bologna  to  the  President. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  barbarously  assassinated  at  the  moment  when  the 
abolition  of  slavery,  the  only  aim  of  all  of  his  hopes,  had  just  been  accomplished. 
May  the  grace  of  God  reach  the  wretch,  for  man  cannot  pardon  him  ! 


574  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

But  the  cause  of  nations  is  not  weakened  by  private  misfortunes,  and 
though  our  hearts  arc  deeply  stricken,  we  are  consoled  by  the  thought  that  the 
American  nation  has  chosen  you,  Mr.  President,  as  the  worthy  successor  of  the 
illustrious  deceased,  knowing  that  you  would  follow  in  his  footsteps,  put  an  end 
to  the  civil  war,  and  fly  to  the  help  of  a  neighboring  nation  that  a  foreign  power 
wishes  to  oppress. 

The  maidens,  spouses,  and  mothers  of  that  nation  are  sending  up  their 
prayers  for  the  salvation  of  their  country ;  and  we,  maidens,  spouses,  and 
mothers  of  sutfering  Italy,  are  waiting  hopefully  for  the  time  when  America, 
restored  to  her  former  strength  and  glory,  and  to  her  rightful  station  among  the 
great  nations  of  the  earth,  will  come  to  our  aid  and  relieve  us  from  foreign 
oppression. 

Accept,  citizen  President,  the  assurance  of  our  most  distinguished  con 
sideration. 

For  the  Ladies'  Society  of  Bologna : 

MARIA  TECINI,  Directress. 
NINA  BONFIGLIOLI, 
CLAUDIA  CAMUZZINI. 
CARLOTTA  TEBBI, 

Committee  of  the  Members. 


[Extract.  ] 

No.  106  CONGRESS  STREET, 

Brooklyn,  L.  I.,  July  20,  1865. 

I  have  the  honor  of  informing  you  that  the  citizens  of  Canzo,  province  of 
Como,  Lombardy,  Italy,  wishing  to  express  their  veneration  and  sympathy  for 
the  great  martyr  to  the  cause  of  emancipation  and  the  Union,  our  lamented 
President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  unanimously  passed  a  resolution  to  call  after  his 
name  the  new  square  by  the  side  of  the  national  1'oad  in  their  town.  They 
wished  their  resolution  should  reach  your  Excellency's  hands,  and  intrusted  to 

me  the  care  of  fulfilling  their  desire. 

******** 

Please  receive  my  highest  feelings  of  regard,  &c. 

ACHILLE  MAGNI. 

His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       575 

[Translation.] 
RESOLUTION. 

Participating  in  the  sorrow  of  the  rest  of  the  world  for  the  violent  death 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  common  council  of  Canzo,  in  token 
of  sympathy  for  the  champion  of  human  freedom,  and  sorrow  for  his  death, 

Resolve,  That  the  new  square  fronting  on  National  street  shall  be  called 
Lincoln  square. 

The  municipal  council  is  charged  with  the  proper  inscription. 


[Translation.] 

MUTUAL  AID  SOCIETY  OF  THE  WORKINGMEN  OF  CARRIT, 

April  30,  1865. 
To  the  United  States  Minister  in  Italy: 

Even  we,  honest  workingmen  of  an  Italian  village,  were  struck  with  horror 
and  indignation  at  the  unexpected  and  sad  news  from  the  United  States  of 
America,  just  at  the  time  when  all  Europe  was  rejoicing  over  the  splendid 
victories  of  the  federal  army.  Even  we  felt  it  our  duty  to  express  to  you, 
illustrious  citizen  and  worthy  representative  of  the  United  States  in  Italy,  our 
profound  condolence  for  the  atrocious  murder  of  your  President,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  the  martyr  to  a  cause  that  interests  all  humanity. 

As  soon  as  the  unlucky  news  reached  us  we  draped  our  banner  in  mourn 
ing,  as  a  token  of  the  deep  affliction  of  our  hearts.  One  thought  comforts  us: 
the  cause  for  which  LINCOLN  lived  and  died  is  now  triumphant ;  the  name  of 
the  man  whose  death  we  lament,  crowned  with  immortal  glory,  shall  shine  in 
history  with  that  of  Washington.  If  one  was  the  father  of  the  great  republic, 
the  other  was  its  saviour. 

Unanimously  adopted  by  the  Mechanics'  Mutual  Aid  Society  of  Carru,  at 
a  general  meeting  on  the  30th  of  April,  18G5. 

GIORGIO  ANTONIO  FILIPPI,  President. 
GIORGIO  UATTISTA  GIANINETTO, 

Vice-President. 

PIETRO  MAUONNO,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

CIIIETI,  May  10,  18G5. 
The  Italians  of  Abrazzo  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

From  the  summits  of  our  mountains,  the  bulwarks  of  liberty,  from  the  banks 
of  our  rivers  and  the  shores  of  our  seas,  a  people  who  wish  to  be  united,  free, 
and  independent  have  long  bent  their  eyes  upon  events  in  the  great  republic 


570  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

whence  they  expect  a  new  light  to  radiate  upon  the  world,  with  a  new  era  of 
democratic  civilization. 

Your  history  is  the  same  as  ours.  From  Camillus  and  Gincinnatus  to 
Franklin  and  Washington,  from  LINCOLN  and  Seward  to  Garibaldi  and  Mazzini, 
the  tradition  of  the  great  struggle  between  good  and  evil,  liberty  and  slavery, 
civilization  and  barbarism,  national  autonomy  and  the  rule  of  foreign  despots, 
has  ever  been  the  same. 

The  roar  of  your  battles  was  borne  across  the  ocean  and  awaked  an  echo 
in  our  Appcnines.  Your  victories  were  the  triumph  of  humanity.  But  very 
soon  the  electric  spark,  drawn  from  the  clouds  by  Franklin,  told  us  that  a 
parricidal  hand  had  taken  the  life  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  when  the  destinies  of 
his  country  and  partly  of  the  world  were  trusted  to  his  care,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  announced  the  savage  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward  and  his  family. 

A  voice  of  detestation  and  of  horror  arose  throughout  the  world ;  and  sym 
bols  of  liberty  were  draped  in  mourning  everywhere;  anguish  filled  our  hearts  ; 
but  we  rejoice  that  the  cause  of  humanity  cannot  perish.  The  blood  of  new 
martyrs  fertilize  the  earth,  and  makes  it  the  mother  of  freedmen. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  gave  his  life  to  save  the  integrity  of  the  Union  and  the 
grandeur  of  his  country,  to  rescue  the  colored  man  from  slavery,  to  give  to  all 
men  liberty  and  equality. 

When  peace  shall  be  restored  the  white  and  black  races  will  join  hands 
above  his  grave,  and  the  spirit  of  liberty,  rising  from  his  sepulchre,  will  reno 
vate  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  make  the  return  of  any  tyranny  impossible. 

LUIGI  PREL1TL  SCIPIONE  VITACOLONNA. 

MICHELE  D'OTTAVIO.  GIOVANNI  PORTA. 

IGINO  CARLI.  TOMMASO  DI  CIO. 

ENRICO  D'FLAMMINEJ.  DOMENICO  ORFANELLI. 

ZILOTEO  MAGNO.  LUIGI  DE  JANUARIO. 

LUIGI  GARZARELLI.  VINCENZO  DEL  MONACO 

NICOLA  MANA.  VINCENZO  BONIT ATIBUS. 

GIUSEPPE  DE  SIPIO.  GIVACCHINO  D'EUGENIO. 

AND  TWO  HUNDRED  AND  THIRTY  OTHERS. 


[Translation.  ] 

MUTUAL  AID  SOCIETY  OF  CHIETI,  May  9,  1865. 
To  the  People  of  the  United  States  : 

BROTHERS  :  The  news  of  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  caused  by  the 
hand  of  a  homicide,  at  a  moment  when  America  was  about  to  gather  the  fruit 
of  four  years  of  immense  sacrifice  and  continued  struggle  for  liberty  against  the 
privileges  of  race,  has  found  a  mournful  echo  wherever  the  sound  of  your 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        577 

splendid  victories  has  penetrated,  and  your  glorious  triumphs  have  carried  the 
enthusiasm  of  magnanimous  undertakings. 

Fellow-workmen,  bound  to  you  in  the  bonds  of  brotherhood,  we  earnestly 
hope  for  our  own  social  emancipation.  Your  efforts  in  a  most  holy  cause  have 
always  had  our  sympathies,  and  we  now  share  the  indignation  you  feel  at  the 
attack  on  Mr.  Seward. 

We  are  sure  the  assassin's  dagger  cannot  stop  the  work  of  liberty  now 
nearly  finished;  and  we  hope  the  blood  of  the  victim  will  cleanse  the  country 
of  barbarism.  • 

For  the  society : 

GAETANO  CARUSI,  President. 
GENNARO  DE  CARLO,  Vice-President. 
DANIELE  POLIDORO, 
FERDINANDO  SANTONI  DE  SIO, 
[SEAL.]  FRANCESCO  SICARDI, 

Committee. 


[Translation.  J 

Common  council  of  Chief  i  to  the  people  of  the  Republic  of  the  United  States 

of  America. 

CIIIETI,  May  11,  1865. 

At  a  time  when  the  whole  civilized  world  was  hailing  the  triumph  of  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  your  free  country,  the  sad  news  of  the  violent  death  of 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  fearless  pilot  of  liberty,  changed  the  universal  joy  to 
mourning,  and  all  humanity  has  raised  a  single  united  cry  of  malediction  upon 
the  authors  of  the  horrid  deed. 

Let  our  expressions  of  condolence  be  joined  to  the  many  manifestations 
of  sorrow  that  come  to  you  from  every  part  of  the  world ;  and  accept  the 
fraternal  greeting  of  the  common  council  of  Chieti,  with  its  wishes  for  your 
future  prosperity. 

Your  sacrifice  was  immense  in  the  four  years  of  gigantic  war  for  the  great 
principles  of  brotherly  love  between  black  and  white,  and  for  the  murder  of 
John  Brown,  and  on  the  14th  of  April ;  but  you  may  be  proud  of  it  now,  for  a 
holy  cause  was  never  more  bravely  sustained,  with  greater  abnegation,  in  the 
paths  pointed  out  by  Washington,  Franklin,  and  LINCOLN,  and  you  may  be  sure 
it  will  not  fail  to  reach  the  glorious  bourne. 

For  the  common  council : 

VINCENZO  VERO,  President. 
CAM1LLO  JUL1ANI, 
GUISEPPE  DE  SIPIO, 
GABRIELLE  DE  SANCTIS, 

FRANCESCO  SANCUOUE,  Secretary.  Committee. 


578  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

Tltc  Workingmeris  Union  of  Catania,  Sicily,  to  the  American  people. 

CATANIA,  May  11,  1865. 

BROTHERS  OF  AMERICA  :  The  capture  of  Richmond  was  the  triumph  of 
civilization  over  barbarism,  and  we  rejoice  at  the  restoration  of  peace  in  a  great 
nation  that  is  our  friend. 

But  the  news  of  Mr!  LINCOLN'S  assassination  has  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  and 
indignation  through  the  civilized  world,  and  its  ech*o  has  penetrated  deeply  into 
our  hearts. 

Americans  :  The  Workingmen's  Union  of  Catania  joins  this  day  in  the 
sentiments  of  sorrow  felt  for  you  by  all  free  people.  Accept  our  congratulations, 
our  best  wishes,  and  our  fervent  hopes  that  the  national  will  may  complete  the 
work  of  peace  begun  by  a  great  citizen,  to  restore  to  America  her  former 
splendor  and  great  prosperity. 

MARCELLING  PIZZARELLI,  President, 
FRANCESCORE  RANCORE,  Vice- President, 
SEBASTIANO  VILLANI,  Second  Vice-President, 

Committee. 
A  true  copy  : 

MARIO  TROFEO,  Secretary 


[Translation.] 

T he  democratic  society  called  the  Sons  of  Labor,  in  Catania,  to  the  heroic  nation 
the  United  States,  in  condolence  with  their  grief. 

CATANIA,  May  4,  18G5. 

BROTHERS  :  You  fought  the  war  of  liberty  and  independence  against 
slavery  and  tyranny.  With  the  anxiety  of  those  who  hope  and  fear,  we  waited 
for  the  news  from  your  battle-fields.  The  victories  your  gallant  soldiers  gained 
were  victories  for  us,  and  their  dangers  seemed  to  be  ours  ;  but  the  good  genius 
of  humanity,  as  unerring  as  destiny,  will  lead  you  triumphantly  on  in  the  path 
of  progress.  You  were  victorious  at  Richmond,  and  human  rights  triumphed 
with  you  iu  your  victory  there.  It  was  a  great  advance  in  the  path  of  right 
and  justice  ;  joy  was  suppressed  in  the  struggle,  for  it  was  terrible,  and  will  be 
long  remembered.  But,  sad  result !  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  champion  of  your 
rights,  the  great,  victorious  citizen,  remained  the  victim  of  a  vile  assassin. 
Cursed  be  the  spirit  of  evil !  Brothers,  we  feel  the  blow  that  struck  you  : 
accept  the  greeting  of  love  and  consolation  the  Sons  of  Labor  send  you  as  a 
solemn  tribute  of  profoundest  sorrow.  But,  brothers  of  America,  now  that 
your  country  is  free,  swear,  upon  the  tomb  of  your  deliverer,  to  rescue  your 
brethren  from  the  bonds  of  slavery.  His  memory  will  be  the  terrible  leader 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       579 

in  your  battles — the  compact  of  alliance  that  binds  you  close  together.  His 
love  shall  be  the  example  to  guide  you  against  those  who  seek  to  disunite  you. 
The  name  of  the  wicked  shall  perish  from  off  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Be  united,  and  extend  the  hand  of  pardon  to  your  wayward  brothers,  and 
thus  you  will  demonstrate  to  tyrants  that  the  spirit  of  revenge  is  blotted  from 

your  hearts. 

,  TOMMASO  OLMATO,  President. 

1 S  GIAMBARTOLO  ROMEO,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

The  patriotic  Catanese  and  youths  of  the  university  to  the  people  of  the  United, 

States  of  America. 

CATANIA,  May  5,  1865. 

BROTHERS  :  The  fame  of  your  victories  rapidly  spread  through  the  world, 
and  humanity  applauded  your  virtues  in  the  strife  for  emancipation  ;  but  her 
exultation  was  brief,  and  was  cut  short  by  the  terrible  news  of  the  assassination 
of  LINCOLN. 

Nations  have  aspirations  in  common  ;  princes  and  peoples  entertain  them 
in  common  and  abide  their  destiny.  Your  victories  are  the  victories  of  the 
whole  people  ;  such  also  are  your  disasters,  and  in  like  manner  your  griefs  are 
in  common.  The  most  powerful  arm  lent  by  the  Almighty  in  aid  of  the  rights 
of  humanity  has  been  cut  off,  and  all  thoughts  now  dwell  on  that  mournful 
theme.  But  the  waitings  poured  forth  over  the  graves  of  the  heroic  dead  are 
not  in  vain  ;  such  grief  strengthens  and  graces  and  renews  the  virtuous  purpose. 
May  you  who  have  enjoyed  the  vast  benefit  of  the  counsels  and  example  of  the 
hero,  renew  to  him  your  vows  consecrated  by  the  blood  of  millions  of  martyrs, 
that  the  work  of  emancipation  to  which  he  guided  you  may  not  remain  incom 
plete.  Wherever  man  moves  on. earth,  let  him  be  regarded  as  a  brother  and 
tread  on  free  soil ;  remember  that  liberty  is  powerful ;  give  aid  to  the  oppressed 
in  distant  lands  ;  listen  to  the  divine  idea  of  LINCOLN — free  America  for 
Americans  ! — and  humanity,  blessing  his  memory,  will  also  bless  the  virtues  of 
her  brave  and  generous  sons. 

The  committee  in  charge : 

PAOLO  GASTOR1NO. 

COSMO  DI  ANICY. 

PAOLO  PETRINA. 

CARLO  VICCIOLI. 

PAOLO  GRANDE. 

GIOACHINO  POTERVO. 

COST1LLO  BLSCARIS. 


580  ASSASSINATION  OP   ABBAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.  ] 
SOCIETY    OF    OPERATIVES    OF    CHIAVENNA. 

Resolutions. 

CHIAVENNA,  May  7,  1865. 

Filled  with  profound  grief  for  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  a  benefactor 
of  humanity,  convinced  that  the  sudden  death  of  such  a  man  is  an  irreparable 
loss  for  the  democracy  of  every  country,  and  a  'true  catastrophe  for  all  the 
oppressed  still  in  bonds,  but  persuaded  that  the  brave  sons  of  free  America 
will  not  lose  courage  at  a  moment  when  they  most  need  it  to  secure  the  fruits 
of  victories  gained,  the  Society  of  Operatives  of  Chiavenna  in  this  general 
meeting  resolve — 

1.  To  put  mourning  upon  their  flag  for  thirty  days. 

2.  To  inscribe  the    name    of  LINCOLN    beside    those  of  Garibaldi    and 
Mazzini  in  the  list  of  honorary  members. 

3.  To  write  to  the  United  States  consul  at  Genoa  our  word  of  cheer  for 
the  brave  operatives  of  the  American  Union,  to  whom  the  illustrious  dead 
belonged  by  his  birth,  by  the  sympathies  of  his  heart,  and  by  the  virtues  of  his 

life. 

C.  PEDRETTI,  President. 


[Translation.] 

Mechanics'  Society  of  Dogliani  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Humanity  is  seized  with  terror ;  a  horrid  crime  has  thrown  the  minds  of 
everybody  into  the  most  afflicting  consternation.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  indus 
trious  working-man,  the  deserving  citizen,  who,  like  Cincinnatus,  consented  to 
direct  the  destinies  of  his  country  in  calamitous  times,  is  no  more.  The  vile 
assassin's  hand  has  deprived  America  of  its  guide,  its  leader,  its  father,  its 
second  Washington  ;  and  now  two  worlds  are  lamenting  the  loss  of  a  man 
whom  only  yesterday  they  were  applauding. 

Oh,  generous  man !  the  weapon  of  the  homicide  that  took  your  life  has 
also  wounded  the  future  and  the  hopes  of  a  people  that  were  anxiously  awaiting 
the  conclusion  of  your  work  of  glory  and  redemption. 

Oh,  brothers  of  the  New  World,  accept  as  a  pledge  of  mutual  affection 
these  few  but  sincere  expressions  of  condolence,  sent  you  by  the  humble  but 
independent  Society  of  Mechanics  of  Dogliani,  children  of  that  Italy  which  has 
always  struggled  against  ignorance.  Our  banner  is  draped  in  mourning  as  a 
symbol  of  our  sorrow  and  affliction. 

Let  us  trust  to  the  unchanging  laws  of  progress.     In  vain  will  villains 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       581 

oppose  the  sword  and  calumny  to  arrest  the  people  in  their  course  to  happiness 
and  independence.  The  goal  will  be  gained,  and  the  day  will  soon  dawn  when 
the  barriers  of  tyranny,  prejudice,  and  ignorance  shall  be  removed,  and  men 
shall  call  each  other  truly  brothers. 

May  liberty  and  independence  endure  forever !  Long  life  to  the  republic 
of  North  America ! 

In  the  name  of  the  society  : 

[SEAL.]  GIOVANNI  CERRINO,  President. 


[Translation.] 
MUNICIPALITY    OF    FERMO. 

Resolution  of  the  Municipal  Council  of  Fermo,  at  the  session  of  May  10,  1865. 

PROPOSITION. 

The  mayor  presiding,  the  Marquis  Chevalier  Joseph  Ignatio  Trevisani, 
read  to  the  council  a  resolution  of  the  municipality  of  Palermo,  by  which  public 
homage  is  rendered  to  the  glorious  name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  barbarously  murdered  by  the  propagandists  of 
slavery.  After  approving  the  action  of  said  municipality,  he  proposed  to  the 
council  the  following  order  of  the  day  : 

This  council,  struck  with  horror  at  the  violent  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  considering  that  the  abolition  of 
slavery,  in  the  triumph  of  which  he  was  sacrificed,  is  a  matter  which  interests 
humanity  at  large,  and  wishing,  by  a  public  demonstration,  to  do  honor  to  that 
great  name — 

Resolved,  1.  To  give  the  name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  to  the  new  street 
opened  on  the  south  side  of  this  city. 

2.  To  communicate  to  the  United  States  consul  general  at  Florence  the 
present  deliberation. 

All  present,  standing,  applauded  the  motion  of  the  mayor,  which  was 
adopted  by  acclamation. 

J.  TREVISANI,  Mayor. 

C.  SILVESTRI,  Senior  Alderman. 

L.  TRANQUILLE,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

The    Wbrkingmen's   Mutual   Aid   Society   of    Foggia   to   the  people   of   the 

American    Union. 

FOGGIA,  May  8,  18G5. 

BROTHERS  OF  AMERICA  :  We  comprehend  the  sorrow  that  afflicts  you  in 
the  triumphant  hour  of  your  humane  cause.     When  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  your 


582  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

glorious  helmsman  of  liberty,  was  struck  down  by  the  cruel  hand  of  a  vile 
assassin  your  generous  souls  were  filled  with  mourning.  The  sad  news  reaches 
us  in  Italy  like  the  messenger  of  a  day  fatal  to  the  destinies  of  a  people,  and 
every  true  Italian  heart  was  saddened  bv  its  coming.  Even  in  the  humble 
families  of  the  working-men  of  Foggia  the  deepest  grief  was  felt,  and  a  shrill 
cry  arose  for  the  extermination  of  the  vampires  of  humanity. 

Brothers,  be  consoled  by  the  thought  that  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  in  the 
greatest  trials,  showed  himself  something  more  than  the  President  of  a  trans 
atlantic  republic,  and  that  the  assassin's  pistol  was  only  the  instrument  of  the 
dealers  in  human  flesh.  LINCOLN'S  tomb  with  you,  and  Garibaldi's  misfortunes 
with  us,  will  be  known  in  history  as  the  irrevocable  decrees  of  reason  against 
barbarism  and  tyranny ;  but  you  will  let  future  ages  know  the  good  intentions 
of  the  two  illustrious  victims  Be  brave,  then,  brothers  of  America,  in  your 
desolation,  and  defend  the  sepulchre  where  the  secret  of  the  emancipation  of 
all  the  slaves  in  the  world  lies  buried. 

FERDINAND  CIPRO,  President. 

MICHELE  FIGLIOL1NO,  Secretary. 


[Translation.  ] 
DEMOCRATIC   REPUBLICAN   ASSOCIATION    OP    FLORENCE. 

SIR  :  As  soon  as  it  became  known  that  the  southern  rebels  "had  been 
defeated  by  the  federal  armies,  the  Societa  Democratica  Republicana  of  Florence 
commissioned  the  undersigned  to  present  to  you  a  congratulatory  address,  and 
to  assist  in  a  public  demonstration  of  satisfaction,  which  the  liberals  of  Florence 
had  decided  to  give  to  you.  as  the  representative  of  the  republic  of  the  United 
States,  when  unexpectedly  the  intelligence  of  the  murder  of  Mr.  LINCOLN 
changed  their  hymn  into  elegy,  their  joy  into  sorrow. 

The  society  which  sends  us  to  you  as  interpreters  of  its  sorrow  is  com 
posed  of  men  who,  loving  and  hoping,  followed  the  various  fortunes  of  the 
mighty  war  that  your  people  have  sustained,  not  for  their  own  liberty,  but  for 
that  of  others;  not  for  an  idea,  or  an  interest  circumscribed  by  the  boundaries 
of  a  nation,  but  for  the  great  principles  of  morality  and  justice. 

If  upon  the  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  your  people  for  a  moment  trembled 
before  the  dangers  that  seemed  to  threaten  your  republic,  they  soon  reassured 
themselves,  knowing  that  he  but  reflected  the  character,  will,  and  soul  of  his 
countrymen. 

Mr.  LINCOLN  has  been  assassinated,  but  the  nation  is  immortal.  It  will 
acquire  new  strength  and  vigor  from  this  great  misfortune,  and  will  know  how 
to  crown  the  work  which  was  brought  almost  to  an  end  by  its  chief,  because  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        583 

ancient  race  and  virtues  of  (he  Puritan  pilgrims,  who  first  landed  in  New  Eng 
land,  have  been  transmitted,  unchanged  from  generation  to  generation,  to  their 
present  descendants. 

A  people  in  whom  energy  is  nature,  liberty  an  instinct,  equality  a  belief, 
law  a  religion,  of  which  republican  institutions  are  the  necessary  expression, 
may  suffer  great  affliction  from  the  tragical  and  unexpected  death  of  a  man  like 
LINCOLN,  yet  it  must  be  but  a  passing  and  surmountable  misfortune. 

Sir,  the  democracy  of  Europe  owe  to  your  people  an  eternal  debt  of  grati 
tude  for  preserving,  intact  and  pure,  their  great  republic,  from  the  model  of 
which  the  nations  of  the  old  world  may  yet  be  formed  anew. 
Receive,  sir,  the  assurances  of  our  profound  respect, 

A.  DE  GUBERNATI, 
G.  DOLFI, 
A.  .MARIO, 
13.  ODICINI, 

Delegates  of  the  Democratic  Republican  Association. 
The  CONSUL  GENERAL  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  Florence. 


t 

[Translation.  ] 

Democratic  Association  of  Florence  to  the  free,  people  of  the  United  States  of 

America. 

MAY  8,  1865. 

BROTHERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  UNION  :  A  few  days  have  passed  since  your 
people  prepared  themselves  to  celebrate,  in  the  decisive  victory  of  Richmond, 
the  proximate,  infallible  triumph  of  liberty  and  of  the  Union  over  servitude  and 
disunion,  when  sad  intelligence  troubled  the  sincere  joy  of  all  the  friends  of 
liberty,  and  stopped  on  our  lips  the  festive  expressions  of  triumph  and  our  glad 
wishes  tor  the  future. 

LINCOLN,  the  honest,  the  magnanimous  citizen,  the  most  worthy  Chief 
Magistrate  of  your  glorious  federation,  a  victim  of  an  execrable  treason,  is  no 
more. 

The  furies  of  despotism  and  of  servitude,  deceived  in  their  infamous  hopes, 
incapable  of  sustaining  any  longer  their  combat  against  liberty,  before  falling 
into  the  abyss  which  threatened  them,  strengthened  the  arm  of  a  murderer, 
and  as  they  opened  the  fratricidal  war  with  the  gibbet  of  the  martyr  of  the 
cause  of  abolition,  John  Brown,  so  they  ended  it,  worthy  of  themselves,  in  the 
most  ferocious  and  stupid  of  all  crimes,  the  murder  of  a  great  citizen. 

Now  liberty,  in  stigmatizing  the  cause  of  her  enemies,  will  have  only  to 
show  to  the  world  this  gibbet  and  this  murderer,  and  the  people  looking  upon 
them  cannot  do  otherwise  than  recollect  that  despots  have  had  a  share  in  this; 


584  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

that  in  some  courts  of  Europe  Mason,  Slidell,  and  the  ferocious  pirates  of  the 
Alabama  found  protection,  encouragement,  and  applause,  and  finally  the  wicked 
instigator  of  the  civil  war,  Jefferson  Davis,  obtained  consolation,  praises,  and 
hopes  even  in  the  paternal  benediction  of  the  Pope. 

Brothers  of  the  American  Union,  courage!  The  great  cause  for  which 
you  have  supported  four  years  of  Titanic  combat  is  the  cause  of  humanity;  its 
triumph  can  never  more  be  doubted,  and  has  been  delayed  only  for  a  moment 
by  the  worst  of  actions  committed  by  an  abject  murderer. 

Tyranny,  it  is  true,  could  sometimes  be  destroyed  by  the  murder  of  the 
tyrant,  because  it  has  life  only  in  him ;  but  liberty,  which  lives  in  the  people, 
has,  like  the  people,  an  immortal  origin  and  destiny. 

Democratic  Association  of  Florence,  May  8,  1865. 
For  the  committee : 

P.  D.  ANNIBALE. 
A.  CORTI,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

FLORENCE,  May  4,  1865. 

SIR:  The  masonic  lodge  II  Progresso  Socialc,  of  the  ancient  accepted 
Scottish  rite  established  in  Florence,  at  their  meeting  of  the  3d  instant,  after 
rendering  funeral  honor  to  the  great  martyr  of  liberty,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and 
adopting  mourning  for  three  weeks,  have  resolved  to  make  known  their  pro 
found  sorrow  to  the  noble  nation  which  you  represent  in  Italy,  at  the  same  time 
expressing  the  confident  hope  that,  notwithstanding  the  loss  of  their  President, 
the  nation  and  its  institutions  will  continue  as  enduring  as  the  great  principles 
for  which  they  are  contending. 

B.  ODICINI,  Master. 

F.  PULSZKY,  Senior  Warden. 

C.  BETTINI,  Junior  Warden. 
A.  MARTINATI,  Orator. 

M.  LE  SAIRO,  Secretary. 
Hon.  Col.  T.  B.  LAWRENCE, 

United  States  Consul  General  for  Italy. 


[Translation.  ] 

Fraternity  of  artisans  of  Italy  to  the  people  of  tJi.e  United  States. 

FLORENCE,  April  27,  1865. 

CITIZENS  :  When  the  telegram  brought  the  intelligence  that  the  cause  of 
civilization  and  justice  had  obtained  a  glorious  victory,  (fit  reward  for  your 
indomitable  constancy  and  heroic  valor,)  this  brotherhood  of  artisans  was  about 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       585 

to  testify  in  a  public  and  solemn  manner  the  fraternal  love  which  unites  to  you, 
free  citizens,  every  heart  which  beats  for  and  desires  the  complete  triumph  of 
the  rights  of  humanity.  But,  alas !  the  hand  of  an  infamous  assassin  (the 
agent,  doubtless,  of  a  mysterious  and  iniquitous  plot  prepared  against  the 
national  liberty)  has  taken  away  the  precious  life  of  your  Chief  Magistrate  and 
placed  in  great  danger  another  one  not  inferior  to  it.  This  barbarous  and  exe 
crable  deed  has  filled  with  deep  sorrow  the  souls  of  our  fraternity,  and  having 
in  consequence  cast  aside  the  thoughts  of  any  joyful  demonstration,  the  com 
mittee,  as  interpreter  of  the  sentiments  of  their  association,  has  resolved  to 
drape  with  mourning  the  flag  of  the  society  for  fifteen  days,  to  express  to  you 
their  indignation  for  the  terrible  murder  committed,  and  to  address  to  you  a 
word  of  fraternal  sympathy. 

Free  citizens  !  may  the  name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  be  to  you  a  watchword 
whereby  you  may  better  accomplish  the  sublime  mission  which  you  have  begun, 
and  through  the  sacrament  of  his  blood  may  all  tyrannies  be  destroyed. 

Long  life  to  the  American  republic  !     Long  life  to  the  federal  Union  ! 

GIUSEPPE  DOLFI,  President. 
FRANCESCO  PECINI,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

Constitutional  Rights  Association  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

FLORENCE,  May  9,  1865. 

SIR  :  At  the  very  moment  when  all  the  friends  of  liberty  and  civilization  on 
this  side  the  ocean  were  rejoicing  over  the  approaching  close  of  a  contest  sus 
tained  by  you  for  the  great  humanitarian  principle  of  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
sad  news  arrived  to  alloy  our  joy,  and  we  learned  with  horror  of  the  assassina 
tion  of  the  man  elected  by  the  American  nation  as  its  chief. 

Thus  the  martyrdom  of  him  who  promulgated  the  solemn  decree  of  eman 
cipation  (true  sign  of  equality  among  men)  consecrated  the  second  great  epoch 
of  your  history,  not  less  glorious  than  that  of  your  independence  itself. 

America,  discovered  by  our  sailors,  illustrated  by  our  historians,  celebrated 
by  our  poets,  is  ibr  Italy  more  than  a  friend — she  is  a  sister,  towards  whom 
she  looks  anxiously  during  the  revolution  through  which  she  is  passing  in  her 
reconstruction. 

We  Italians,  associated  to  maintain  and  keep  alive  the  sacred  fire  of 
liberty,  send  a  word  of  affection  and  condolence,  trusting  that  the  federal  Hag, 
which  was  kept  aloft  by  the  iron  strength  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  which  is 
now  drooping  over  the  tomb,  too  soon,  alas !  opened  for  Honest  Old  AHE,  may 
not  again  be  attacked  by  internal  enemies  or  rebellious  citizens. 

PKOF.  EMILIO  CIPRIANI,  President. 

74 


586  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

American  meeting  in  Florence  on  account  of  the  death  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

FLORENCE,  ITALY,  May  2,  1865. 

Pursuant  to  a  call  of  the  consul  general,  the  citizens  of  the  United  States 
resident  or  temporarily  staying  at  Florence  met  at  the  consulate  on  Tuesday, 
May  2,  to  take  such  measures  consequent  on  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN  as 
might  seem  appropriate.  The  meeting,  numbering  nearly  one  hundred  Ameri 
can  gentlemen,  was  called  to  order  by  Hiram  Powers,  esq.,  and,  on  his  motion, 
Colonel  Lawrence,  the  consul  general,  was  appointed  chairman,  and  Dr.  B.  13. 
Appleton,  of  Boston,  chosen  secretary. 

Colonel  Lawrence,  on  taking  the  chair,  addressed  the  meeting  as  follows : 

FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN:  We  have  met  here  to-day,  united  as  mourners  and 
companions  in  a  common  sorrow,  to  take  counsel  together  in  a  national  calamity, 
in  an  unspeakable  and  overwhelming  grief,  which  bows  our  heads  and  fills  our 
hearts.  One  of  the  best  of  Presidents,  one  of  the  purest  of  statesmen,  one  of 
the  truest  of  men,  is  no  more,  and  the  lamentation  which  arises  from  every  part 
of  our  land  finds  a  responsive  echo  in  our  own  bosoms.  The  appalling  tragedy 
which  has  removed  our  Chief  Magistrate  is  absolutely  without  parallel  or 
precedent  in  history.  Cassar  found  a  Brutus  because  he  had  trampled  upon  the 
liberties  of  his  country;  Henri  Quatre  fell  by  the  hand  of  an  insane  fanatic ;  but 
it  has  remained  for  the  nineteenth  century,  for  a  period  when  civilization  and 
Christianity  are  supposed  to  exert  greater  influence  than  ever  before,  to  produce 
a  cold-blooded  and  cowardly  assassin  to  strike  down  a  President  acknowledged, 
even  by  his  enemies,  to  be  possessor  of  the  highest  virtues,  and  to  have  been 
actuated  throughout  his  public  career  solely  by  a  single-hearted  and  unselfish 
patriotism. 

It  is  not  my  belief  that  this  fearful  deed  is  either  indorsed  or  approved  by 
the  people  of  the  south ;  I  believe  at  home  and  abroad  that  they  are  sincere  in 
ignoring  the  infamous  crime.  But  the  broad  fact  nevertheless  exists,  that  with 
the  institution  of  slavery  the  pistol  and  bowie-knife  have  gone  hand  in  hand, 
and  that  under  its  dominion  personal  revenge  has  avowedly  been  permitted  to 
take  precedence  of  established  law.  As  a  result  of  slavery,  therefore,  we  owe 
this  awful  deed,  and  let  us  thank  the  Almighty  that,  as  an  institution,  it  has 
perished  forever. 

Gentlemen,  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  pronounce  a  eulogy  upon  President 
LINCOLN — he  needs  none ;  there  is  his  record — the  world  knows  it  by  heart. 
His  memory  will  gain  new  lustre  as  time  rolls  on,  and  history  will  accord  him 
a  niche  in  the  temple  of  fame  second  only  to  that  occupied  by  our  immortal 
Washington. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Colonel  Lawrence's  remarks  the  following  resolutions 
were  draughted  by  a  committee  appointed  for  the  purpose  and  adopted  unani 
mously: 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  587 

The  American  residents  and  visitors  in  Florence,  desiring  to  give  expres 
sion  to  their  profound  horror  and  grief  on  account  of  the  atrocious  crime  by 
which  our  beloved  country  has  been  deprived  of  its  honored  and  revered  Chief 
Magistrate,  hereby  resolve — 

That  while  we  see  in  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  an  act  of 
barbarity  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  crime,  yet  we  are  constrained  to  regard 
and  denounce  it  as  naturally  and  logically  related  to  the  grand  conspiracy  which 
has  aimed  at  the  overthow  of  our  republican  institutions. 

That  while  we  recognize  the  hand  of  Providence  in  this  great  calamity, 
which  has  plunged  the  nation  into  mourning,  we  yet  feel  that  the  Divine  power 
and  goodness  will  so  overrule  it  as  to  give  stability  and  prosperity  to  our  people, 
and  to  render  lastingly  triumphant  the  cause  of  freedom. 

That  while  we  appreciate  the  great  and  patriotic  work  accomplished  by 
our  late  President,  which  will  secure  for  him  an  undying  place  in  history,  we 
believe  that  his  violent  death  will  but  lend  additional  lustre  to  the  noble  and 
manly  virtues  of  this  worthy  successor  of  Washington. 

That,  in  common  with  all  loyal  Americans  at  home  and  abroad,  we  hereby 
express  our  heartfelt  sympathy  with  the  bereaved  family  of  the  President  in 
this  hour  of  desolating  affliction. 

That  in  token  of  our  respect  and  sorrow  we  will  wear  a  badge  of  mourn 
ing  for  thirty  days. 

It  was  voted  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  to  his  Excel 
lency  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  chairman  stated  that  deputations  from  various  public  associations 
existing  in  Florence  had  waited  upon  him  to  express  their  sympathy  in  the  dire 
calamity  which  had  befallen  the  United  States,  and  that  addresses  to  the  same 
effect  had  been  received  by  him  from  other  cities  of  Italy. 

After  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  chairman  for  his  opening  remarks,  and  for  his 
acceptable  manner  of  presiding,  the  meeting  was  dissolved. 

T.  15IGELOW  LAAVRENCE,  Clmirman. 

\\.  13    Ari'LKTON,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

The  Mechanics'   Society  and  the  Society  of  Progress  of  Forli  to  the  American 

people. 

FORLI,  May  1,  18G5. 

BROTHERS  OF  AMERICA:  Our  soul  is  grieved  because  our  first  utterance  to 
you  must  consist  of  words  of  sorrow  and  consolation ;  and  our  grief  is  more 
poignant  as  the  personage  whose  death  we  mourn  was  the  idol  of  a  respectful 
worship,  and  deserved  the  homage  of  the  civilized  world.  The  real  design  of 


588  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

his  assassination  is  a  secret  still  hidden  in  the  mysteries  of  a  deep  policy,  and 
we  have  not  the  divining  power  to  find  it  out;  but  we  must  trust  that  the 
finger  of  Providence  was  concerned  in  it,  and  permitted  it  to  be  done  that  some 
great  good  might  arise  out  of  it. 

The  illustrious  deceased  has  left  you  his  glorious  principles  as  an  inherit 
ance,  and  if  you  obey  them  you  will  not  fail  to  consummate  the  great  aim  of 
freedom,  and  will  extend  its  influence  to  Europe,  the  only  country  on  the  globe 
that  is  called  civilized,  while  the  descendants  of  your  great  discoverer  are 
enslaved  in  spite  of  your  efforts  to  establish  liberty  and  independence  in  every 
corner  of  the  earth. 

LINCOLN  and  Booth !  these  are  two  names  forming  different  periods  of 
history:  the  first  promises  a  future ;  the  second  belongs  to  the  horrid  past ;  is 
a  concentration  of  all  villany  past  and  present — the  wickedness  of  a  Nero  and 
a  Caligula  combined,  or  of  other  monsters  cast  up  from  hell  to  seek  the  most 
illustrious  victims. 

LINCOLN'S  is  a  great  name,  that  will  ever  be  remembered  as  the  name  of 
the  champion  of  all  democratic  virtues.  He  has  unmasked  monarchy  by  giv 
ing  true  liberty  and  independence  to  a  weary  world.  His  martyrdom  will  be  a 
baptism  more  powerful  than  that  required  by  the  Roman  church ;  it  is  a  sacra 
ment  of  blood — the  other  is  of  water.  LINCOLN  and  progress  are  synonymous ; 
his  course  was  but  the  great  principles  proposed  by  Washington. 

Brothers,  your  President  was  one  of  those  wonderful  men,  like  our  Mazzini 
or  Garibaldi,  who  tower  above  the  meanness  of  common  humanity,  arid  show 
how  great  a  true  man  can  become.  All  nations  ought  now  to  join  with  one 
assent,  and  inscribe  this  epitaph  upon  the  stone  that  covers  the  remains  of  your 
distinguished  President :  "  Here  lies  buried  all  the  wisdom,  all  the  virtue,  all 
the  patriotism  that  ever  lived." 

Americans,  accept,  in  fine,  these  words  of  sincere  sorrow,  of  fraternal  love 
of  congratulation  to  a  people  with  whom  we  sympathize  and  to  whom  we  wish 
a  lasting  peace. 

Committee  of  the  Mechanics'  Society: 

AMADIO  CAMILLO. 

GIUSEPPE  MURATORI. 

VINCENZO  DANIELE. 

GIOVANNI  TRASFINETTI. 

GIUSEPPE  PAZZI,  Secretary. 
Committee  of  the  Society  of  Progress  : 

PANCIATICHI  POMPEO. 

GIUSEPPE  TAPOCCINI. 

•FEDERICO  BONDI. 

FABIO  CORTESE. 

LIVIO  BARBIANI,  Secrcfar,/. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       589 

[Translation.  ] 

GENOA,  May  28,  1865. 

SIR  :  While  from  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world  your  great  and  noble 
country  receives  daily  solemn  assurances  of  condolence  and  of  sorrow  for  the 
execrable  crime  which  has  taken  away  your  Chief  Magistrate,  permit  the  under 
signed  to  send  from  the  city  which  produced  the  immortal  discoverer  of  America 
our  word  of  condolence,  and  at  the  same  time  our  word  of  admiration — of  grief 
for  that  loss  which  is  a  loss  not  only  to  the  United  States,  but  to  all  humanity  ; 
of  admiration  for  the  majestic  solidity  of  a  social  and  political  edifice  in  which 
so  great  a  misfortune  does  not  disturb  the  movement  of  public  affairs. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  lived  long  enough  to  see  the  triumph  of  the  holy  cause 
of  human  liberty  which  he  spent  his  life  in  defending,  and  we  most  warmly 
desire  that  the  people  who,  with  heroic  valor,  have  fought  to  obtain  this  triumph, 
may  soon  gather  the  merited  fruits  of  their  toils,  under  the  smiles  of  peace  and 
prosperity. 

On  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  Genoa : 

Y.  VALERIC. 

GEKOLAMO  BOCEARDO. 

E.  G.  TRABBI. 

E.  G.  SCHIATHINANO. 
The  CONSUL  GENERAL  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  Genoa. 


[Translation.] 

GENOA,  May  4,  1865. 

HONORED  SIR  :  While  the  democracy  of  Europe  was  exulting  with  joy  at 
the  late  victories  of  the  Union,  which  had  secured  the  triumph  of  the  holiest  of 
causes,  the  news  of  an  execrable  crime  suddenly  filled  them  with  consternation 
and  mourning.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  been  assassinated.  The  death  of  this 
virtuous  and  great  citizen  is  a  universal  misfortune.  All  humanity  was  struck 
down  in  its  benefactor,  the  emancipator  of  the  black  race. 

In  the  midst  of  manifestations  of  public  grief  which  come  from  every  part 
of  Italy  to  the  representatives  of  your  nation,  the  Union  of  the  Operatives  of 
Genoa  raise  their  cry  against  the  murderers  of  LINCOLN,  and  send,  through  you, 
to  your  brothers  in  America,  the  assurance  of  their  profound  grief.  We  hope 
that  the  calculations  of  the  assassins  will  fail,  and  that  this  great  crime  will  not 
arrest  the  successful  progress  of  your  cause. 

Your  fellow-citizens  will  have  the  magnanimity  to  avenge  this  crime  in  a 


590  ASSASSINATION  OE  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

manner  befitting  a  great  nation,  by  consolidating  the  work  of  emancipation 
initiated  and  carried  forward  by  LINCOLN  with  such  intelligence  and  courage. 

We  feel  certain  that  your  great  republic,  which  in  a  few  years  has  displayed 
so  many  miracles  of  valor,  constancy  and  sacrifice,  as  to  fill  the  world  with  sur 
prise,  purified  from  the  foul  stain  of  slavery,  regenerated  in  blood,  and  blessed 
by  all  humanity,  will  be  more  glorious  and  powerful  than  before  the  war,  furnish 
a  model  for  European  nations,  and  lift  up  the  beacon  of  hope  for  oppressed 
people. 

Faithful  to  the  Monroe  doctrine,  you  will  not,  we  are  sure,  tolerate  the 
planting  of  a  foreign  monarchy  on  the  borders  of  your  own  land,  which  is  the 
sacred  asylum  of  liberty. 

We  beg  you  to  convey  to  your  government  and  fellow-citizens  these  senti 
ments  of  admiration  and  affection  which  we  cherish  for  your  country  and  her 
cause. 

[SEAL.]  MICHELE  BOERO, 

AND  OTHERS. 

NOTE. — The  Union  of  Operatives  has  unanimously  voted  this  address,  and 
further  resolved  to  drape  its  flag  in  mourning  for  one  year. 


[Translation.] 

CITIZEN  PRESIDENT  :  The  members  of  the  Fraternal  Association  of  Arti 
sans  of  Leghorn  send  to  the  American  people  a  word  of  sincere  condolence 
and  brotherly  grief  on  the  occasion  of  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
They  are  aware  that  the  valorous  champion  of  the  American  Union  was  born 
an  artisan,  and  that  liberty  made  him  great  and  powerful,  not  to  oppress  but  to 
strengthen  and  ennoble  an  entire  nation;  for  this  they  have  loved  him  as  though 
they  had  been  his  sons  or  brothers. 

The  living  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  we  looked  upon  as  a  hero ;  dead,  we  mourn 
him  as  a  martyr,  and  his  memory  will  ever  remain  in  the  heart  of  the  artisans 
as  the  symbol  of  a  true  faith — the  faith  of  liberty. 

From  the  seat  of  the  Fraternal  Association  of  Artisans  at  Leghorn,  May 
21,  1865. 

Gr.  PENCO,  President. 
0.  CAMPANA,  Secretary. 
Hon.  CITIZEN  PRESIDENT 

of  the  United  States  of  America. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       591 

• 

[Translation.] 

The  Lodge  Anziani  Virtuosi,  Orient  of  Leghorn,  Tuscany,  to  the  President  of 

the  United  States  of  America. 

HEALTH  ! 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is  dead,  not  from  disease  in  his  own  bed,  surrounded 
by  friends  and  parents,  but  in  consequence  of  a  wound  inflicted  by  an  unknown 
hand.  Nothing  positive  yet  is  known  as  to  the  reason  why  the  fatal  shot  was 
fired ;  but,  unfortunately,  men  who  are  useful  to  their  country  either  die  before 
the  accomplishment  of  the  work  they  had  undertaken,  or  hands  bought  with 
the  gold  of  their  enemies  cut  the  thread  of  their  lives,  hoping  that  the  trunk 
being  severed,  the  tree  will  not  blossom ;  but  if  the  roots  are  sound,  it  will, 
though  late.  So  you,  citizen  President,  ought  to  do.  Falter  not,  because  the 
life  of  your  predecessor  was  taken,  for  it  is  your  duty  to  finish  what  he  traced 
out,  and  not  only  is  the  most  powerful  part  of  America  with  you,  but  the  whole 
world  represented  by  the  people  who,  when  they  love,  love  from  the  heart  and 
shed  their  blood  for  any  just  cause.  Yours  is  one  of  the  most  just,  and  let  the 
great  try  to  crush  the  people  and  cry  out  that  they  are  of  no  account ;  they  are 
the  elect  of  God,  and  their  cause  will  triumph,  lor  all  the  peoples  of  the  earth 
have  their  hopes  and  sufferings  in  common,  and  call  a  man  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
or  any  other  name,  it  matters  not,  for  it  is  not  the  body  or  the  soul  but  the 
party  he  represents  which  calls  our  attention 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  strenuous  defender  of  the  rights  of  the  people,  is  no 
more  ;  but  you.  Andrew  Johnson,  having  taken  his  place,  have  the  task  of  com 
pleting  the  work. 

Receive  the  best  wishes  for  the  prosperity  of  your  republic,  from  the 
brothers  of  the  Leghorn  Lodge  Anziani  Virtuosi,  Orient  of  Leghorn. 

ALESSANDRO  NELLI  Y.-. 
FRANCESCO  ANDRE ANL-. 
BALDASSARE  PAG111NI.-. 
LUSTRO  V.  COEN.-. 
ADRIANO  CORRANI.-. 
GIOVANNI  CORRANI.-. 
GIUSEPPE  GIANNARUL-. 
ISAAC  PIPERNO.-. 
DANIEL  PIPERNO.- 
RAPHAEL  DAVIS.-. 
M.  P.  PIPERNO.-. 

FRANCESCO  PASTORI.-.  Secretary. 


592  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

Translation  of  letter  from  Masonic  Lodge  Le  Lnme  e  la  Vcrita,  in  Messina, 

dated  June  10,  1865. 

To  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON,  President  of  the  United  States: 

We,  inhabitants  of  distant  regions,  ultimately  address  a  word  to  you,  citizen 
President,  to  manifest  to  you  the  great  grief  that  afflicted  our  hearts  on  the 
melancholy  intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  the  illustrious  President,  ABRA 
HAM  LINCOLN — mourned  for  nine  days  in  the  temple  of  our  mysterious  works. 

In  vain  did  that  sacrilegious  hand  raise  itself  to  smite  such  virtue,  for  his 
name  will  last  to  eternity.  In  him  America  acknowledges  the  Washington  of 
liberty;  to  him  the  slave  to-day  pours  out  his  benedictions  that  his  chains  are 
loosed,  and  the  civil  people  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe  spread  flowers  and 
tears  on  the  tomb  of  the  just. 

It  is  but  too  true  that  the  country  of  virtue  is  heaven,  and  its  temple  the 
world. 

Accept,  citizen  President,  this  tribute  of  regard  towards  the  late  Illustrious 
which  all  the  fraternity  of  this  respectable  lodge  dedicate  to  him.  In  the  mean 
time  we  beg  you  to  manifest  our  grief  towards  the  American  nation,  which  is 
to-day  so  nobly  given  to  you  to  represent. 

Signed  by  the  venerable 

GIOVANNI  PIRROTTA, 

AND  OTHERS. 


[Translation.] 

An  address  of  condolence,  dated  the   2\st  of  June,  18G5,  from  the  municipality 
of  Messina  to  the  consul  of  the,  United  States  of  America. 

To  honor  the  name  of  a  great  citizen,  one  of  the  most  liberal  among  nations, 
and  to  transmit  his  name  to  posterity,  the  municipal  council  voted  in  their  sitting, 
the  13th  of  May  last,  and  decided  on  giving  the  name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  to 
one  of  the  principal  streets  which  is  shortly  to  be  opened  in  the  new  quarter 
of  Terranova  in  this  city. 

This  is  an  attestation  of  affection  to  the  United  States  of  America,  to  honor 
the  memory  of  their  indefatigable  President,  who  fell  a  victim  to  treachery,  but 
surrounded  by  the  light  of  a  sublime  idea,  "the  freedom  of  slaves."  It  is, 
finally,  an  homage  to  the  great  principles  of  liberty,  without  which  whatever 
may  be  the  civil  event  is  false  and  illusory. 

Be  pleased,  worthy  sir,  to  accept,  and  have  accepted  by  his  Excellency 
President  Johnson,  who  now  represents  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
this  testimony  of  grief  and  sympathy  which  the  people  of  Messina  tribute  to  the 
great  American  nation. 

G.  CHANCIAFARA,  Mayor,  President. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       593 

[Translation.] 

MILAN,  May  17,  1865. 
Brothers  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

Our  grief  for  the  death  of  LINCOLN  is  as  great  as  our  faith  in  the  triumph 
of  the  cause  for  which  you  fight.  The  holiness  of  your  cause  is  equal  to  the 
greatness  of  its  martyr. 

For  the  Workingmen's  Mutual  Help  Association  in  Milan : 

MONDOLFO,  President. 
[SEAL.]  FILIPPO  13INDA,    Vice-P resident, 

AND  MANY  OTHERS. 


[Translation.] 

PROVINCE  OF  MOLISE,  DISTRICT  OF  ISERNIA, 

Monteroduni,  May  1,  1865. 
To  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

The  entire  world,  with  different  feelings,  has  anxiously  awaited  the  termin 
ation  of  the  great  contest,  the  civil  war  that  has  lacerated  the  limbs  of  the  great 
and  happy  republic.  Tyranny  and  double-faced  diplomacy  attempted  to  rivet 
the  chains  of  slavery  upon  the  universe ;  democracy  struggled  to  break  the 
fetters  and  crush  the  head  of  despotism  vvith  them,  and  sound  the  hymn  of 
victory  and  liberty.  The  hour  of  victory  has  struck  for  liberty;  tyranny,  pale 
with  rage,  gnaws  its  own  viscera,  and  trembles  upon  its  tottering  throne. 

Long  live  the  government  of  Washington  !  Long  live  the  great  republic  of 
the  United  States!  They  overthrew  the  slaveholders  of  the  South,  who  had 
ruled  the  country  for  three-quarters  of  a  century;  but  the  brave  republicans 
broke  off  the  manacles  of  millions  of  slaves,  raised  them  to  the  dignity  of  man 
hood,  and  now  embrace  them  as  men  and  brothers. 

But  amid  the  victorious  jubilation  came  the  horrid  rumor  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN'S  barbarous  assassination  !  He  was  the  honored  parent  of  the  new 
born  liberty  ;  but  you,  Mr.  Johnson,  will  be  the  foster-father  of  the  new  republic. 
LINCOLN  is  dead ;  but  grateful  humanity  will  erect  a  splendid  monument  to  the 
memory  of  the  sublime  martyr  of  liberty,  and  will  appease  his  spirit  by  scatter 
ing  the  ashes  of  the  cursed  assassin  Booth  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven,  and 

O  ' 

destroying  tyranny  and  slavery  that  prompted  him  to  the  horrid  deed. 

GIUSEPPE  GIACOMO.  PASQUALE  D'ELIA. 

ANTONIO  GUGLIELMI.  SALVATORE  SCIOLI. 

SALVATORE  GUGLIELMI.  FRANCESCO  SCIOLT. 

ICILIO  D'ELIA.  NICOLA  TRIVISON. 

DOMINICO  FORTE.  SILVIO  FORTE. 

CLODOMIRO  DE  GIACOMO.  ANDREA  SCIOLI. 

7fl 


594  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 
MARSALA    AT    THE    TOMB    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Marsala,  the  heroic  and  enlightened  city,  through  its  mayor,  has  elevated 
its  voice  at  the  tomb  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

On  the  6th  of  May,  1866,  in  the  City  Hall  of  Marsala,  a  meeting  was  called 
by  the  mayor,  and  presided  over  by  the  syndic,  who  gave  official  information 
of  the  horrible  crime  perpetrated  on  the  illustrious  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

That  atrocious  deed  confirms  the  political  axiom  that  the  glories  and 
misfortunes  of  a  nation  are  the  glories  and  misfortunes  of  all  mankind;  and 
young  Italy,  though  rejoicing  in  her  new  destiny,  now  joins  in  tasting  the  bitter 
cup  of  American  misfortune. 

We  Italians  see  in  the  misfortunes  of  America  repetitions  of  our  own 
misfortunes,  and  all  Italy  deplores  the  lamentable  event  that  overwhelms  a 
sister  nation ;  and  its  sorrow  is  the  greater  because  its  people  are  united  to  us 
by  ancient  traditionary  ties,  a  people  whose  country  was  first  discovered  by  a 
son  of  Italy. 

Christopher  Columbus,  Italy's  immortal  son,  discovered  the  vast  continent 
of  America,  and  carried  Christianity  and  civilization  to  its  benighted  shores; 
and  the  good  and  noble  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States  of  the 
New  World,  delivered  the  descendants  of  the  children  of  Africa  from  the  curse 
of  infamy,  the  yoke  of  servitude. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  free  people  to  express  their  sorrow  and  pay  their 
homage  at  the  tomb  of  great  men,  who  are  to  be  revered  next  to  God;  there 
fore  the  president,  as  the  interpreter  of  this  meeting, 

Resolves,  That  the  inhabitants  of  Marsala,  on  this  occasion,  express  their 
horror  at  the  crime  perpetrated  upon  the  person  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and 
signify  their  sympathy  for  the  American  people  in  this  address  to  the  new 
President  and  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

The  above  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted. 

G.  NOTAR  FIGLIOLI, 
TOMMASSO  PIPILONE. 
A.  GRIGNANI, 

Councilmen. 
ANTONIO  SPANO, 

Sec re tar //. 


[Translation.] 

NAPLES,  May  20,  1865. 

SIR  :  Great  was  our  affliction  on  the  news  of  the  death  of  your  predecessor, 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       595 

We,  men  of  labor,  and  of  the  people,  bent  on  the  conquest  of  liberty  and 
justice  for  all,  we  cannot  but  express  our  profound  grief  for  so  great  a  loss. 

LINCOLN  was,  like  you,  the  defender  of  the  rights  of  the  people  and 
the  emancipator  of  the  slaves.  We  feel  our  hearts  pulsating  violently  at  the 
thought  that  a  horrible  crime  has  deprived  the  American  nation  of  a  generous 
and  honest  chief. 

Happily  the  principles,  if  actuated  by  man,  have  their  origin  in  the  rights 
of  the  people,  and  find  in  it  the  force  of  expansion  and  of  durability. 

We,  workmen  of  Naples,  have  felt  the  great  misfortune  which  has  struck 
humanity,  on  the  loss  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  we,  therefore,  deliberated  in 
solemn  council  that  an  address  of  condolence  to  the  American  people  should 
be  presented,  and  that  our  great  standard  should  be  in  mourning  for  thirty 
days. 

We  send,  moreover,  a  salute  to  all  the  American  people,  but  particularly  to 
our  brothers,  the  workmen,  and  we  remind  them  that  Italy  works  assiduously 
for  the  accomplishment  of  her  liberty  and  independence;  that  she  confides  in 
herself  as  well  as  in  the  sympathy  of  free  nations,  and  hopes  to  see  her  ardent 
wishes  accomplished. 

To  you,  President,  we  intrust  our  fraternal  salute,  and  we  are  certain  that 
you  will  communicate  it  to  your  people,  reminding  them  that  the  Italians  feel 
a  profound  affection  for  the  great  American  nation. 

JOSEPH  F.  DASSI, 
Honorary  Perpetual  Vice- President. 
FRANCISCO  ZAVA, 

President  General. 
CESARE  FREARI, 

General  Secretary. 
CESARE  BATTAGLIA, 

Secretary. 
Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


[Translation.] 

GARIBALDIAN  MUTUAL  AID  SOCIETY, 

Naples,  August  30,  1865. 

SIR  :  In  execution  of  the  resolution  passed  to-day  by  our  assembly,  legally 
convocated,  I  have  the  honor  to  offer  you,  in  the  name  of  our  society,  the  most 
sincere  and  heartfelt  condolence  for  the  great  loss  the  American  nation  has 
sustained  in  the  death  of  the  late  President  LINCOLN. 

Alas!  the  noble  and  generous   republic,  and  together  with   her  all  the 


596  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

European  nations,  have  received  a  cruel  wound.  We  Garibaldians  were  pro 
foundly  afflicted  by  the  sad  news,  and  can  only  compare  our  present  affliction 
to  that  we  have  felt  when  our  chief  and  father,  Garibaldi,  was  wounded  at 
Aspromonte. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  the  true  and  tried  friend  of  liberty.  His  virtues 
and  undaunted  courage  were  about  to  achieve  a  great  work,  when  the  hand 
of  an  assassin  deprived  him  of  life. 

But  we  despair  not.  We  still  hope  in  the  sublime  mission  of  the  Amer 
ican  nation.  The  effulgent  spark  of  true  liberty  shall  yet  come  to  us  through 
the  American  republic. 

Italy  mingles  her  tears  with  America,  and  all  deplore  the  sad  event,  but 
place  strong  reliance  upon  the  happy  results  which  your  renowned  talents  and 
patriotism  are  certain  to  produce,  the  re-establishment  of  the  glorious  Union, 
so  long  the  admiration  of  the  world. 

With  sentiments  of  high  esteem,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  most  respectfully, 
yours, 

[SEAL.]  GIUSEPPE  DASSI,  President. 

EUGENIO  MONTINI,  Secretary. 

The  PRESIDENT  of  the  Untied  States  of  America. 


[Translation.] 

WORKINGMEN'S  BENEVOLENT  SOCIETY  OF  NAPLES, 

Naples,  May  4,  18G5. 

CITIZEN  CONSUL  :  The  Workingmen's  Benevolent  Society  of  Naples,  in  the 
mids£  of  its  exultation  at  the  news  of  the  triumph  of  a  holy  and  benevolent 
cause,  were  suddenly  struck  with  horror  at  the  announcement  of  the  cruel  death 
of  your  excellent  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Our  grief  is  beyond  expression ;  for  he  who  can  tell  the  anguish  of  his 
sorrow  does  not  feel  it  deeply. 

Deign  to  be  the  interpreter  of  our  sentiments,  citizen  consul,  to  the  noble 
and  generous  people  whose  welfare  is  so  much  desired  by  us.  Tell  them  the 
sad  tidings  of  their  loss  was  brought  to  us  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind,  and  left 
us  petrified  with  horror  and  indignation.  Our  only  comfort  was  the  thought 
that  grand  ideas,  by  the  inscrutable  commands  of  Providence,  make  their  way 
through  a  thousand  obstacles  and  only  gain  their  goal  by  passing  through  a  sea 
of  martyrdom  and  blood. 

Liberty  has  grown  and  flourished  in  your  land ;  and  we  are  sure  it  has 
taken  root  so  deeply  in  your  soil,  it  will  never  be  in  want  of  generous  souls  to 
inherit  the  legacy  of  love  for  poor  suffering  human  beings,  an  inheritance  left 
to  them  by  one  who  was  their  apostle  and  a  martyr  for  them.  They  have  been 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY        597 

redeemed  from  the  ignominious  yoke  of  slavery — those  poor  men  who  were 
fastened  to  the  sod,  deprived  of  half  the  spirit  that  God  had  given  them  entire 
at  their  birth.  The  earth  has  now  no  race  to  till  its  soil  with  grievous  sighs 
and  water  it  with  servile  sweat;  but  the  men  who  mourned  in  their  labors  now 
work  with  joyous  songs  that  sweeten  toil  and  render  the  fruits  of  their  labor 
more  abundant. 

Tell  them  we  rejoice  in  this  change — we  who  believe  in  progress  and  the 
indefinite  development  of  benevolence,  thanks  to  union  and  mutual  assistance — 
and  hope  to  see  the  working  classes  elevated  to  a  more  cheerful  and  respectable 
condition.  We  are  glad  that  so  much  glory  falls  to  the  lot  of  a  people  who 
jealously  guarded  the  light-house  of  liberty,  a  divinity  banished  from  the  Old 
World  to  find  a  refuge  in  the  New,  whose  once  vast  solitudes  are  now  filled 
with  inhabitants.  Our  eyes  have  long  been  turned  to  that  beacon,  and  are  bent 
on  it  now,  hoping  to  see  that  torrent  of  light  shed  its  blessings  upon  this  old 
and  corrupt  hemisphere. 

We  beg  you,  citizen  consul,  to  convey  these  sentiments  of  the  Working- 
men's  Benevolent  Society  of  Naples  to  the  American  people,  and  accept  our 
sincere  expressions  of  reverence  and  esteem. 

The  society  committee : 

LUIGI  FAZIO. 
PASQUALE  CARILLO. 

LIBERTY,  LABOR,  )  VINCENZO    GODONO. 

STEFANO  CAPOREGGIO 
ANTONIO  DE  FELICE. 
PASQUALE  CIMINI. 
TORINELLI  NICOLA. 


[Translation.] 

AMERICANS  OF  THE  UNION:  Despotism,  priestly  and  political,  diplomatic 
hypocrisy,  and  a  tradition  of  blood  have  fettered  the  Italian  emancipation  with 
so  many  snares  that  we,  overwhelmed  with  grief  and  disgusted  witli  this 
depraved  Old  World,  turn  with  confiding  looks  to  the  New  one,  and  our  souls 
rejoice  at  the  grand  spectacle  you  show  us.  Oh,  Americans!  you  who  have 
conquered  your  own  independence  by  your  virtue  only — in  the  sacredness  of 
the  laws  constitutes  only  one  a  free  family,  without  kings  or  myrmidons,  without 
priests  or  deceitful  idols. 

We  followed  with  our  ardent  wishes  the  titanic  struggle  which  you  have 
sustained  against  the  ungodly  insurrection  of  slaveholders.  Oh !  could  slavery 
exist  any  longer  among  men  as  free  as  you  are;  can  one  be  free  by  the  side  of  or 
amidst  slaves  1  This  stain  you  have  blotted  out  with  your  blood,  and  with  the 


598  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

sacrifices  you  have  made  of  your  men  and  money  for  the  complete  liberty  of 
your  country. 

On  the  fall  of  Richmond  the  soul  of  the  European  democracy  was  exuber 
ant  with  joy.  We  Italians  of  the  south  were  preparing  to  send  you  a  salute  of 
congratulations,  when  the  news  of  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  your 
President,  filled  us  with  grief. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  generous  man  who  neither  tarnished  nor  stained 
his  triumph — the  virtuous  Cincinnatus  of  America — the  redeemer  of  those  men 
whose  primitive  fault  was  no  other  than  the  color  of  their  skin,  has  been  assas 
sinated.  However  great  is  our  grief,  how  much  greater  must  be  yours  !  Oh, 
American  brothers !  you  who  have  twice  confided  to  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  the 
jealous  deposit  of  power;  for  you  have  found  in  his  honesty,  his  intelligence, 
and  his  patriotism  the  immovable  rock  of  liberty,  and  certainly  your  cause  of 
war  was  a  holy  one  if  such  a  noble  creature  has  been  sacrificed,  the  propitia 
tory  offering  of  an  inexorable  demon. 

Americans  of  the  Union,  every  one  in  Europe  does  not  hold  for  its  divinity 
the  cotton  or  the  sword ;  permit  that  our  crowns  of  laurel  and  of  myrtle  go  to 
garnish  the  tomb  of  LINCOLN.  Let  our  flowers  be  mixed  with  yours,  with 
yours  our  tears,  and  with  yours  our  oaths ;  to  gratify  the  spirit  of  LINCOLN  for 
the  complete  destruction  of  slavery,  we  will  encourage  and  imitate  you  in  the 
battle  for  the  redemption  of  humanity. 
For  the  studious  youths  of  Naples  : 

SAVERIA  FRISSIO,  Dqmtato. 

ENRICO  MARIANO,  Caprice. 

GENEVOSO  BOZZIUS. 

CINCOTTA  ANGELO. 

CARLO  DACONO. 

LORETO  PAISCHE. 

AND  SOME  THIRTY  OTHERS, 


[Translation.] 

The  juvenile  Society  of  Progress  to  the  people  of  America  on  the  occasion  of  the 

assassination  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

NAPLES,  April  30,  1865. 

Accept  a  word  of  condolence,  and  also  of  encouragement,  which  the  Society 
of  Progress  of  Naples  send  you.  We,  also,  like  you,  have  felt  misfortunes. 
We  also  know  what  it  is  to  suffer,  so  we  can  feel  for  others ;  but  the  road  of 
civilization  and  progress  is  made  in  that  way,  and  it  is  necessary  to  traverse  it, 
though  the  footsteps  of  the  nation  are  bathed  in  blood.  Misfortunes  are  seeds 


EXPRESSIONS  OP  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.  599 

which  carry  fruits  that  are  never  lost.  For  your  great  deeds  we  paid  yon  a 
tribute  of  praise ;  now  for  your  misfortunes  we  offer  you  a  word  of  sympathy, 
of  encouragement,  and  of  condolence. 

[SEAL.]  CARLO  REBEECHI,  President. 

PASQUALE  GALLUCCIO. 

FIDELE  ALBANEJE. 

BALDASSARRE  ZIBO. 

SALVATORE  MENICHINO. 

VIXCENZO  PADAVANI. 

BARRABA  ANTONIO. 

LUGI  MENICHINO. 

GIOVANNI  LAVASTANO. 

VINCENZO  LABANCA. 

MORANO  R031AJO. 


[Translation.] 
ITALIAN   ELECTORAL   ASSOCIATION GENERAL   GARIBALDI,  HONORARY  PRESIDENT. 

NAPLES,  May.  2,  1865. 

With  an  ardent  heart  we  join  in  the  universal  grief  occasioned  by  the  death 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  This  event  has  moved  the  world  more  than  it  has  ever 
done  before,  or  will  ever  do  at  the  death  of  a  pope  or  reigning  emperor,  by  the 
will  of  God,  because  the  man  whose  loss  we  deplore  was  not  raised  in  virtue 
of  chimerical  rights,  but  by  the  tree  vote  of  the  people. 

And  we,  in  expressing  to  you  these  sentiments  in  the  name  of  the  Italian 
Electoral  Association,  for  whom  the  national  sovereignty  is  a  sacred  cause,  and 
whose  first  duty  is  to  preserve  the  popular  rights,  think  we  interpret  correctly 
rectly  the  sentiment  of  the  country  which  fosters  Garibaldi  for  the  one  that 
fostered  Washington. 

[SEAL.]  S.  RICCIARDI,  President. 


[Translation.] 
THE    MUNICIPAL    COUNCIL    OK    NAPLES. 

NAPLES,  May  5,  1865. 

ILLUSTRIOUS  SIR  :  The  common  council,  which  has  met  this  morning  in 
an  extraordinary  sitting,  has  unanimously  voted  the  following  address,  which 
you,  illustrious  sir,  will  have  the  kindness  to  transmit  to  your  government: 

"The  municipality  of  Naples,  full  of  horror  for  the  execrable  crime  which 


600  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

has  deprived  the  great  American  nation  of  its  magnanimous  President,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  express  to  his  successor,  who  represents  that  generous  people,  the 
profound  grief  which  struck  us  on  the  news  of  that  great  calamity,  and  wish 
that  the  noble  cause  to  which  LINCOLN'S  life  was  consecrated,  and  for  which 
it  was  lost,  will  soon  obtain  the  full  triumph  which  will  be  the  greatest  con 
quest  of  modern  civilization." 

Accept,  illustrious  sir,  the  testimonies  of  my  esteem. 

F.  DE  SUROVA,  Mayor. 

The  CONSUL  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  Naples. 


[Translation.] 
THE   JUVENILE    SCIENTIFIC,  LITERARY,  AND   POLITICAL   ASSOCIATION   OF   NAPLES. 

NAPLES,  April  28,  1865. 

The  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  deeply  moved  all  the  hearts  of 
those  who  recognize  in  him  the  indefatigable  support  of  the  greatest  humani- 
tary  principles,  the  assassin  striking  him  at  the  moment  when  a  series  of 
glorious  victories  seemed  to  have  put  a  stop  to  the  sanginary  war  which  for  five 
years  agitated  the  finest  and  most  intelligent  part  of  America. 

This  association,  honorable  sir,  has  manifested  itself  that  you  might  be  the 
interpreter  to  the  American  assembly  of  its  sentiments  of  grief  for  the  unex 
pected  death  of  a  man  whom  General  Garibaldi  called  the  "  Ship  of  Liberty." 
The  name  of  LINCOLN  must  be  placed  at  the  head  of  those  brave  men  who  have 
devoted  themselves  to  the  triumph  of  a  great  idea,  defying  courageously  all 
danger,  proud  in  the  sacredness  of  their  task. 

The  idea  of  LINCOLN  will  not  die  with  him;  that  was  not  struck  by  the 
dagger  or  by  poison.  That  it  will  triumph  in  America  is  the  wish  of  this  asso 
ciation,  for  henceforth  will  be  the  struggle  of  civilization  against  barbarism. 
All  know  on  which  side  will  be  the  victory.  America  cannot  regret  having 
given  birth  to  a  man  capable  of  committing  such  a  crime.  Assassins,  like 
traitors,  have  no  country. 

Accept,  illustrious  sir,  the  salutations  of  our  consideration. 

FILIPPO  BELLI  TRANJS,  President. 
[SEAL.]  RAFAELE  DE  ASARY,  Secretary. 

The  CONSUL  GENERAL  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  Naples. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       601 

[Translation.] 
NAPLES. 

* 

This  morning  took  place  in  the  court  of  the  University  the  reunion  of 
students,  of  which  we  gave  notice  yesterday,  assembled  to  vote  an  address  for 
the  death  of  LINCOLN.  There  were  about  two  hundred  of  them  present,  having 
accepted  the  address  already  printed,  which  was  read  to  them  by  the  deputy 
Friscia.  If  we  do  not  mistake,  they  named  a  committee  of  ten  young  men,  who 
met  at  the  office  of  the  president,  from  whence  they  proceeded  together  to  the 
residence  of  the  United  States  consul. 

Having  obtained  the  banner  of  the  University,  and  covered  it  with  black 
crape,  they  proceeded  in  good  order  and  without  noise  to  the  Riviera  di 
Chiaja.  They  were  joined  on  the  way  by  a  large  number  of  the  "  Societa 
Giovanile."  who,  also  with  their  banner,  took  place  in  the  cortege.  Arriving  at 
the  residence  of  the  consul,  the  committee  went  up  and  presented  to  him  the 
address,  accompanied  with  many  words  full  of  sympathy  for  the  American 
nation,  and  of  condolence  for  the  sad  end  of  the  honorable  man  who  so  worthily 
represented  it. 

The  consul,  moved  by  such  a  demonstration,  thanked  them  in  reply  for 
such  a  proof  of  sympathy  given  to  his  country  and  to  the  great  man  which 
humanity  had  lost,  and  promised  to  transfer  the  address  to  his  government, 
with  a  faithful  narrative  of  what  had  taken  place. 

After  having  taken  leave  of  the  consul,  the  delegations,  with  the  same 
order  and  quietness,  went  to  take  back  their  banners  from  where  they  had 
taken  them. 


[Translation.  ] 

ANCIENT  AND  ACCEPTED  SCOTCH  RITE,  M.'.  CD  C.'.  V.'.  OF  PAUMA,  E.'.  V.'.  UNITED 

ITALY,  OKIENT  OF  PARMA,  NO.  126. 

A.-.  G.-.  D.-.  G.-.  A.-.  D.-.  U.-. 

AND 

D.-.  N.-.  P.-.  S.-.  G.-.  D.-.  8.-. 
To  you,  S/.  F/.  IT.'.,  Subject  : 

On  the  announcement  of  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  IZJ  Italian 
Una,  in  the  Orient  of  Parma,  at  the  regular  session  of  the  28th  of  April,  18G5, 
E.\  V.'.,  inscribed  the  following  Tar.-. 

LINCOLN  was  taken  from  terrestrial  existence ;  his  noble  head  was  elevated 
to  pay  the  tribute  to  eternity  of  a  great  and  finished  work,  when  it  was  crushed 
by  the  assassin's  bullet ;  his  strong  form  was  full  of  the  joy  of  the  great  triumph 

76 


602  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

of  humanity.  Now  no  more !  But  LINCOLN'S  personality  had  reached  that 
point  where  the  individual  man  disappears  and  the  incarnation  of  a  prince- 
beams  forth.  Such  was  LINCOLN,  and  as  such  it  was  not  in  the  power  of  any 
violence  to  destroy  him.  He  lives  in.  a  strong,  brave,  and  determined  people  ; 
he  lives  in  the  midst  of  struggling  humanity,  whose  faith  has  been  increased, 
whose  heart  has  been  purified,  and  whose  intellect  has  been  enlarged  by  the 
example  of  his  virtues." 

Hail,  in  eternity,  O  spirit  of  LINCOLN  !  Thou  hast  gone  to  the  embrace 
of  Washington  !  Look  down  from  the  supernal  spheres  with  the  smile  of  pardon 
and  faith  in  the  human  beings  that  are  contending  for  the  triumph  of  the  eternal 
laws  of  moral  progress. 

0,  great  spirits,  welcome  the  greeting  and  love  of  those  who  remain  to 
struggle,  and  may  your  thoughts  of  great  things  and  of  the  constant  virtue  of 
sacrifice  inspire  us  all,  men  and  nations,  to  continue  in  the  right. 

The  Ven'bl.-.  A.  OLIVA. 

A.\  O/.  of  Parma,  Italian  Una. 

A.  DORNI,  Secretary. 


[Translation.  ] 

ROYAL  UNIVERSITY  OF  PAVIA, 

Pavia,  May  12,  1865. 

HONORED  SIR:  A  number  of  the  students  of  this  Royal  University  assem 
bled  yesterday  to  vote  an  address  for  the  ceremonies  about  to  take  place  in 
Florence  in  honor  of  the  great  Italian  poet,  (Dante;)  and  remembering  the  sad 
event  in  the  United  States  that  put  an  end  to  the  life  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
they  hereby  express  their  profound  sympathy  for  your  people,  who  place  justice 
and  liberty  above  all  things,  and  beg  me  to  be  the  interpreter  of  these  unani 
mous  sentiments. 

With  esteem  and  devotion, 

GELASTONI,  Rector. 
The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER  in  Italy. 


[Translation.] 

To  the  President  of  the  Congress  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 

America. 

HONORABLE  SIR  :  A  member  of  the  juvenile  politico-literary  associations  of 
this  illustrious  Italian  city,  I  have  the  honor  to  signify  to  you,  in  the  name 
thereof,  the  sorrow  occasioned  to  our  hearts  by  the  unhappy  news  of  the  assas- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        603 

sination  committed  on  the  person  of  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  in  whom 
nature  and  fortune  interchangeably  blended  to  render  him  the  man  of  Provi 
dence  for  bettering  the  condition  of  the  United  States  of  America.  Our  grief 
is  not,  therefore,  the  less  great  and  profound  than  that  which  affects  the  hearts 
of  all  our  free  citizens,  of  all  honest  and  true  lovers  of  the  progress  of  every 
people  and  nation  in  the  universe.  Nor  was  the  sorrow  different  that  was 
caused  to  us  by  the  attempt  on  the  life  of  Secretary  Seward. 

We  have,  however,  most  confident  hope  that,  in  compensation  of  the  bitter 
grief  flowing  from  such  great  calamities,  the  United  States  of  America  will 
gather  in  the  future  new  acquisitions  of  greatness,  liberty,  and  power,  which 
will  suffice  to  sustain  and  render  lasting  their  civil  and  political  existence. 

In  fulfilling  this  very  sad  duty,  I  pray  you,  sir,  to  accept  the  expression  of 
the  sentiments  of  my  highest  regard  and  consideration. 

For  the  Politico-Literary  Society  of  Perugia : 

PIETRO  DE  DONATO  GIANNINI. 
PEKUGIA,  May  7,  18G5. 


[Translation.] 

The  University  of  Perugia  to  the  representative  of  the  United  States  near  the 

Italian  government. 

We,  the  commitle  of  the  students  of  the  University  of  Perugia,  respect 
fully  request  you  to  convey  to  your  government  the  feelings  excited  in  our 
breasts  by  the  intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  the  attack 
on  Mr.  Seward. 

These  two  great  men,  who,  with  General  Grant,  completed  the  great  work 
of  emancipation  begun  by  Young  America,  deserve  our  greatest  admiration 
and  our  most  sincere  thanks. 

As  our  opinions  are  not  influenced  by  fear  or  political  expediency,  and  as 
sincerity  is  common  to  young  minds,  we  hope  it  will  not  be  thought  improper 
that  we  should  join  our  voices  to  those  of  all  Europe  in  detestation  of  the  horrid 
crime  that  robbed  the  republic  of  the  United  States  of  its  illustrious  chief, 
whose  death  we  mourn  with  all  lovers  of  liberty. 

We  hope  that  the  spirit  of  enterprise  will  revive  with  renewed  vigor  after 
the  term  of  sorrow,  and  that  the  martyr's  blood  may  prove  a  pledge  for  future 
victories. 

We  have  our  martyrs  too!  Let  not  America  forget  that  she  has  our 
sympathy,  and  let  her  people  remember  that  we  weep  with  them  in  their  mis 
fortunes. 


604  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

In  the  consummation  of  this  mournful  duty,  we  beg  you  to  accept  the 
expression  of  our  greatest  respect  and  most  distinguished  consideration. 

.     PIETRO  DE  DONATO  GIANNINI, 
EMPEDOCLE  NACITO, 
LEOPOLDO  TIBERI, 

Committee. 

Attested  by  the  rector  of  the  university,  this  llth  day  of  May,  1865. 
[SEAL.]  FRANCESCO  ANTINORI, 

Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

Tlie  Montanelli  Association  for  Mutual  Education  and  Assistance,  G.  Garibaldi, 
honorary  president,  to  Mr.  Andrew  J.  Stevens,  United  States  consul  in 
Leghorn. 

PISA,  May  12,  1865. 

SIR  :  Have  the  kindness  to  send  the  enclosed  letter  to  your  President.  It 
was  unanimously  approved  by  the  Montanelli  Society  of  Pisa,  on  the  10th 
instant,  at  9  p.  m, 

ALFONZO  GIARRIZZO  BUETTO. 


[Translation.] 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America: 

EXCELLENT  SIR:  The  thunderbolt's  revenge  prepares  the  poetic  rainbow 
that  glimmers  in  the  cloudless  sky ;  so  a  baptism  of  blood  prepares  a  regenera 
tion  which  is  a  fatal  symptom  in  the  poetry  of  the  age,  but  will  beam  forth  on 
the  morrow  in  glorious  magnificence  and  sovereign  splendor. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  fell  a  victim  to  a  sacrilegious  assassin,  but  his  name  is 
fixed  among  the  stars  as  the  saviour  of  a  nation.  We  lament  his  death,  but  a 
century  of  hope  and  not  of  mourning  is  inscribed  upon  the  tablet  of  his  tomb 
by  the  unerring  hand  of  fate.  LINCOLN  left  a  testament  of  indignation  and  not 
of  tears ;  let  it  be  received  as  an  encouragement  to  reform.  "  My  grave  demon 
strates  the  justice  of  war,"  he  says;  "lay  flowers  upon  it  without  a  thought  of 
revenge,  and  warm  your  hearts  to  a  resolution  of  reform.  Then  will  a  pleasant 
day  dawn  for  all — a  day  of  fraternity  and  peace." 

Your  martyr  while  living  was  the  apostle  soldier;  and  now  dead,  he  is  the 
guardian  angel  of  your  liberties;  he  had  no  other  ambition.  You  cannot  bring 
him  back,  but  you  can  imitate  his  heroic  patriotism  and  sound  the  fame  of  one 
who  gave  the  greatest  blessing  to  the  whites  as  well  as  the  blacks.  We  sing 


EXPEESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       G05 

our  feeble  elegy  to  the  memory  of  a  man  who  fuliilled  his  holy  mission.  Receive 
it  and  make  it  known  to  the  American  people,  and  tell  them  we  join  in  their 
general  sorrow. 


The  above  address  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the  council,  and  a  resolu 
tion  was  passed  to  send  it  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
through  the  consul  in  Leghorn.     It  was  also  resolved  to  open  a  subscription  to 
erect  a  monument  in  Pisa  to  the  memory  of  the  great  man. 
A  true  extract  from  the  original : 

ALFONSO  GIARRIZZO  BUETTO, 

President. 
F.  GAGLIARDI  SFORZA,  Secretary. 

Unity,  liberty,  fraternity  ! 

The  Montanelli  Democratic  Society  in  Pisa. 


[Translation.  ] 

REGGIO,  April  30,  18G5. 

The  Patriotic  Mutual  Aid  Society,  at  a  meeting  held  on  the  30th  of  April; 
instant,  adopted  the  following  address  : 

The  Patriotic  Mutual  Aid  Society  of  Reggio,  in  Emilia,  was  preparing  an 
address  to  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
when  the  sad  news  of  his  assassination  was  announced. 

The  much  afflicted  society  now  addresses  the  Vice-President,  Mr.  Andrew 
Johnson,  who  by  right  becomes  President,  and  sends  him  its  best  wishes  for 
his  efforts  to  consummate  the  labor  for  liberty  and  equality. 

President  Johnson,  the  premeditated  assassination  of  the  illustrious  ADRA- 
HAM  LINCOLN  and  his  unfortunate  colleagues  calls  for  revenge,  and  it  is  your 
duty,  Mr.  Johnson,  to  see  it  carried  out. 

You  must  rend  the  sombre  veil  that  hides  the  iniquitous  scheme,  and  bring 
the  demons  to  light,  so  that  all  good  men  may  curse  the  traitors  to  their  coun 
try  and  humanity. 

The  regeneration  of  the  country  is  intrusted  to  your  care,  and  you  must 
renew  it,  and  restore  it  to  a  higher  rank  than  it  ever  held ;  thus  demonstrating 
that,  though  the  standard-bearer  has  fallen,  the  great  battle  is  not  lost ;  the  true 
cause  triumphs,  strengthens,  and  crushes  all  disloyal  enemies. 

You  must  make  the  light-house  of  liberty  beam  more  brilliantly  before  its 
holy  temple,  where  even  your  greatest  enemies  will  finally  seek  a  sanctuary 
and  confess  in  shame  that  their  tyrannical  course  was  the  way  of  wickedness, 
full  of  tribulation  and  sorrow. 


606  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Citizen  President,  finish  the  humane  work  of  the  complete  emancipation 
of  the  slaves,  to  which  you  have  already  contributed  much,  and  your  name  will 
gain  the  greatest  glory  to  which  it  can  aspire — the  blessing  of  the  redeemed, 
joined  to  the  benedictions  of  the  entire  world,  whose  eyes  are  now  bent  upon 
you. 

And  remember,  also,  that  besides  the  poor  blacks,  there  are  many  political 
slaves  not  less  afflicted  and  oppressed,  crying  out  for  their  lost  liberty,  robbed 
from  them  by  a  foreign  power;  they  expect  fraternal  aid  from  you  in  shaking 
off  the  yoke  imposed  upon  their  necks  by  brutal  force.  Help  them,  and  pro 
claim  to  the  world  that  America  belongs  to  the  Americans. 

For  the  society. 

ANGELO  MANINI,  President 
C.  GRASSETTI,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

REPUBLIC  OF  SAN  MARINO, 

May  5,  1865. 

HONORABLE  SIR  :  The  news  of  the  horrible  assassination  committed  upon 
the  person  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  caused  a  feeling  of  profound  indigna 
tion  and  sorrow  in  the  bosoms  of  all  our  people. 

In  execrating  the  atrocious  deed  with  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world,  we 
mourn  the  loss  of  the  great  chief  of  a  sister  nation,  and  remember  him  as  the 
most  illustrious  among  his  fellow-creatures,  the  greatest  among  the  friends  of 
humanity. 

Be  pleased,  sir,  to  accept  this  token  of  our  condolence  with  your  people, 
and  as  a  sincere  tribute  of  remembrance  of  the  illustrious  deceased. 

SETTIMIO  BELLUZZI, 
GIACOMO  BERTI, 

Chief  Regents. 
Hon.  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


[Translation.] 

GENOA,  May  7,  1865. 

CITIZEN  CONSUL  :  We  all  raised  a  cry  of  indignation  and  horror  at  the 
news  of  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  whom  we  had  hailed  as  a  new 
Washington.  In  him  we  revered  a  man,  who,  guided  by  the  genius  of  free 
institutions  and  the  love  of  his  fellow-men,  found  a  way  to  promote  the  doc 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       607 

trines  of  human  equality  by  a  great  act  of  emancipation,  and  in  our  last  meeting 
we  voted  an  address,  expressing  our  sorrow  and  sympathy  for  this  great  mis 
fortune  of  the  American  people. 

The  good  cause  has  suffered  truly  a  great  loss  in  the  death  of  such  a 
leader,  but  there  remains  no  doubt  that  his  and  the  people's  firmness  of  charac 
ter,  spirit  of  sacrifice,  and  courage  had  already  triumphed ;  and  we  are  convinced 
that  this  horrid  crime  will  give  greater  force  to  your  cause,  and  speedier  recog 
nition  of  human  equality. 

Happy,  0  American  people,  are  you  who  secured  your  liberties  with  your 
own  blood,  and  have  had  the  courage  to  maintain  them  at  the  same  great  sacri 
fice.  Firm  as  a  rock  in  the  sea,  you  may  defy  those  of  your  enemies  who  still 
govern  in  the  name  of  divine  right  in  every  corner  of  the  world,  and  especially 
in  our  Europe,  where  they  are  stronger  than  elsewhere,  and  fear  that  the  bless 
ing  of  liberty  enjoyed  in  your  country  may  stimulate  the  people  to  imitate  your 
examples  and  overturn  those  rotten  edifices  which  are  called  thrones. 

To  us,  who  enjoy  a  shadow  of  liberty,  there  remains  no  other  path  to  the 
blessings  which  you  possess  than  to  take  you  for  guide,  and  move  after  you 
towards  a  true  democracy. 

Virtue  and  constancy. 

For  the  union  of  operatives  at  San  Pier  d' Arena : 

ROTA  CARLO,  AND  OTHERS, 

Operatives. 


[Translation.] 

DEMOCRATIC  SOCIETY  OF  SIENNA. 

MAY  22,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  undersigned,  fraternizing  with  all  those  who  work  for  the  eman 
cipation  of  the  human  race,  cannot  but  highly  revere  the  name  of  him  who  has 
headed  the  armies  of  freedom. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  shone  like  a  star  in  the  heavens  !  The  hand  of  an 
assassin  attempted  to  extinguish  it,  and  for  the  moment  succeeded ;  we  say  for 
the  moment,  because  he  has  now  arisen  again,  crowned  with  the  glory  of  a 
martyr. 

The  intelligence  of  the  infamous  crime  horrified  every  one  who  professes 
to  believe  in  liberty  and  progress. 

We,  not  the  last  to  curse  the  ball  which  crippled  the  hermit  of  Caprera, 
shed  our  tears  to-day  over  your  great  misfortune,  and  have  resolved  that  the 
name  of  the  republican  emancipator  of  slaves  in  America  should  be  placed  in 
the  hall  of  our  meetings,  as  a  proof  of  our  friendship,  and  as  an  evidence  to 
posterity  of  our  eternal  condemnation  of  this  infamous  assassination. 


608  ASSASSINATION  OP  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Desiring  you  to  be  the  interpreter  to  your  countrymen  of  the  sentiments 
which  animate  the  members  of  this  society,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your 
most  obedient  servant, 

F.  CELLESI,  President. 

The  CONSUL  GENERAL  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  Florence. 


[Translation.] 

ITALIAN  UNION  COMMITTEE  OF  SIENNA. 

MAY  18,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  assassination  of  the  illustrious  defender  of  the  sacred  rights  of 
humanity,  which  has  cost  your  country  such  precious  blood,  has  created  a 
sensation  of  horror  among  the  nations  of  the  world. 

The  free  fatherland  of  Washington  and  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  a  hospitable 
soil  to  all  who  emigrate  from  the  despotisms  of  ancient  Europe,  mourns,  in  the 
murder  of  its  new  liberator,  an  event  the  equal  of  which  does  not  exist. 

In  every  civilized  nation,  upon  the  arrival  of  the  news  of  his  death,  there 
was  a  day  of  mourning;  as  for  ourselves,  we  cursed  the  infamous  assassin  and 
thought  it  impossible  sufficiently  to  deplore  this  atrocious  and  iniquitous  crime. 

There  are  in  the  world  some  beings  who,  when  they  die,  like  luminous 
planets  when  they  set,  leave  behind  them  only  gloom  and  obscurity.  LINCOLN 
was  one  of  these. 

The  committee  of  the  Italian  Union  in  Sienna,  sharing  the  sorrow  of  the 
generous  sons  of  America,  send  you  a  word  of  sincere  condolence,  with  a  sad 
salutation. 

Noble  President !  may  you  be  able  to  dry  the  tears  of  your  countrymen 
and  of  ourselves. 

F.  BARNARDI,  President. 

F.  INNOCENTI  GHINI,  Secretary. 

The  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


[Translation.] 

SISSA,  (NEAR  PARMA,)  May  8,  18C5. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  The  sad  news  that  came  with  lightning  speed  from  the 
New  World,  announcing  the  vile  assassination  of  the  illustrious  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN  by  the  treacherous  hand  of  a  hired  murderer,  has  spread  over  the 
whole  earth,  and  brought  sorrow  to  the  hearts  of  all  lovers  of  liberty.  Yes, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       609 

the  champion  of  true  liberty,  the  glory  of  a  free  people,  is  no  more  ;  but  his 
name  and  memory  will  shed  a  new  refulgent  light  over  the  benighted  world, 
and  may  arouse  the  spirit  of  progress  in  the  darkness  of  Europe.  Yes,  the 
father  of  humanity  is  fallen  ;  but  the  joyous  smile  of  the  emancipated  slave, 
now  a  man  and  brother,  will  resurrect  his  spirit  in  a  better  world.  The  mem 
bers  of  this  society  mourn  the  death  of  this  worthy  successor  of  Washington, 
and  heartily  execrate  the  perpetrators  of  the  crime  that  took  him  from  this 
world.  9 

To  express  their  sorrow  in  a  proper  manner,  the  members  of  the  Mechanics' 
Society  of  Sissa  have  unanimously  resolved  to  drape  their  banner  in  black  for 
six  months,  as  a  sign  of  mourning  for  the  loss  of  a  man  so  dear  to  the  repub 
licans  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

Accept  our  sympathy  and  friendship  as  brothers  ;  for  we  are  hoping  the 
day  is  not  far  distant  when  we  will  be  free,  and  can  call  you  really  brothers  of 
one  family — a  smiling,  free,  and  happy  people. 

Receive  our  fraternal  greeting. 

GIACOMO  SGORBATI,  President. 

His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  (lie  United  States  of  America. 


[Translation.] 

PROVINCE  OF  THE  LEVANT, 

City  of  Spezia,  Mai/  2,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  common  council  of  this  city,  during  its  sitting  of  yesterday, 
agreeing  to  the  proposition  made  by  the  members,  Mr.  Lorenzo  Chiappeti,  Mr. 
Paul  Crczza,  and  Mr.  Cesare  De  Negro,  and  having  draped  in  mourning  their 
national  flag,  now  floating  from  this  building  during  the  sitting  of  the  council, 
have  voted  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  in  particular 
to  the  present  consul,  William  T.  Rice,  as  also  to  the  United  States  naval  store 
keeper,  Colonel  William  L.  Long,  who  both  so  worthily  possess  the  esteem 
and  the  kindest  regard  of  all  our  citizens,  an  address  expressing  their  sincere 
sympathy  at  the  mournful  event  which  deprived  that  nation  of  the  great 
restorer  of  her  liberty. 

The  undersigned,  therefore,  beg  to  express  to  the  representative  of  the 
American  nation  in  this  city  their  feelings  of  sympathy  and  of  grief,  in  which 
all  members  of  this  council  unite,  at  the  loss  of  this  great  man. 

In  conclusion  the  writer  begs  to  forward  to  you,  sir,  this  present  commu 
nication,  trusting  that  you  will  accept  and  forward  to  your  government,  so  ably 

77 


610  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

represented  by  yourself  and  by  the  much  esteemed  Colonel  Long,  the  assurance 
of  the  sincere  sympathy  and  feelings  of  condolence  which  the  undersigned,  in 
the  name  of  the  municipal  corps,  now  present  to  you. 

MARQUIS  F.  CASTAGUOLA,  Mayor. 
The  Honorable  W.  T.  RICE, 

United  States  Consul,  Spczia. 


[Translation 

THE  SOCIETY  OF  THE  WORKMEN  OP  SPEZIA. 

MAY  4,  1 865. 

CITIZEN  :  The  Society  of  the  Workmen  of  Spezia  are  powerfully  affected 
by  the  news  of  the  infamous  assassination  committed  on  the  honored  person  of 
President  LINCOLN,  and  on  that  of  his  worthy  minister,  Seward.  This  infor 
mation,  which,  with  reason,  has  saddened  all  humanity,  and  which  has  given 
birth  to  a  feeling  of  horror  towards  the  assassin  and  his  accomplices,  could 
not  otherwise  than  find  a  painful  echo  in  the  hearts  of  the  working  classes  in 
this  city. 

Representative  citizen,  LINCOLN  also  was  a  workman — workman  for  all 
humanity  ;  his  aim,  the  abolition  of  slavery,  the  fraternizing  of  races — liberty  ! 

The  memory  of  the  great  citizen  cannot  die  ;  and  the  memory  of  this 
second  Washington  will  remain  sadly  everlasting,  not  only  in  the  New,  but  also 
in  the  Old  World. 

The  workmen,  members  of  this  society,  who  have  draped  their  flag  in 
mourning  in  consideration  of  this  great  affliction,  address  you,  sir,  expressing 
to  you  and  to  your  fellow-countrymen  the  feelings  of  their  grief.  At  the  same 
time  that  they  express  these  sentiments,  coming  from  their  very  hearts,  they 
make  the  warmest  wishes  for  the  triumph  of  the  great  principle  of  emancipation 
from  slavery,  the  Union  of  America,  and  the  prosperity  of  her  glorious  people. 

From  the  hall  of  the  working  classes  at  Spezia. 

For  the  society  : 

LUIGI  URBINI,  President. 
G.   SISMONDI,  Secretary. 
The  Honorable  REPRESENTATIVE  CITIZEN 

of  the  People  of  the  United  States  of  America,  City  of  Spczia. 


[Translation.] 
MUNICIPAL    COUNCIL    OF   SALZA   IRPINA. 


The  entire  municipality  of  Salza  Irpina,  full  of  horror  for  the  assassination 
consummated  upon  the  person  of  the  illustrious  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       611 

deliberated  unanimously  to  express  their  sentiments  of  grief  for  that  horrible 
event ;  also,  of  the  sentiment  of  sympathy  which  this  population  feel  for  the 
people  of  America,  and  for  the  sacred  cause  courageously  fought  for  by  the 
martyrs  who  are  now  pitied  by  all  Europe  ;  and  the  municipality  begs  the 
mayor  to  send  a  copy  of  this  act  to  the  American  consul  at  Naples. 

CAVALIER  MICHELE  CAPOZZI,  Mayor. 

FELICIANO  PASQUALE,  Assessor. 

CARMINE  DE  PAISOLE,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

Letter  of  condolence  from  the  common  council  of  Somma  Vesuviana,  near  Naples 

on  the  death  of  President  Lincoln. 

SOMMA  VESUVIANA,  May  29,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  common  council  of  Somma  Vesuviana,  at  the  ordinary  session 
of  the  25th  instant,  on  motion  of  Counsellor  Giova  Errico,  unanimously  adopted 
the  following  resolution,  which  you  will  please  bring  to  the  knowledge  of  your 
government : 

The  municipality  of  Somma  Vesuviana,  horrified  by  the  detestable  misdeed 
that  deprived  the  great  American  nation  of  its  magnanimous  President,  ABRA 
HAM  LINCOLN,  desires  to  express  to  his  successor,  as  a  worthy  representative 
of  that  generous  people,  the  profound  sorrow  it  felt  at  the  announcement  of  the 
great  misfortune,  and  hopes  that  the  noble  cause  to  which  that  life  was  conse 
crated,  and  to  which  it  was  sacrificed,  may  soon  regain  its  former  glory  with 
the  greatest  triumph  of  civilization. 

Accept  the  protests  of  my  most  profound  esteem. 

CAVALIER  MICHELE  PELLEGRINO. 

The  UNITED  STATES  CONSUL  in  Naples. 


[Translation.] 
MUTUAL   HELP   ASSOCIATION   OF   SA8SARI,   ISLAND   OF   SARDINIA. 

The  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  awakened  a  feeling  of  horror 
and  indignation  in  every  honest  mind.  The  head  of  a  generous  and  illustrious 
nation,  which  with  noble  perseverance  he  was  laboring  to  restore  to  concord 
and  power,  his  death  marks  a  memorable  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States,  that  in  which  the  unfortunate  African  race  was  emancipated  from  the 


612  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

cruel  hands  of  slave  power.  The  death  of  a  great  man  is  certainly  an  immense 
misfortune  ;  but  LINCOLN  has  left  behind  him  in  America  a  great  people,  who 
share  his  generous  ideas  and  maintain  the  holy  cause  of  humanity  ;  and  though 
deplorable  blindness,  low  interests,  or  fanaticism,  have  feloniously  removed  the 
glorious  head  of  the  American  republic,  there  remain  men  educated  in  his 
political  ideas,  a  whole  people  trained  under  wise  institutions,  and  the  flag  of 
the  Union  will  be  respected  and  feared  from  the  Mexican  Gulf  to  Canada,  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 

The  Mutual  Help  Association  of  Sassari  believes  that  it  would  fail  in  its 
duties  to  the  solidarity  of  peoples  if,  in  the  sorrows  of  a  brother  people  in 
America,  it  failed  to  protest  against  the  abominable  crime  which  has  quenched 
a  life  spent  in  the  service  of  the  most  sacred  human  interests,  and  to  express 
its  deep  mourning  for  this  calamitous  event. 

Sons  of  a  nation  which  but  recently  vindicated  its  liberties  and  inde 
pendence  against  foreign  and  domestic  oppressors,  and  which  suddenly  lost  a 
great  man  who,  more  than  any  other,  contributed  to  our  national  enfranchise 
ment,  the  Italians,  above  every  other  people,  can  appreciate  and  share  the  grief 
of  the  Americans. 

Be  pleased,  Signor  consul,  to  report  these  sentiments  to  your  government, 
and  be  assured  of  the  respect  with  which,  in  the  name  of  the  Mutual  Help 
Association  of  Sassari,  I  have  the  honor  to  sign  myself  your  most  obedient 
servant, 

S.  SOLINAS,  President. 
The  UNITED  STATES  CONSUL,  Genoa. 


[Translation.] 

The.  common  council  of  Torre  del  Greco  to  the  United  States  consul  in  Naples. 

TORRE  DEL  GRECO,  May  6,  1865. 

All  those  who  have  human  hearts,  and  desire  the  improvement  of  the 
human  race,  have  been  moved  by  the  news  of  the  assassination  of  that  illustrious 
patriot,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  The  announcement  of  the  unfortunate  incident 
spread  feelings  of  horror  throughout  Europe,  and  excited  our  deepest  indignation. 

The  common  council,  as  interpreter  of  the  feelings  of  the  inhabitants  of 
this  town,  in  its  session  of  the  30th  of  April  last,  resolved  to  send  the  enclosed 
address  of  condolence  to  the  American  Congress.  I  have  the  honor  to  send  it 
to  you,  Mr.  Consul,  requesting  you  to  forward  it  to  its  place  of  destination. 

ANTONIO  A.  BRANCACCIO,  Mayor. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND   SYMPATHY.  613 

[Translation.] 

Extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  common  council  of  Torre  del  Greco,  in  the 

province  of  Naples. 

APRIL  30,  A.  D.  1865 

The  common  council  met  in  its  hall,  the  seventh  ordinary  meeting,  in 
presence  of  the  mayor,  Antonio  Agostino  Brancaccio,  the  following  council- 
men  being  present :  Rafaele  d'Amato,  Stapino  Brancaccio,  Silvestro  Costabile, 
Giuliano  Dedilectis,  Luigi  Dolce,  Antonio  dTstria,  Roberto  Lullo,  Agnello  Lullo, 
Biondo  Palomba,  Antonio  di  Bartolomeo  Palomba,  Francesco  Rajola,  Vincenzo 
Scognamiglio,  Francesco  Maria  Sorrentino,  Stefano  Sorrentino,  Cavalier  Andrea 
Vitclli,  Michele  Villano,  making  a  quorum  of  seventeen  out  of  the  thirty  mem 
bers  of  the  council,  excluding  the  mayor  and  secretary. 

On  motion  of  Biondo  Palomba,  in  regular  order,  the  council  unanimously 
adopted  the  following  address  of  condolence  for  the  cruel  death  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  President  of  the  republic  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
ordered  it  to  be  sent  to  the  American  Congress,  through  the  United  States 
consul  in  Naples : 

"He  who,  like  LINCOLN,  constitutes  himself  the  redeemer  of  humanitv,  has 
a  right  to  the  love  and  gratitude  of  all  succeeding  generations.  Such  a  person 
is  immortal,  and  the  whole  world  mourns  his  death.  If  the  grief  is  great  when 
such  a  man  dies  a  natural  death,  how  much  greater  it  must  be  when  he  is 
hastened  to  an  untimely  tomb  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin  !  Such  a  crime  is 
scarcely  comprehensible  to  a  reasonable  mind,  and  the  being  who  commits  it 
can  scarcely  be  reckoned  as  a  human  being. 

"The  policy  advocated  by  Mr.  LINCOLN  is  victorious,  and  will  endure  for 
ever.  His  successor,  inspired  by  the  glorious  example,  can  easily  remove  any 
obstacles  that  might  arise  to  impede  his  progress. 

'•  The  common  council  of  Torre  del  Greco,  in  condoling  with  the  Ameri 
can  people  for  the  assassination  of  LINCOLN,  is  sure  his  plan  will  be  carried  out 
by  Mr.  Johnson." 

The  above  is  a  correct  copy  of  the  minutes  adopted  by  the  council,  after 
hearing  it  read :  and  signed  by  the  mayor,  as  president,  by  Cavalier  Andrea 
Vitelli,  the  oldest  member  present,  and  by  me,  the  secretary. 

ANTONIO  AGOSTINO  BRANCACCIO, 

President. 

ANDREA  VITELLI. 
FRANCESCO  PERLA,  Secretary. 

\  VICTOR  EMANUEI.,  {  <  COMMON  COUNCIL  ) 

J        King  of  Italy.        J  {  of  Torre  del  (ireco.  } 


614  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

To  fhe  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America: 

While  the  recent  victories  of  the  federal  army  were  announcing  to  the 
world  the  prompt  termination  of  that  gigantic  struggle  by  which  the  principles 
of  true  liberty  would  be  established  in  America,  the  terrible  news  of  the  assas 
sination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  cast  a  shade  of  consternation  and  mourning  over 
the  spirits  of  all  lovers  of  liberty  and  civil  progress.  Like  all  those  who  had 
such  principles  at  heart,  the  Juvenile  Association  of  Torre  del  Greco  was 
struck  with  profound  indignation  and  grief. 

In  uniting  with  the  many  voices  that  are  heard  in  every  part  of  the  world 
proclaiming  their  horror  for  a  crime  that  should  not  be  recorded  in  history,  for 
respect  to  humanity,  and  their  sympathy  for  the  great  and  free  nation  of  which 
Mr.  LINCOLN  was  the  worthy  chief,  our  society  is  assured  that  in  him  society 
has  lost  the  bravest  champion  of  its  rights,  and  will  welcome  his  idea,  to  which, 
like  so  many  other  great  men,  he  was  the  illustrious  and  honored  victim. 

RAFAELLO  PALOMBA, 
BENIAMINO  SAVARESE, 
ILARIO  SONEN, 
DOMENICO  ASCIONE, 
ANGELO  MINICACCI, 
RAFAELE  VITELLI, 

The  Society  Committee. 
LUIGI  SINE,  Secretary. 


Mr.  Marsh  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

• 

[Extract.] 

No.  118.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Turin,  April  29,  1865. 

SIR  :  Two  days  since  a  telegraphic  message,  forwarded  to  this  city  for 
transmission  to  Constantinople,  brought  us  the  first  announcement  of  the  fear 
ful  crime  to  which  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Union  has  fallen  a  victim.  The 
want  of  direct  intelligence  and  the  brevity  of  the  telegram  led  many  to  suspect 
that  it  was  a  false  rumor,  invented  for  purposes  of  speculation,  but  it  was  con 
firmed  by  later  messages,  and  the  post  of  this  morning  brings  us  many  of  the 
details  of  the  assassination,  as  well  as  a  notice  of  your  appointment  as  Acting 
Secretary  of  State. 

Upon  the  reception  of  the  first  message  members  of  the  Italian  senate  and 
chamber  of  deputies,  which  were  then  there  in  session,  called  at  my  house  for 


EXPEESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        615 

information  as  to  the  truth  of  the  report.  This,  in  consequence  of  the  acci 
dental  failure  of  telegrams  to  and  from  Mr.  Adams,  I  was  unable  to  give ;  hut 
knowing,  as  I  do,  the  character  of  the  enemies  with  whom  the  late  President 
had  to  contend,  and  remembering  the  threats  of  which  he  was  often  the  object, 
I  have  long  thought  such  an  event  probable,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  say  that  I 
so  considered  it. 

You  will  receive  from  nearer  sources  abundant  evidence  of  the  reprobation 
and  horror  which  this  enormous  offence  against  humanity  has  excited  through 
out  Europe ;  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  the  most  eminent  friends  of  Italian 
liberty  are  not  behind  the  foremost  in  condemnation  of  the  crime,  and  in  regret 
for  the  sudden  removal  of  a  public  officer  who,  at  the  moment  of  his  death, 
enjoyed  the  reverence  of  the  civilized  world  in  a  higher  degree  than  any  other 
man  of  our  times. 

The  minister  of  foreign  affairs  has  requested  me  to  assure  rny  government 
of  the  special  regret  and  sympathy  of  the  King  of  Italy,  and  of  the  present 
administration  of  the  kingdom,  and  most  of  the  foreign  ministers  at  this  court 
have  expressed  to  me  similar  sentiments.  The  senate  and  the  chamber  of 
deputies  have  passed  appropriate  resolutions  on  the  occasion,  but  as  these  will 
be  officially  communicated  to  the  government,  through  the  Italian  minister  at 
Washington,  I  forbear  to  transmit  them. 

Great  interest  is  naturally  felt  and  expressed  respecting  the  probable  policy 
of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  successor,  and  the  effect  of  the  President's  death  on  the  politi 
cal  interests  of  the  United  States.  It  has  been  a  great  satisfaction  to  me  to  be 
able  to  testify,  from  personal  acquaintance  with  the  present  incumbent  of  the 
presidential  office,  to  the  purity  and  elevation  of  his  character,  and  to  his  sound 
ness,  ability,  and  integrity  as  a  statesman,  and  at  the  same  time  to  profess  a 
confidence  in  the  stability  of  our  institutions  which  excludes  all  fear,  either  of  a 
dangerous  shock  to  them  or  of  a  temporary  derangement  of  their  normal  func 
tion  from  even  so  calamitous  an  event  as  this. 

It  would  be  ungracious  at  this  moment  to  inquire  jealously  into  the  sin 
cerity  of  the  official  expressions  of  European  regret,  or  into  the  probable  effects 
of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  death  on  the  policy  of  foreign  powers  towards  us.  Happily 
the  progress  of  our  arms  has  secured  us  from  all  visible  danger  of  European 
intervention  ;  and  if  there  are  governments  which,  in  earlier  stages  of  the  rebel 
lion,  might  have  availed  themselves  of  such  a  conjuncture  as  this  for  evil  ends, 
it  is  now  too  late  to  make  it  an  occasion  of  successful  wrong-doing  by  any 
European  state  to  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

We  are  yet  without  definite  information  as  to  the  condition  of  the  Secre 
tary  of  State,  and  of  his  son  and  assistant,  but  the  telegraphic  intelligence  seems 
favorable  to  the  life  and  complete  restoration  of  both  of  them. 

The  great  wisdom  and  ability  with  which  Mr.  Scvvard  has  conducted  the 
foreign  relations  of  the  United  States  are  universally  acknowledged,  and  are, 


G16  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

indeed,  so  deeply  felt  that  his  decease  at  this  moment  would  be  regarded  by 
Europe  as  a  loss  to  his  country  hardly  less  than  that  of  the  President  himself, 
and  I  most  earnestly  trust  both  that  his  life  may  be  saved,  and  that  he  may  be 
spared  the  heavy  affliction  of  the  loss  of  a  distinguished  son. 
I  am,  sir,  with  high  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

GEORGE  P.  MARSH. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation.] 

The  Italian   Society  of  United  Mechanics  of  Turin,  to  citizen  George  Perkins 

Marsh,  Envoy,  §c.,  Sjc.,  fyc.  • 

The  Italian  Society  of  United  Mechanics  of  Turin,  which  is  proud  to  have 
Giuseppe  Garibaldi  as  honorary  president,  the  man  who  contended  in  Italy  for 
the  triumph  of  that  same  principle  for  which  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  assassi 
nated,  cannot  remain  silent  on  this  great  occasion. 

Impressed  with  profound  sorrow  for  the  misfortunes  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  the  officers  of  our  society  beg  you  to  act  as  our  interpreter  to  your 
countrymen,  to  express  to  them  our  high  regard,  particulary  for  one  mechanic 
like  us,  who  was  born  in  Kentucky,  and  whose  genius  elevated  him  to  the 
highest  rank  in  the  nation  that  trusted  its  destiny  to  his  care;  who  served  his 
country  so  well  that  the  enemies  of  all  good  were  forced  to  arm  the  hand  of  a 
hired  assassasin  to  take  his  precious  life. 

May  free  America  find  a  successor  worthy  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  may 
the  Monroe  doctrine  prevail  for  the  good  of  the  country. 

Given  in  Turin,  in  the  Society  hall,  the  30th  of  April,  1865. 
[SEAL.]  ANDREA  BONA,  President. 

GIOVANNI  GIROMPINI,  Vice-F  resident. 
GIACOMO  SALZA,  Consul. 
ENRICO  SAPPIANI,  Secretary. 
CARLO  BENEDETTO, 
DOMENICI  MARLI, 
PIETRO  GIORGIO, 
GIUSEPPE  MUSATTO, 

Members. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       617 

[Translation.] 

A.-.  G.-.  D.-.  G.-.  A.-.  D.-.  U.-. 

GKAND    ORIENT   OF   MASONRY   IN    ITALY. 

The  G.'.  M.~.  regent  of  Masonry  in  Italy  to  the  most  Jwnorable  citizen   G. 
Marsh,  representative  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  in  Italy. 

TURIN,  April  28,  1865. 

The  great  man  who  has  just  disappeared  in  consequence  of  a  horrid  crime, 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  was  the  powerful  cause  by  which  the  abolition  of  slavery 
has  become  a  reality ;  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is,  in  this  respect,  not  only  a  great 
citizen  of  your  country,  but  one  of  the  principal  benefactors  of  humanity. 

Masons  in  every  part  of  the  world  owe  him  a  tribute  of  gratitude,  of 
respect,  and  of  veneration. 

Permit  me,  sir,  to  beg  you,  in  the  name  of  the  one  hundred  and  eleven 
masonic  lodges  of  our  communion,  to  have  the  kindness  to  transmit  to  the  gov 
ernment  and  people  of  the  United  States  the  expression  of  our  sorrow,  and  our 
most  sincere  wishes  for  the  entire  completion  of  the  work  so  well  begun  by  the 
illustrious  deceased,  through  the  effect  of  the  power  of  your  republican  insti 
tutions. 

Our  masonic  lodges  have  put  on  mourning  for  nine  days. 

Accept,  Mr.  Minister,  the  expression  of  my  profound  respect. 

FRANCOIS  DE  LUCA,  33. 

[SEAL.]  The  Grand  Chancellor, 

M.  MACCHI,  33. 


[Translation.] 

TURIN,  May  4,  1865. 

DEAR  SIR  :  The  undersigned,  representatives  of  the  Italian  emigrants, 
Venetians,  Trentines  and  Istrians,  exiles  from  their  homes,  are  mourning  for 
their  mother  country,  and  praying  for  a  LINCOLN  to  sever  the  chains  of  foreign 
slavery,  while  they  place  this  expression  of  indignation  at  the  assassination  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  a  martyr  of  duty,  in  your  hands,  offering 
their  most  sincere  condolence  and  fervent  vows  for  the  free  prosperity  of  the 
glorious  nation  where  the  acts  of  its  supreme  magistrate  demonstrate  that 
government  is  made  for  the  people,  and  not  the  people  for  the  government. 
Accept  this  testimony  of  our  profound  respect  and  admiration. 

FILIPPO  DE  BONI, 
President  of  the  Council  of  Representatives, 

AND    THIRTEEN    OTHERS. 

lion.  GEO.  P.  MARSH, 

United  States  Minister  to  Italy,  Turin. 

78 


618  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

TURIN,  May  16,  1865. 

HONORED  SIR  :  The  terrible  catastrophe  that  has  plunged  your  country 
into  the  deepest  mourning  has  been  echoed  throughout  the  world,  attaining  the 
proportions  of  an  universal  calamity.  The  loyal  and  generous  hearts  of  all  true 
men  have  paid  the  tribute  of  regret  at  the  tomb  of  the  great  man  who  deserved 
their  esteem  and  admiration.  The  Polish  emigrants  in  Turin,  joining  in  the 
general  grief,  beg  you  to  accept  this  expression  of  their  sorrow  and  condolence, 
and  offer  their  humble  wreath  to  decorate  the  monument  of  the  American 
martyr. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  had  no  equal;  born  in  the  ranks  of  the  people,  his 
merit  elevated  him  to  the  highest  position.  He  had  not  the  help  of  fortune  to 
secure  his  second  election  to  the  chief  magistracy  of  a  great  nation.  The 
corruption  and  intrigue  of  opponents  did  no  harm  to  his  cause ;  the  independ 
ence  and  firmness  of  his  character  were  his  defence.  He  was  indispensable  to 
his  country  in  the  crisis  it  was  suffering ;  his  patriotism  was  increased  by  obsta 
cles  ;  new  difficulties  only  served  to  develop  new  qualities  in  him,  brought  out 
by  his  devotion  to  the  people's  welfare.  He  marched  forward,  unterrified  by 
the  clamors  of  egotism  and  envy,  uninfluenced  by  mean  considerations.  His 
appeal  to  arms  to  sustain  the  rights  of  humanity  was  greatly  applauded  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  Stimulated  by  his  example,  the  Poles,  eternal  pioneers  of 
independence,  recommenced  their  struggle  against  oppression  and  tyranny  ;  they 
were  incensed  that  the  Old  World  should  enslave  whites,  when  America  had 
just  freed  her  blacks ;  but  alone,  weak  and  unsupplied,  they  had  to  yield, 
unconquered.  The  hour  of  justice  had  not  come  for  them.  They  sought 
peace  in  exile,  hoping  that  the  sacred  principles  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN — the 
emancipation  of  oppressed  humanity — would  soon  prevail  throughout  the  world. 

VALDIMIR  COUNT  SZOLDOSKI, 

AND  SIXTY-TWO  OTHER  POLISH  SIGNATURES. 

The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER,  in  Turin. 


[Translation.  ] 

MERCHANTS'  ASSOCIATION  OF  VERCELLI. 

VERCELLI,  May  14,  1865. 

HONORED  SIR  :  The  sad  and  horrible  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
while  it  astounded  all  free  and  civilized  nations,  profoundly  afflicted  the  great 
mass  of  merchants  and  artisans,  who  saw  in  the  great  President  of  the  North 
American  republic  the  noble  principles  of  true  democracy,  the  great  redeemer 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        619 

of  the  slave,  the  magnanimous  benefactor  of  humanity,  who,  from  a  man  of  the 
people,  elevated  himself  by  his  genius  and  his  virtue  to  the  highest  office  in  the 
gift  of  the  nation. 

The  committee  of  the  Merchants'  Association  of  Vercclli,  acting  as  inter 
preter  for  the  society,  expresses  its  horror  at  the  abominable  deed  that  has 
thrown  the  civilized  world  into  mourning  and  consternation,  and  cherishes  the 
most  sincere  hopes  for  the  glorious  and  cheerful  future  of  America,  which,  now 
that  slavery  is  abolished,  may  be  reunited  in  peace  and  harmony. 

Long  may  America  flourish!  Glory  to  the  memory  of  the  immortal 
LINCOLN,  whose  name  will  be  recorded  in  the  eternal  pages  of  history,  as  the 
greatest  ever  honored  by  humanity. 

The  same  horror  is  felt  at  the  iniquitous  attack  upon  the  illustrious  min 
ister,  Seward,  who  was  providentially  preserved  from  the  vile  assassin's  dagger 
for  the  good  of  the  American  people. 

In  discharging  this  sad  duty,  the  committee  begs  you  to  accept  the  expres 
sion  of  its  highest  consideration  and  esteem. 

GLIELLE  GIUSEPPE,  President. 
GIUSEPPE  GUGLIELMONJ,  Secretary. 

Hon.  GEO.  PERKINS  MARSH, 

United  States  Minister  to  Italy,  at  Turin. 


JAPAN. 


Mr.  Portman  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  40.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  IN  JAPAN, 

Yedo,  July  5,  1865. 

SIR  :  Late  in  the  evening  of  the  3d  instant,  the  day  of  the  arrival  of  the 
mail  at  Kanagawa,  I  received  a  message  from  the  Gorogio  to  the  effect  that 
several  officers  of  rank  wished  to  visit  me  on  this  day.  I  was  accordingly 
waited  on  by  the  governors  for  foreign  affairs  with  a  numerous  suite,  who,  in 
the  name  of  his  Majesty  thfi  Tycoon,  and  his  government,  came  to  request  me 
to  convey  to  the  President  and  yourself  the  sentiments  of  profound  pain  with 
which  they  had  learned  the  assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  and  the  attack  on 
yourself,  and  .also  their  sincerest  wishes  for  your  speedy  recovery.  I  assured 


620  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

these  officers  that  I  should  not  fail  to  comply  with  this  request  at  the  earliest 
opportunity. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

A.  I,  C.  PORTMAN, 

Charge  d 'Affaires  ad  interim. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


Mr.  Winchester  to  Mr.  Portman. 

YOKOHAMA,  June  9,  1865. 

SIR  :  It  is  with  unusual  emotion  that  I  propose  to  discharge  the  duty  of 
expressing  the  sentiments  of  profound  pain  and  regret  which  the  confirmation 
of  the  intelligence  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  atrocious  assassination  has  caused  me,  in 
common  with  all  her  Majesty's  subjects  in  this  country. 

That  such  a  deed  should  have  been  perpetrated  by  one  of  our  common 
race  is  in  itself  sufficient  reason  for  the  profound  indignation  which  this  great 
crime  has  excited  in  the  hearts  of  Englishmen.  And  I  can  only  express  my 
sincere  hope  that  Providence,  in  permitting  the  removal  of  so  good  a  man, 
under  circumstances  so  awful,  from  the  task  of  composing  the  difficulties 
necessarily  following  civil  warfare,  will  raise  up  other  instruments  for  carrying 
it  out  in  the  humane  spirit  of  the  deceased  President. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

CHARLES  A.  WINCHESTER, 

H.  B.  M.  Charge  d'Ajjaires  in  Japan. 
A.  L.  C.  PORTMAN,  Esq., 

Charge  d ' Ajjaires  ad  interim  of  the  United  States  in  Japan. 


LIBEKIA. 


Whereas  the  honorable  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  a  ruler  ordained  of  Heaven,  has,  by  the  ruthless  hand  of 
the  assassin,  been  removed  from  his  sphere  of  usefulness  in  this  life  ;  and 

Whereas  in  the  death  of  that  great  chief  the  American  nation  has  sustained 
a  severe  loss,  in  which  the  interests  of  nations,  as  well  as  those  of  mankind 
generally,  have  participated  ;  and 

Whereas  the  government  and  people  of  the  republic  of  Liberia,  which  is 


EXPRESSIONS   OF  CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  621 

legitimately  an  offspring  of  the  great  American  republic,  fostered  during  the 
period  of  its  colonial  growth  by  a  society  of  American  citizens,  and  recently 
greatly  favored  and  sustained  by  the  United  States  government,  recognized  in 
the  late  President  of  the  United  States  one  who  utterly  abhorred  slavery — a 
friend  of  the  negro  race  and  a  promoter  of  the  interests  of  Liberia  ;  and 

Whereas,  by  the  sudden  and  lamentable  death  of  this  great  ruler,  not  only 
has  a  nation  been  deprived  of  its  head,  but  a  home  and  a  hearth  are  desolate, 
and  kindred  hearts  are  broken,  and  tears  of  grief  are  shedding  by  those  who, 
by  reason  of  a  foul  murder,  have  been  deprived  of  a  companion,  a  father,  a 
friend  :  Therefore, 

Resolved  by  the  President  of  the  Republic  of  Liberia  and  his  cabinet  in 
council,  That  it  is  with  sincere  regret  and  pain,  as  well  as  with  feelings  of 
horror  and  indignation,  the  government  of  Liberia  has  heard  of  the  foul  assas 
sination  of  the  honorable  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America. 

Re-solved,  That  the  government  and  people  of  Liberia  deeply  sympathize 
with  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  sad  loss  they  have 
sustained  by  the  death  of  so  wise,  so  just,  so  efficient,  so  vigorous,  and  yet  so 
merciful  a  ruler. 

Resolved,  That  while  with  due  sorrow  the  government  and  people  of 
Liberia  weep  with  those  that  mourn  the  loss  of  so  great  and  good  a  chief,  they 
are,  nevertheless,  mindful  of  the  loss  they  themselves  have  experienced  in  the 
death  of  the  great  philanthropist  whose  virtues  can  never  cease  to  be  told  so 
long  as  the  republic  of  Liberia  shall  endure  ;  so  long  as  there  survives  a  mem 
ber  of  the  negro  race  to  tell  of  the  chains  that  have  been  broken  ;  of  the  griefs 
that  have  been  allayed ;  of  the  broken  hearts  that  have  been  bound  up  by  him 
who,  as  it  were  a  new  creation,  breathed  life  into  four  millions  of  that  race 
whom  he  found  oppressed  and  degraded. 

Resolved,  That  our  prayers  are  also  on  behalf  of  him  who  has  been  called 
so  suddenly  to  assume  the  reins  of  government,  the  honorable  Andrew  Johnson, 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America ;  that  we  trust  that  the  God  who 
controls  the  destinies  of  nations  will  endue  him  with  all  wisdom  necessary  to 
rule  so  great  a  people,  and  continue  to  guide  the  nation  in  its  rapid  progress  to 
the  consummation  of  its  greatness  and  glory 

Rcxolved,  That  we  express,  moreover,  our  sympathy  for  the  efficient  states 
man,  the  profound  diplomatist,  the  honorable  William  H  Seward,  Secretary  of 
State  of  the  United  States,  who,  with  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  had 
nigh  fallen  a  prey  to  that  horrible  conspiracy  which  has  robbed  the  American 
nation  of  its  brightest  jewel. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  are  reluctant  to  invade  the  sacred  precincts  of 
domestic  sorrow,  we  cannot  refrain  from  expressing  here  our  sympathy  for  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  the  estimable  widow  of  the  late  President,  exhorting  her  to  receive  to 


622  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

her  consolation  the  words  of  Holy  Writ,  "  Whom  the  Lord  loveth  He  chas- 
teneth,"  and  to  be  sustained  by  the  promises  of  Almighty  God,  who  will  be  a 
husband  and  a  father  to  the  widow  and  orphans  of  him  who,  in  his  lifetime, 
was  not  only  a  ruler  of  his  own  people,  but  a  father  to  millions  of  a  race  stricken 
and  oppressed.  That,  while  wicked  men  have  desolated  her  home  by  the 
perpetration  of  a  crime  too  horrible  to  be  uttered,  the  renowned  chief,  the 
beloved  companion,  the  tender  father,  has  died  to  redeem  a  nation,  a  race  ;  and, 
dying  in  the  performance  of  so  noble  a  work,  he  has  left  behind  a  monument 
more  lasting  than  brass,  and  generations  yet  unborn  shall  call  him  the  mighty 
ruler,  the  great  emancipator,  the  noble  philanthropist. 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  presented  to  the  United 
States  consul  general  in  Monrovia,  with  a  request  that  he  forward  a  copy  to  the 
proper  authority  at  Washington,  and  also  one  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

By  order  of  the  President : 

H.  B.  W.  JOHNSON, 

Secretary  of  State. 


EXECUTIVE  MANSION, 

Monrovia,  July  4,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  congratulate  you  upon  your  succession  to  the  presidency  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  recently  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  your  illustrious 
predecessor,  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

The  distinguished  position  places  you  at  the  head  of  a  great  people,  a 
nation  whose  exhibitions  of  valor,  might,  and  power  in  war,  during  the  four 
years  just  past,  have  struck  the  world  with  wonder  and  astonishment.  They 
have  astonished  even  the  nation  itself  making  them. 

Identified  as  are  the  people  of  the  republic  of  Liberia,  over  whose  national 
affairs  I  am,  in  the  providence  of  God,  at  present  presiding,  with  millions  of 
their  race  in  America,  and  being  so  sensibly  and  gratefully  impressed  with  a 
knowledge  of  the  numerous  favors  directly  and  indirectly  received  from  the 
United  States  government,  first  in  their  struggle  to  gain  these  shores  from 
oppression,  and  then  in  their  efforts  to  establish  here  a  home  and  build  up  a 
negro  nationality  this  side  of  the  waters  for  themselves  and  their  children  after 
them,  it  were  impossible  for  them  to  be  indifferent  to  the  grave  events  now 
taking  place  in  that  country. 

They  have  been  looking,  and  continue  to  look,  with  intense  anxiety  and 
concern  upon  those  events.  They,  have  been  duly  impressed  with  just  views 
of  the  great  contest  now  going  on  in  America  between  truth  and  error,  between 
liberty  and  oppression,  and  have  longed  to  see  the  contest  cease,  and  a  bright 
day  of  peace  dawn  upon  that  land,  scattering  far  and  wide  the  dark  cloud  which 


•          EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       623 

has  for  many  years  been  hanging  so  portentously  over  it.  They  have  ardently 
wished  that  both  the  originating  cause  of  the  unhappy  civil  discord  now 
distracting  a  great  people,  and  every  circumstance  contributing  fuel  to  keep  it 
at  such  heat  and  proportions  as  the  world  has  witnessed  and  heartily  lamented, 
could  be  forever  done  away. 

These  were  some  of  their  sincere  desires  and  cherished  hopes ;  and  they 
were  consoling  themselves  in  the  belief  that  they  should  soon  realize  them. 

But  when  they  received  the  distressing  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN,  that  able  Chief  Magistrate,  who  had  for  four  long,  consecutive 
years,  and  under  the  severest  mental  anguish,  been  defending  the  cause  of 
liberty  and  endeavoring  to  open  "  the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound,"  that  the 
prisoners  might  go  free,  their  hearts  were  saddened,  and  they  could  not  suppress 
the  deep  sorrow  they  felt  at  so  mournful  and  sad  an  event,  and  now  more  than 
ever  before  they  sympathize  with  the  American  nation  in  the  deep  troubles  it  is  at 
this  time  experiencing.  They  record  their  deep  grief  at  the  loss  it  has  sustained 
in  the  death  of  so  indulgent,  kind,  liberal,  and  fatherly  a  chief  as  it  found  in 
President  LINCOLN,  and  I  feel  that  I  can  assure  you,  sir,  of  the  sympathy  of 
these  people  of  Liberia  for  yourself,  and  of  their  unfeigned  hope  that  you  will 
be  fully  sustained  by  the  great  God  of  nations  in  the  execution  of  the  mighty 
duties  devolving  upon  you,  and  in  the  prosecution  of  the  great  undertaking  now 
before  you. 

May  you  be  greatly  prospered  by  Him  by  whom  "  kings  reign  and  princes 
decree  righteousness,"  and  finally  be  crowned  with  honor  in  heaven  which 
I'adeth  not  away. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully  yours, 

D.  B.  WARNER 

His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


Mr.  Pinney  to  Mr,  Hunter. 

LIBERIAN  LEGATION, 

New  York,  April  17,  1865. 

SIR:  With  deepest  personal  sorrow  over  the  sad  intelligence,  I  have  the 
honor  to  acknowledge  your  communication  of  Saturday. 

The  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  the  attempt  upon  the  life  of 
the  Secretary  of  State  have  made  us  a  nation  of  mourners,  and  all  loyal  hearts 
are  agonized  by  the  dreadful  tragedy. 

The  republic  of  Liberia  will  deeply  sympathize  with  us,  as  in  the  sudden 
death  of  our  President  she  suffers  an  irreparable  loss.  What  we  have  done 
and  proposed  in  her  behalf  will  ever  be  gratefully  remembered. 


624  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  . 

Much  of  that  great  flood  of  tears  shed  over  this  great  sorrow  will  flow 
from  the  children  of  Africa,  who  looked  to  him  especially  as  their  deliverer. 

The  telegraphic  news  which  we  to-day  received,  as  to  the  decided  improve 
ment  of  Secretary  Seward  and  his  son,  greatly  alleviates  the  prevalent  sadness, 
and  the  hope  is  universal  that  they  may  speedily  recover. 

With  distinguished  consideration,  I  am  truly  yours, 

J.  13.  PINNEY, 

Charge  d"  Affaires 
Hon.  W.  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


MONROVIA,  AFRICA,  July  19,  1865. 

Whereas  the  sad  and  most  affecting  intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  his 
Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  has  reached  this  body ;  and  whereas  the  loss  of  so  great,  good,  and 
wise  a  man  must  be  most  keenly  felt  by  the  American  people,  over  whom  he 
was  called  to  rule,  as  well  as  by  humanity  everywhere ;  and  whereas  we  feel 
that  our  race,  in  common  with  all  others,  has  sustained  a  loss  in  the  death  of 
this  most  excellent  man,  which  possibly  time  will  not  repair ;  and  whereas, 
through  this  most  flagrant  act  of  violence,  sorrow  and  mourning  have  been  made 
to  enter  the  precincts  of  a  once  quiet,  happy,  peaceful  home :  Therefore, 

Resolved  by  the  mayor  and  city  councibmn  of  the  city  of  Monrovia  in 
council  assembled,  That  this  body  has  learned  with  feelings  of  profound  regret 
of  the  assassination  of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the 
United  States  of  North  America,  and  that  we  regard  with  utter  horror  and 
detestation  the  crime  by  which  a  great  people  have  been  bereft  of  a  great  man. 

Resolved,  further,  That  we  do  hereby  express  our  sincere  and  profound 
sympathy  with  the  American  people  in  the  loss  they  have  sustained  by  the 
sudden  and  untimely  taking  from  among  them  their  Chief  Executive,  by  the 
ruthless  hand  of  the  assassin,  in  the  month  of  April  last. 

Resolved,  further,  That  in  the  person  of  the  late  President  of  the  United 
States  of  North  America,  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  no  less  as  a  pri 
vate  individual  than  as  a  public  ruler,  the  negro  race  have  lost  a  valuable  and 
inestimable  friend,  who,  while  living,  not  less  by  his  actions  than  by  his  words, 
exerted  himself  for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  that  part  of  our  race 
who  have  so  long  been  in  chains  and  slavery;  and  that  we  highly  appreciate 
the  many  good  acts  that  mark  his  life ;  and  that  we  regard  with  high  esteem 
his  sense  of  justice  and  righteous  acknowledgment  of  the  right  of  all  men  to 
that  boon  of  Heaven,  equal  freedom  of  life,  limb,  and  thought. 

Resolved,  further,  That  our  heartfelt  sympathy  is  with  Mrs.  Lincoln,  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        625 

most  estimable  widow  of  the  late  President,  and  with  the  present  ruler,  who 
has  been  so  suddenly  called  to  preside  over  so  great;  a  people. 

Resolved,  Jinally,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  the 
United  States  commissioner  and  consul  general  in  Monrovia,  with  a  request 
that  he  will  forward  them  to  the  proper  persons  in  Washington. 
A  true  copy  from  the  original : 

W.  FISK  BURNS, 
Clerk  of  Common  Council  of  Monrovia. 


Mr.  Hanson  to  Mr.  Seivanl. 

[Extract.] 

No.  38.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Monrovia,  July  5,  18G5. 

SIR:  On  the  30th  ultimo  the  very  melancholy  tidings  readied  us  of  the 
sad  loss  which  our  nation  has  sustained  by  the  deatli  of  our  honored  President, 
and  also  of  the  murderous  attempt  made  upon  your  valuable  life  and  that  of 
your  beloved  son. 

I  assure  you  my  grief  at  this  great  national  calamity  is  profound,  and  my 
sympathy  with  you,  in  your  sore  affliction,  deep  and  sincere. 

It  is  my  daily  and  earnest  prayer  that  you  and  yours  may  be  speedily 
restored  to  health,  and  that  God  may  continue  to  guide  and  support  you  in 
your  arduous  duties,  and  that  our  President,  Andrew  Johnson,  may  be  endowed 
with  wisdom  from  on  high. 

The  universal  sympathy  of  the  people  of  Liberia  is  accorded  to  us  in  our 
deep  distress.  Flags  at  half-mast  have  been  floating  daily  from  all  the  princi 
pal  residences,  &c.,  and  expressions  of  condolence  come  to  me  from  every 
quarter. 

It  is  gratifying  to  my  feelings  to  forward  to  you,  herein,  a  proof  of  th:: 
interest  felt  in  our  ailiiirs  by  the  President  of  Liberia  and  his  cabinet.  At  12 
in.  yesterday  a  deputation,  comprising  all  the  members  of  the  cabinet,  called 
upon  me  at  the  legation  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  a  preamble  and  certain 
resolutions  adopted  at  a  full  meeting  of  the  President  and  his  cabinet,  with  a 
request  that  I  would  forward  them  to  their  proper  destination.  I  left  my  bed 
of  sickness  to  entertain  them. 

The  honorable  H.  11.  W.  Johnson,  secretary  of  state  of  the  republic,  on 
presenting  the  documents,  made  some  very  tender  and  eloquent  remarks,  to 

79 


626  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

which  I  endeavored  to  make  a  suitable  reply ;  but  I  am  fearful  that  they  will 
all  have  passed  from  my  memory  before  I  shall  have  strength  to  pen  them 
down.  However,  you  can  well  conceive  what  they  should  be. 

******** 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  sir,  with  deep  sympathy  and  profound  respect, 
your  very  obedient  servant, 

ABRAHAM  HANSON. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD. 

Secretary  of  State. 


MEXICO. 


[Circular. — Translation.  ] 

DEPARTMENT  OF  FOREIGN  RELATIONS  AND  GOVERNMENT,  DEPARTMENT  OF  GOV 
ERNMENT FIRST  BUREAU. 

The  official  confirmation  has  been  received  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  died  at  Washington,  at  seven 
o'clock  and  twenty-two  minutes,  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  day  of  April  last, 
in  consequence  of  the  wound  inflicted  upon  him  by  an  assassin  at  half  past  nine 
o'clock  on  the  previous  night.  The  deplorable  end  of  President  LINCOLN  is  a 
cause  of  great  regret  to  the  government  of  the  Mexican  republic,  and  to  all  its 
good  citizens,  by  reason  of  his  eminent  personal  qualities,  and  because,  during 
his  administration,  the  government  of  the  United  States  has  continued  in  the 
most  friendly  relations  with  that  of  the  Mexican  republic  in  the  difficult  state 
of  the  affairs  thereof. 

With  the  view  that  the  manifestations  of  the  public  sorrow  for  that  sad 
event  may  be  adopted,  the  citizen  President  directs  that  the  national  flag  be 
hoisted  at  half  mast  upon  all  the  public  buildings  and  at  all  the  military  stations 
during  the  day  subsequent  to  the  reception  of  this  circular,  and  that  all  the 
iiuthorities,  functionaries,  and  employe's,  both  civil  and  military,  clothe  them 
selves  in  mourning  during  nine  days. 

Independence  and  liberty! 

CHIHUAHUA,  May  16,  1865. 

LERDO  DE  TEJADA. 

The  Citizen  GOVERNOR  OF  THE  STATE  OF  • — • -. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   .SYMPATHY.  627 

President  Juarez  to  Mr.  Romero. 

[Translation. — Extract.  ] 

CHIHUAHUA,  May  11,  1865. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND:  We  also  received  the  day  befo;e 

yesterday  the  news  of  the  total  defeat  of  the  confederate  army  on  the  9th  of 
April.  The  great  pleasure  this  news  afforded  us  was  marred  by  the  very  sad 
impression  which  the  shocking  intelligence  of  President  LINCOLN'S  assassina 
tion  produced  upon  us.  That  great  misfortune  has  profoundly  impressed  me, 
as  Mr.  LINCOLN,  who  worked  with  so  much  earnestness  and  abnegation  for  the 
cause  of  nationality  and  freedom,  was  worthy  of  a  better  fate  than  the  poniard 
of  a  coward  assassin.  I  do  most  earnestly  hope  that  Mr.  Seward's  wounds 
will  not  be  mortal,  and  that  his  son,  too,  may  have  been  saved.  I  beg  of  you 
to  pay  a  private  visit  to  Mr.  Seward  in  my  name,  expressing  to  him  my  grief 
for  the  misfortunes  befallen  upon  him,  and  my  best  wishes  for  his  speedy  and 

complete  recovery. 

*  *  *  *  ***** 

BENITO  JUAREZ. 
Sefior  Don  MATIAS  ROMERO. 


Mr.  Romero  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

[Translation.] 

MEXICAN  LEGATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

Washington,  April  ]  f>,  1 865 

Mr.  SECRETARY  AD  INTERIM:  The  grief  I  felt  (his  morning,  on  hearing  of 
the  death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  from  a  wound  received  last 
night  in  a  theatre  of  this  city,  and  of  the  serious  wounds  of  the  Secretary  and. 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  has  not  been  less  than  yours  expressed  in  the  note 
of  this  date  informing  me  of  those  unpleasant  events,  and  which  I  have  just 
received. 

Your  note  also  informs  me  that,  according  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  the  honorable  Andrew  Johnson,  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  formally  assumed  the  functions  of  President  to-day,  and  authorized  you 
to  discharge  the  duties  of  Secretary  of  State  ad  interim  till  further  orders. 

Though  the  occasion  is  a  sad  one,  I  embrace  it  to  renew  to  you,  sir,  thu 
assurances  of  my  distinguished  consideration. 

M.  ROMERO. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


G28  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABEAHAM   LINCOLS, 

Governor  Gibert  to  Mr.  Elmer. 

[Translation.] 

LA  PAZ,  May  1,  1865 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  received  your  note  of  April  29,  in  which  you  advise 
me  of  the  sudden  death  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States,  who  was 
assassinated  during  a  period  of  great  national  rejoicing. 

Entertaining  the  same  sentiments  as  yourself,  this  government  cannot  do 
less  than  express  its  sincere  sorrow  for  the  unfortunate  event. 

I  have  the  honor  to  repeat  my  assurances  of  respect,  &c.,  &c. 

F.   GIBERT,   Governor,  La  Paz. 
Senor  Don  F.  B.  ELMER, 

United  States  Consul. 


[Translation.] 

AT  PROVIDENCIA,  May  3,  1865. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  The  Golden  City,  arriving  in  your  port  on  the  29th  ultimo 
with  her  flag  at  half-mast,  announced  with  this  sign  of  mourning,  even  before 
coming  to  her  moorings,  one  of  the  most  treacherous  murders  that  history  will 
record.  So  it  was,  indeed.  The  periodicals  received  come  to  announce  to  us, 
with  their  columns  clad  in  mourning,  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  the  dangerous  wounds  of  the  honorable 
Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  William  H.  Seward. 

Suffering  under  the  terrible  impression  which  this  calamity  has  produced 
upon  the  inhabitants  of  this  State,  and  to  myself,  I  address  you  these  lines  as 
the  sincere  expression  of  my  deep  sorrow  for  the  great  loss  the  people  of  the 
United  States  have  sustained  in  the  person  of  their  First  Magistrate. 

With  distinguished  appreciation,  I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 

servant, 

D.  ALVAREZ,  Governor. 
Mr.  GILBERT  M.  COLE, 

United  States  Consul  at  Acapulco. 


[Translation.] 

MEXICAN    REPUBLIC — POLITICAL   AND   MILITARY    GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   STATE    OF 

TOBASCO. 

Mr.  CONSUL:  The  kindred  people  of  this  continent,  united  in  the  lovely 
bonds  of  democracy,  ought  to  share  mutually  in  its  joys  and  its  sorrows.  For 
this  reason  Mexico  will  ever  deplore  the  unfortunate  event  of  the  14th  of  April 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       629 

last,  the  death  of  the  illustrious  champion  of  liberty  in  the  city  of  Wash 
ington.  For  this  reason  will  Mexico  forget  her  past  misfortunes,  in  the  midst 
of  her  present  trials,  and  congratulate  the  great  and  heroic  people  of  the  United 
States  on  this  day  of  glorious  memory. 

Accept,  then,  Mr.  Consul,  on  this  day — the  anniversary  of  that  auspicious 
day  when  your  ancestors  proclaimed  their  independence  in  the  city  of  Philadel 
phia — my  sincere  congratulations,  as  a  private  individual,  and  as  the  representa 
tive  of  this  State,  of  whose  sympathies  I  believe  myself,  on  this  occasion,  the 
most  faithful  interpreter. 

Accept  also,  in  the  name  of  your  government,  the  demonstrations  of  esteem 
and  good  will  from  the  garrison  of  this  place,  who  have  kindred  sentiments,  and 
trust  that  Mexico  in  general,  and  Tabasco  in  particular,  will  be  worthy  mem 
bers  of  the  great  democratic  family  that  people  the  world  of  Columbus,  in  spite 
of  the  mean  strategy  now  used  to  divide  us. 

I  make  vows  to  Providence  for  the  happiness  of  the  United  States,  and 
pray  that  the  peace  the  great  republic  has  just  conquered  at  such  a  great  sacri 
fice  may  last  long,  for  the  good  of  humanity. 

You  will  please  accept,  on  this  account,  the  assurances  of  my  personal 
esteem  and  consideration. 

Republic  and  liberty . 

SAN  JUAN  BAUTISTA,  July  4,  1865. 

G.  MENDEZ. 
LEON  ALEJO  TOEBE,  First  Officer. 

B.  N.  SANDERS, 

Consul  of  the  United  States  at  this  port,  Present. 


MOEOCCO. 


Mr.  McMath  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

No.  26.  J  CONSULATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 

FOR  THE  EMPIRE  OF  MOROCCO, 

Tangier,  May  4,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  lamentable  news  of  the  assassination  of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  reached  this  consulate  by  telegraph 
via  Madrid,  on  the  28th  ultimo.  This  intelligence  has  produced  the  most 
intense  feeling  of  sorrow  in  the  minds  of  all  our  population,  native  and  foreign. 


630  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

The  event  is  so  astounding  that  it  is  with  difficulty  I  can  bring  myself  to  realize 
its  occurrence  or  estimate  its  consequences.  The  blow  is  sudden,  horrible,  and 
irretrievable.  Never  has  a  murder  been  committed  more  momentous  in  its 
bearing  upon  the  time.  A  nation  mourns  the  inestimable  loss  of  one  of  the 
greatest  and  purest  statesmen  that  ever  lived.  He  dies  surrounded  with  the 
brightest  halo  of  glory  that  has  ever  crowned  the  labor  of  a  statesman,  and  his 
work  will  survive  him,  and  the  greatest  victory  of  liberty  and  humanity  will 
not  have  been  won  in  vain.  I  am  as  yet  without  details  which  can  give  me  the 
slightest  idea  of  the  cause  of  so  grave  an  event.  However,  it  seems  difficult 
to  suppose  that  a  crime  committed  on  the  President  had  not  been  dictated  by 
a  political  motive ;  and  I  may  say  this  crime  is  not  only  odious  but  useless,  for 
Providence  will  not  fail  to  raise  up  worthy  successors  of  him  who  has  fallen  a 
martyr  to  liberty,  humanity,  and  constitutional  government.  To  my  bleeding 
and  grief-stricken  country  I  offer  my  sincere  sympathy  and  condolence. 

This  consulate  has  gone  into  mourning  for  thirty  days. 

Immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  this  distressing  news,  I  informed  my 
colleagues  that,  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  the  illustrious  and  unfortunate  deceased 
President  LINCOLN,  the  flag  of  the  United  States  would  be  displayed  at  half- 
mast  for  a  period  of  three  days  at  this  consulate,  and  stated  that  on  this  mournful 
occasion  I  would  be  pleased  to  see  my  flag  accompanied  with  those  of  their 
respective  nations.  To  this  each  of  my  colleagues  assented,  and  at  the  same 
time  expressed  their  sincere  sympathy  and  condolence  for  the  great  national 
loss  sustained  in  the  untimely  death  of  his  Excellency  President  LINCOLN.  I 
have  also  communicated  this  sad  intelligence  to  my  vice-consuls  on  the  coast, 
and  have  requested  them  to  display  their  flags  at  half-mast  for  three  days  and 
request  their  colleagues  to  accompany  it  with  those  of  their  respective  nations. 

The  melancholy  news  of  the  attempted  assassination  of  the  honorable 
Secretary  of  State,  and  his  son,  the  Assistant  Secretary,  reached  me  one  day 
later  than  the  former.  Since  then  I  have  been  advised  by  the  latest  news  from 
London  that  there  is  a  probability  that  both  may  recover  from  the  wounds 
inflicted  upon  them.  I  sincerely  hope  and  pray  to  Almighty  God  that  both 
may  be  speedily  restored  to  our  common  country,  and  to  each  my  sincere 
sympathy  is  offered. 

In  profound  grief  for  the  events  which  have  taken  place,  I  have  the  honor 
to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JESSIE  H.  McMATH. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       631 


THE   ^ETHEELANDS. 

Mr.  Van  Limburg  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

[Translation.] 

NEW  YORK,  May  16,  18G5. 

SIR  :  In  the  Netherlands,  as  everywhere  else,  the  news  of  the  assassination 
of  President  LINCOLN,  and  of  the  attempt  on  the  life  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
has  caused  a  universal  shock  and  deep  indignation. 

On  the  part  of  the  royal  government,  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  would 
have  wished  to  request  Mr.  Pike  to  be  so  good  as  to  transmit  to  Washington 
the  assurances  of  the  sorrowful  impression  caused  throughout  the  Netherlands 
by  this  double  crime,  but  the  temporary  absence  of  the  minister  resident  of  the 
United  States  not  putting  that  in  my  power,  it  is  in  virtue  of  the  King's  order, 
and  in  accordance  with  a  resolution  adopted  by  a  council  of  ministers,  that  I 
am  charged  to  present,  without  delay,  to  the  American  government  the  assur 
ance  of  lively  sympathy  in  the  loss  and  profound  indignation  at  the  crime,  in 
which  all  the  Netherlands  partake  with  the  King. 

I  am  charged  to  express,  sir,  at  the  same  time,  the  wishes  of  his  Majesty 
and  of  the  royal  government  that  Divine  Providence  may  preserve  the  life  of 
Mr.  Seward,  so  precious  to  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

In  acquitting  myself  of  this  duty,  sir,  I  have  the  honor  to  repeat  to  you 
the  assurances  of  my  high  consideration. 

ROEST  VAN  LIMBURG. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Mr.  Van  Limburg  to  Mr.  Hunter. 
[Translation.] 

DETROIT,  Mat/  25,  1865. 

SIR:  The  minister  of  the  King  for  foreign  affairs  has  just  given  in  charge 
to  me,  to  communicate  to  you,  a  resolution  passed  on  the  2d  instant  by  the 
Second  Chamber  of  the  States  General,  tending  to  invite  the  royal  government 
to  make  known  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  the  sorrow  and  indig 
nation  the  Chamber  has  felt  on  learning  the  perfidious  and  base  outrage  of  which 
President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  been  the  victim. 

On  the  occasion  of  this  resolution,  its  mover,  Mr.  de  Zuylcn  de  Nywelt, 
remarked  that  in  the  Netherlands  it  was  caused,  more  perhaps  than  any  like 


632  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

resolution  could  be  elsewhere,  not  alone  by  the  ties  of  friendship  and  of  alli 
ance  which  for  a  long  period  have  existed  between  the  two  countries,  but 
moreover  by  the  circumstance  that  a  great  many  old  families  of  Holland  have 
established  themselves  in  the  United  States,  and  that  our  country,  at  a  period 
already  remote,  contributed  much  to  the  sowing  of  the  seed  from  which  the 
great  American  nation  has  sprung  forth  at  a  later  day 

The  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  fully  adopting  this  principle,  expresses 
anew  the  general  indignation  at  the  horrible  crimes  by  which  the  President  of 
the  United  States  was  snatched  away  from  his  great  task  at  the  moment  when 
achieving  the  object  of  his  efforts,  and  by  which  the  lives  of  the  Secretary  and 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State  were  put  in  peril. 

It  was  in  the  nature  of  things,  said  Mr.  Cremers,  that  the  assassination  of 
a  man  whose  character  bore  so  great  a  resemblance  to  that  of  the  noble  founder 
of  our  liberties  should  make  a  profound  impression.  Here,  where  the  name 
of  Balthazar  Gerard  (the  assassin  of  William  of  Orange)  is,  even  now,  never 
pronounced  without  a  horror,  a  crime  resembling  his  must  excite  extraordinary 
sympathy  and  indignation. 

I  take  pride,  sir,  in  being  again  instructed  to  express  to  you  similar  senti 
ments;  they  cannot  but  convince  you,  as  well  as  the  President  and  people  of 
the  United  States,  of  the  lively  and  sincere  friendship  which  attaches  the 
Netherlands  to  the  United  States  of  America. 

Please  accept,  sir,  the  fresh  assurance  of  my  very  high  consideration. 

ROEST  VAN  LIMBURG. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTEK, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  §c.,  Sfc.,  §c. 


Air.  Pike  to  Mr  Hunter. 

[Extract.  ] 

No.  164.]  UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

The  Hague,  May  3,  1865. 

SIR:  *  *  *  *  *  *  "          * 

The  announcement  of  the  assassination  of  the  President,  the  news  of 
which  reached  here  last  week,  fills  me  with  profound  emotion.  The  dreadful 
suspense  we  were  in,  for  many  days,  in  regard  to  the  Secretary  of  State  and 
the  Assistant  Secretary,  is  happily  removed  by  this  mail.  The  tenor  of  our 
first  advices  was  such  that  we  had  not  dared  to  hope  for  the  recovery  of  Mr. 
Seward,  while  we  had  taken  for  granted  that  the  Assistant  Secretary  was  no 
longer  among  the  living.  It  is  an  inexpressible  relief  to  receive  the  assurance 
that  the  lives  of  both  are  saved. 

I  have  forwarded  to  the  department  a  copy  of  Galignani's  Messenger,  con- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       633 

taming  one  day's  summary  of  the  public  commentary  upon  the  hideous  crimes 
committed  by  the  assassins,  which  is  but  one  of  a  series  of  the  same  character. 
By  this  record  you  may,  in  some  measure,  judge  of  the  violent  shock  these 
monstrous  assassinations  have  given  to  the  European  public.  It  would  be  dif 
ficult  for  me  to  exaggerate  it  by  any  description  I  could  give. 

I  have  been  called  upon  by  numerous  gentlemen  of  high  political  distinc 
tion,  among  them  the  ministers  of  foreign  affairs,  who  have  desired  to  manifest 
their  sympathy  with  the  government  in  its  distress;  to  bear  their  testimony  to 
the  pure  and  lofty  character  of  the  deceased  President,  and  to  express  the 
universal  horror  and  indignation  at  the  foul  deeds  which  have  at  once  robbed 
the  nation  of  its  head  and  daringly  put  in  imminent  peril  the  life  of  his  first 
cabinet  officer. 

1  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  S.  PIKE. 

Hon.  W.  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


Mr.  Pike  to  Mr.  Hunter 

No.  165.]  UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

The  Hague,  May  4,  18G5. 

SIR  :  Yesterday  the  second  chamber  of  the  national  legislature,  the  only 
branch  now  in  session,  passed  resolutions  instructing  the  ministers  of  foreign 
affairs  to  communicate  to  the  cabinet  at  Washington  their  scn-^e  of  the  great 
loss  sustained  by  the  United  States  in  the  death  of  the  President,  to  tender  to 
them  the  sympathy  of  the  chamber,  and  to  express  their  horror  and  detestation 
of  the  foul  crimes  by  which  the  President's  life  has  been  terminated  and  that 
of  the  Secretary  of  State  endangered. 

These  resolutions  were  supported  in  debate  by  the  minister  of  foreign 
affairs  on  the  part  of  the  government,  and  by  M.  Van  Zuylen  on  the  part  of  the 
opposition,  and  were  unanimously  carried. 

To-day  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  has  called  and  coirrnunicated  to  me 
tiiis  action  on  the  part  of  the  second  chamber,  and  requested  me  to  transmit 
it  to  the  government  at  Washington,  and  to  add  that  nowhere  in  Europe  has 
there  been  a  profounder  emotion  felt  than  in  Holland  over  the  awful  tragedy 
enacted  in  the  United  States,  and  nowhere  can  its  condemnation  be  more 
heart-felt  and  unanimous. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  S.  PIKE. 
Hon.  W.  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  Stale,  Washington. 
80 


634  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


NICARAGUA. 


[Translation.] 

GOVERNMENT  HOUSE, 

Leon,  May  18,  1865. 

MR.  MINISTER:  His  Excellency  the  captain  general,  President,  has  been 
made  acquainted  with  your  despatch  of  the  17th  instant,  in  which  he  is  notified 
through  me  of  the  unfortunate  events  which  occurred  in  Washington  on  the 
14th  of  April  last,  the  assassination  of  his  Excellency  the  President  of  the 
United  States  of  North  America,  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  the  serious 
wounds  inflicted  by  the  hand  of  another  assassin  on  the  person  of  the  very 
illustrious  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  William  H.  Seward.  I  am  also  notified  in 
the  same  communication  of  the  elevation  to  the  presidency,  by  virtue  of  the 
laws,  of  his  Excellency  the  Vice-President,  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson,  and  to  the 
ministry  temporarily  of  the  chief  clerk,  Mr.  Hunter,  until  the  recovery  of  Mr. 
Seward,  which  now  seems  probable. 

The  government  and  people  of  Nicaragua  are  not  nor  could  they  be  indif 
ferent  to  an  event  which  has  so  great  effect  on  all  classes  of  society,  as  well  on 
account  of  the  welfare  of  the  country  which  Mr.  LINCOLN  governed  so  worthily, 
as  because  of  such  excesses.  In  a  republic,  too,  like  the  United  States — model 
of  civilization  and  of  grandeur — it  seems  impossible  to  conceive  the  existence 
of  a  man  that,  even  by  the  means  of  the  most  exalted  imagination,  could  con 
ceive  the  design  of  applying  his  treacherous  hand  against  the  lite  of  him  who, 
by  the  general  choice  of  the  people,  had  been  called  for  a  fixed  period  to  the 
presidential  chair. 

But  the  deed  is  done,  sir,  however  extraordinary  it  may  seem  to  those  who 
know  its  magnitude;  and  while  it  meets  solely  with  universal  condemnation,  let 
us  indulge  the  grateful  hope  that  his  principles  may  be  securely  preserved  for 
the  United  States  of  North  America  under  the  presidency  of  a  successor  worthy 
of  the  immortal  LINCOLN,  for  which  we  trust  in  the  co-operation  of  Mr.  Seward, 
that  veteran  Secretary,  whom  Providence  has  so  marvellously  preserved  for  the 
benefit  of  his  country. 

These  are  the  sentiments  of  his  Excellency  the  President  of  Nicaragua, 
and  in  transmitting  them  to  your  excellency,  with  the  expression  of  my  sin- 
cerest  sympathy,  I  have  the  honor  to  subscribe  myself  once  again,  your  affec 
tionate  servant, 

BASILIO  SALINAS. 

His  Excellency  A.  B.  DICKENSON, 

Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States,  $c.,  $c.,  §c. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       685 

[Translation.] 

GOVERNMENT  HOUSE, 

Leon,  June  19,  1865. 

SIR  :  Although  this  government  has  already  paid  its  due  compliments 
through  the  minister  resident  of  the  United  States,  I  have  to  say,  in  answer  to 
your  esteemed  despatch  of  the  18th  April,  ultimo,  and  the  mournful  news  it 
contains,  that  the  assassination  of  the  illustrious  President  of  the  United  States, 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  the  barbarous  assault  on  the  persons  of  the  honorable 
Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son,  martyrs  of 
the  glorious  cause  in  which  they  were  happily  winning  victory,  have  been  in 
Nicaragua,  as  well  as  in  all  Central  America  and  over  the  whole  civilized  world, 
the  source  of  a  general  feeling  of  horror  and  sadness.  Sympathy  for  the 
administration  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  for  the  cause  he  maintained  of  freedom  of 
the  human  kind,  and  with  the  impulse  this  same  doleful  event  imparted  to 
the  triumphant  opinion,  cause  this  government  religiously  to  cherish  the 
glorious  memory  of  the  illustrious  dead,  to  heartily  hail  the  providential  salva 
tion  of  the  honorable  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son,  whom  we  duly  honor,  and  to 
behold  with  the  highest  esteem,  respect,  and  our  best  wishes  the  heroic  deci 
sion  with  which  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  worthy  successor  comes  forward  ready  to  perfect 
the  sublime  but  unfinished  work  which  falls  to  his  lot. 

The  President  trusts  you  have,  in  anticipation  of  the  desire  and  well-known 
feelings  of  his  administration,  interpreted  them  with  your  usual  faithfulness, 
near  the  government  of  the  United  States;  and  directs  me  to  authorize  you  to 
leave  a  copy  of  this  despatch  with  the  honorable  Secretary  of  State. 
I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

PEDRO  ZELEDON. 

His  Excellency  Don  Luis  MOLINA, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minuter  Plenipotentiary 

of  Nicaragua,  Washington. 


Mr.  Dickcnson  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

[Extract.] 

No.  101.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Leon  de  Nicaragua,  May  19,  1865. 

SIR:  Your  despatch  No.  69,  dated  April  17,  conveying  the  painful  intelli 
gence  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  the  murderous  assault  upon 
the  Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  has  been  received  and  read 
with  a  mixture  of  indignation,  horror,  and  grief  altogether  beyond  the  power 
of  words  to  express. 

That  even  the  rebellion  itself,  black  and  terrible  as  are  its  crimes,  could 


636  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

be  guilty  of  murdering  our  honored  President,  who  was  well  known  to  harbor 
the  kindliest  feelings  and  the  most  forgiving  spirit,  even  towards  his  enemies, 
and  so  cowardly  assaulting  with  murderous  intent  his  chief  adviser  and  sup 
porter,  while  n  a  helpless  state  on  a  sick-bed,  for  the  purpose  of  robbing  the 
nation  of  two  of  its  ablest  defenders,  was  beyond  belief,  until  the  fiendish  acts 
themselves,  with  their  surroundings,  proved  to  be  a  part  of  its  atrocious  work. 

It  would  seem  also  that  the  avenging  arm  of  the  stern  patriot  who  is  now 
our  President  was  justly  feared  by  the  infamous  traitors,  and  that  he  also  was  to 
be  stricken  down  with  the  other  strong  pillars  of  the  state,  in  order  that  the 
whole  national  fabric  might  thus  be  pulled  down,  Samson-like,  and  crushed 
together  with  the  rebellion. 

But  even  while  we  mourn  for  the  long  list  of  illustrious  dead,  headed  by 
our  honored  chief,  we  can  still  thank  God  that  our  country  survives  their  loss, 
to  be  held  only  the  more  precious  and  sacred  hereafter  because  of  the  blood 

which  has  been  shed  in  its  defence. 

******  *** 

Since  the  receipt  of  the  melancholy  news  I  have  had  the  flags  kept  at  half- 
mast  and  the  legation  draped  in  mourning.  I  also  take  due  note  of  the  order 
to  wear  crape  on  the  left  arm. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

A.  B.  BICKENSON. 

W.  HUNTER,  Esq.,  Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


PRUSSIA. 


Count  Bismarck  to  Mr.  Judd. 
[Translation.] 

BERLIN,  April  27,  1865. 

The  royal  government  is  profoundly  moved  by  the  intelligence  which 
reached  here  yesterday  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the 
simultaneous  attempt  on  the  life  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward. 

In  view  of  the  so  happily  existing  friendly  relations  between  Prussia  and 
the  United  States,  the  undersigned  cannot  forbear  to  express  to  their  govern 
ment  the  sincere  sympathy  of  the  royal  government  with  the  great  loss  that  this 
crime  has  inflicted  upon  them.  He  therefore  requests  the  envoy  extraordinary 
and  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  of  America,  Mr.  Judd,  that 
he  will  convey  the  expression  of  these  sentiments  to  his  government,  and  he 
avails  himself  of  this  occasion  to  renew  to  Mr.  Judd  the  assurances  of  his  dis 
tinguished  consideration. 

BISMARCK. 

Mr.  N.  B.  JUDD,  §c.,  Sfc.,  fyc. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.  637 

[Translation.] 

Address  of  the  members  of  the  Prussian  House  of  Deputies. 

SIR  :  We,  the  undersigned  members  of  the  Prussian  House  of  Deputies, 
beg  you  to  accept  the  expression  of  our  profoundest  sympathy  in  the  severe 
loss  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  have  suffered  in  the  death 
of  President  LINCOLN,  and  alike  the  expression  of  our  deepest  horror  at  the 
shocking  crime  to  which  he  fell  a  victim. 

We  are  the  more  deeply  moved  by  this  public  calamity  inasmuch  as  it 
occurred  at  a  moment  when  we  were  rejoicing  at  the  triumph  of  the  United 
States,  and  as  the  simultaneous  attempt  upon  the  life  of  the  faithful  partner  of 
the  President,  Mr.  Seward,  who,  with  the  wisdom  and  resolution  of  true  states 
manship,  supported  him  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  arduous  task,  betrays  the  object 
of  the  horrible  crime  to  have  been,  by  the  death  of  these  great  and  good  men, 
to  deprive  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  the  fruits  of  their  protracted 
struggle  and  patriotic,  self-sacrificing  devotion,  at  the  very  moment  when  the 
triumph  of  right  and  law  promises  to  bring  back  the  blessings  of  a  long-desired 
peace. 

Sir,  living  among  us,  you  are  a  witness  of  the  heart-felt  sympathy  which 
the  people  have  ever  preserved  for  the  people  of  the  United  States  during  this 
long  and  severe  conflict.  You  are  aware  that  Germany  has  looked  with  pride 
and  joy  on  the  thousands  of  her  sons  who  in  this  struggle  have  placed  them 
selves  so  resolutely  on  the  side  of  law  and  right.  You  have  seen  with  what 
joy  the  victories  of  the  Union  have  been  hailed,  and  how  confident  the  faith 
in  the  final  triumph  of  the  great  cause  and  the  restoration  of  the  Union  in  all 
its  greatness  has  ever  been,  even  in  the  midst  of  adversity. 

This  great  work  of  the  restoration  of  the  Union  will,  we  confidently  hope, 
not  be  hindered  or  interrupted  by  this  terrible  crime.  The  blood  of  the  great 
and  wise  chieftain  will  only  cement  the  more  firmly  the  Union  for  which  he 
has  died.  This  the  inviolable  respect  for  law  and  love  of  liberty  which  the 
people  of  the  United  States  have  ever  evinced  in  the  very  midst  of  the  pro 
digious  struggles  of  their  great  war  abundantly  guarantees. 

We  request  your  good  offices  for  giving  expression  with  your  government 
to  our  sincere  condolences  and  our  sympathies  with  the  government  and  people 
of  the  United  States,  and  proffer  to  yourself,  sir,  the  assurances  of  our  distin 
guished  consideration. 

DR.  FRESE.  VON  KATHEN. 

R.  FRCENING.  DR.  KALAN  VON  DER  IJOFE. 

HAEGER  ZIEGLER.  VIESEN. 

BARON  VON  VAERST.        KNUPFEL. 

VON  CARLEWJG. 

AND  TWO  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  OTHERS. 


038  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

Jfetnarkf  of  Deputy  Dr.  William  Loewe  in  the  Prussian  House  of  Deputies. 

GENTLEMEN  :  I  have  ventured  to  request  the  president  to  permit  me  to 
make  a  communication,  for  which  I  claim  your  sympathy.  That  which  I  wish 
to  request  of  you  does  not,  indeed,  belong  to  the  immediate  field  of  our  labors, 
but  it  goes  so  far  beyond  the  narrow  circle  of  private  life  that,  in  union  with  a 
number  of  our  colleagues,  I  have  ventured  to  call  your  attention  to  it.  A  con 
siderable  number  of  our  colleagues  feel  the  need,  under  the  dismay  produced 
by  the  shocking  news  of  the  unhappy  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  to  give 
expression  to  their  feelings  in  regard  to  his  fate,  and  their  sympathy  with  the 
nation  from  whom  he  has  been  snatched  away.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  fallen 
by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  in  the  moment  of  triumph  of  the  cause  which  he 
had  conducted,  and  while  he  was  in  hopes  of  being  able  to  give  to  his  people 
the  peace  so  long  desired. 

Our  colleagues  wish  in  an  address  to  express  the  sympathy  not  of  this 
house — this  I  say  in  order  to  remove  all  apprehension  of  a  violation  of  the  rules 
of  the  house — but  the  sympathy  of  the  individual  members  of  the  house  in  this 
great  and  unhappy  event.  This  address  we  desire  to  present  to  the  minister 
of  the  United  States. 

Gentlemen,  I  will  lay  the  address  on  the  table,  and  I  beg  those  of  my  col 
leagues  who  share  with  me  the  feeling  of  warm  and  heartfelt  sympathy  in  the 
lot  of  a  nation  which  is  united  by  so  many  bonds  with  our  own  people,  to  give 
expression  to  those  feelings  by  appending  their  signature  to  the  address. 
These  sympathies  I  regard  as  all  the  more  justified,  as  the  United  States  have 
won  a  new  and  splendid  triumph  for  mankind  through  the  great  struggle  which 
they  have  been  carrying  on  for  the  cause  of  true  humanity,  and  which,  as  I 
confidently  hope,  in  spite  of  this  murder  of  their  chief,  they  will  conduct  to  a 
successful  termination.  In  expressing  our  feelings  of  pain,  we  desire,  at  the 
same  time,  to  prove  our  hearty  sympathy  with  the  American  nation,  and  those 
of  our  brothers  who  have  taken  part  in  the  struggle  for  their  cause.  The  man. 
gentlemen,  who  has  fallen  by  the  murderer's  hand,  and  whom  I  seem  to  see  with 
his  simple,  honest  countenance — the  man  who  accomplished  such  great  deeds 
from  the  simple  desire  conscientiously  to  perform  his  duty — the  man  who 
never  wished  to  be  more  nor  less  than  the  most  conscientious  and  most  faithful 
servant  of  his  people — this  man  will  find  his  own  glorious  place  in  the  pages  of 
history.  In  the  deepest  reverence  I  bow  my  head  before  this  modest  great 
ness,  and  I  think  it  is  especially  agreeable  to  the  spirit  of  our  own  nation,  with 
its  deep  inner  life  and  admiration  of  self-sacrificing  devotion  and  effort  after  the 
ideal,  to  pay  the  tribute  of  veneration  to  such  greatness,  exalted  as  it  is  by  its 
.simplicity  and  modesty.  I  beg  of  you,  gentlemen,  accordingly  to  join  in  this  ex 
pression  of  veneration  for  the  great  dead,  which,  without  distinction  of  party,  we 
oiler  to  him  as  a  true  servant  of  his  state,  and  of  the  cause  of  pure  humanity. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       639 

[Translation.] 

The  Polish  members  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  of  Prussia,  at  this 
moment  present  in  Berlin,  join  their  German  colleagues  in  expressing  all  the 
grief  and  indignation  they  have  experinced  on  learning  of  the  abominable  crime 
to  which  the  illustrious  President  LINCOLN  has  fallen  a  victim,  a  martyr  of  the 
great  cause  of  the  abolition  of  slavery. 

AUGUSTE  MIEZKOWSKI.        STANISLAU  MOTLEY. 

DR.  LIBETT.  LEON  WEGNER. 

BOGUSTAVE  LUBIENSKI.       JOSEPH  POTUTICKI. 

LYZBOWSKI  PILASKI.  KADIMIKZ  CHIAPOWSKI. 

THOBAVSKI.  F.  11ESPAZDEK. 

ZYCHLINSKI.  JOSEPH  BOLEWSKI. 

DAMILEWSKI.  CASIMIR  KANTAK. 


[Translation.] 

PRUSSIAN  LEGATION  IN  WASHINGTON, 

April  16,  1865. 

The  undersigned,  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  of  his 
Majesty  the  King  of  Prussia,  has  been  honored  by  a  note  from  Mr.  William 
Hunter,  Acting  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  informing  him  of  the 
assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  atrocious  attempt 
upon  the  lives  of  the  Hon.  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  and  his  son 
Frederick  W.  Seward,  Assistant  Secretary,  on  the  night  of  the  14th  of  this 
month.  The  attack  resulted  in  the  death  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
republic,  and  the  critical  situation  of  the  Secretary  of  State  and  his  assistant 
from  the  serious  wounds  given  by  the  assassin's  hand. 

The  undersigned  promptly  expresses  to  Mr.  Hunter  his  profound  sorrow 
and  indignation  at  the  unheard-of  act  of  cruelty  and  political  fanaticism  of  which 
the  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  was  the  victim,  at  a  time  when  his  devotion 
and  constancy  in  efforts  to  re-establish  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  were 
crowned  with  success,  and  gave  hopes  of  returning  peace. 

The  undersigned  is  also  informed  by  Mr.  Hunter  that  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson, 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  has  entered  upon  the  duties  of  President 
of  the  United  States,  in  conformity  to  the  Constitution,  and  that  Mr.  William 
Hunter  is  charged  with  the  affairs  of  the  Secretary  of  State  till  further  orders. 

The  undersigned  embraces  the  occasion  of  renewing  to  Mr.  Hunter  the 
assurances  of  his  most  distinguished  consideration. 

BARON  GEROLT 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


640  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Mr.  Judd  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

Berlin,  May  1,  1865. 

HONORED  MADAM  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  to-day  Captain 
Von  Lucadon,  personal  aide-de-camp  of  his  Royal  Highness  the  Crown  Prince 
of  Prussia,  called  at  this  legation,  by  command  of  his  Royal  Highness,  charged  to 
convey  to  you,  madam,  through  me,  the  sympathy  that  their  Royal  Highnesses, 
the  Prince  and  the  Princess  Royal  feel  for  your  deep  affliction,  in  the  death  of 
your  worthy  and  honored  husband,  and  their  anxious  desire  for  your  health  and 
well-being. 

In  executing  that  request,  permit  me  to  add,  on  my  own  behalf,  the 
sincere  sympathy  I  feel  for  your  loss,  and  the  deep  grief  that  overwhelmed  me 
at  the  death  of  one  to  whom  I  was  bound  by  the  strongest  ties  of  friendship 
and  love. 

I  am,  madam,  your  obedient  servant  and  friend, 

N.  B.  JUDD, 
United  States  Minister,  Prussia. 

Mrs.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


[Translation.] 

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE,  May  5,  1865. 

The  undersigned,  mayor  and  members  of  the  municipality  of  the  city  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  allow  themselves  to  express  to  you,  much  honored  Mr.  Consul, 
representative  of  the  United  States  for  the  Rhenish  provinces  and  Westphalia, 
their  sympathy  for  the  great  and  irretrievable  loss  which  your  country  has 
suffered  by  the  atrocious  murder  of  your  highly  gifted  and  noble  President 
LINCOLN. 

The  horrible  and  abominable  crime  which  deprived  a  country  of  its  chief, 
in  the  very  moment  when  his  presence  was  most  needed  to  heal  the  wounds 
and  secure  the  results  of  a  war  of  several  years  in  defence  of  the  noblest 
cause,  has  filled  all  Europe,  and  especially  Germany,  with  abhorrence  and 
dismay.  We  are  more  especially  penetrated  with  these  sentiments  as  our  city 
has  been  in  relations,  for  so  many  years,  with  your  native  land,  and  has  the 
satisfaction  of  being  the  seat  of  the  consulate  for  the  Rhenish  provinces  and 
Westphalia. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       641 

We  beg  you,  honored  sir,  as  the  worthy  incumbent  of  the  consulate,  to 
bring  the  present  resolutions  to  the  knowledge  of  the  government  of  your 
country,  and  to  accept  the  assurance  of  our  highest  esteem. 

C.  E.  DAHMEN.        RUMPEN. 

E.  VAN  GULPEN.  FR'D  NACKEN. 

F.  ERASMUS.  COMEL  VAN  GUAITA. 
ED.  KEPELKAUL.  SOMMER. 
COUTZEN.  TH.  ESSER. 

N.  BOCHLEN.  D.  RODERBURG. 
COUNT  NELLESSEN.    D.  HAHN. 

VRANAUX.  V.  MONHEIM. 

VON  PRAUGHE.  HOYER 

D.  MULLER.  FRED.  CAYIN. 
W.  ZURHELLE.  JUNGBLUTH. 
A.  STARTZ. 

M.  VESEY,  Consul  of  the,  United  States 

for  the  Rhenish  Provinces  and  Westphalia. 


Mr.  Judd  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  93.]  UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

Berlin,  April  27,  1865. 

SIR  :  Intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  of  the 
murderous  attack  upon  yourself  and  many  members  of  your  household,  reached 
Berlin  at  about  two  p.  m.  yesterday.  The  statement  had  such  an  aspect  of 
horror  that  I  did  not  believe  it.  At  the  Exchange,  where  it  was  first  received, 
it  was  pronounced  a  stock-jobbing  report.  I  telegraphed  immediately  to  Mr. 
Adams,  and  his  reply  was  a  confirmation  of  the  dreadful  tidings.  Your  condi 
tion,  as  reported,  gives  occasion  for  the  most  intense  anxiety,  and  no  words  can 
express  the  feelings  with  which  I  await  further  despatches.  The  report  states 
that  your  son,  Frederick  W.  Seward,  was  killed  in  defending  the  life  of  his 
invalid  father.  A  noble  death  for  one  so  young  and  promising,  though  sad  and 
mournful  to  surviving  relatives  and  friends,  to  know  that  he  died  by  the  hand 
of  an  assassin.  The  terrible  and  tragic  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  the  calam 
ities  that  befell  your  household  in  that  fearful  night,  are  heavy  blows  for  one 
enfeebled  by  previous  illness.  May  He  who  saved  your  life  amidst  all  its  hor 
rors  give  healing  to  your  wounds,  and  restore  you  again  to  health  and  usefulness. 

I  cannot  realize  that  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  been  assassinated.  He  was  saved 
from  the  Baltimore  demons,  when  on  his  way  to  Washington,  to  be  slain  now 
in  the  midst  of  friends,  and  just  at  the  moment  when  public  affairs  have  assumed 

81 


(J42  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

their  brightest  aspect,  and  peace  and  order  are  about  to  return  to  the  country 
he  loved  so  well. 

All  the  afternoon  and  evening  yesterday  the  legation  was  thronged  with 
anxious  and  inquiring  friends,  and  many  tears  fell  from  the  eyes  of  strong  men. 
Berlin  talks  of  nothing  else  to-day.  Expressions  of  horror  and  indignation  at 
the  foul  murder  of  our  great  and  good  President,  and  of  deep  sympathy  and 
condolence  for  our  stricken  people,  mingled  with  fervent  wishes  that  you  may 
recover  and  survive  the  terrible  affliction,  are  on  the  lips  of  all ;  on  the  lips  of 
foreigners  and  strangers,  who  see  in  you  the  trusted  friend  and  counsellor  of  our 
martyr  President,  and  the  man  who  for  four  years,  so  fraught  with  dangers  and 
trials,  has  preserved  peace  with  Europe. 

The  legation  is  draped  in  black,  and  the  passing  world  beholds  that  this  is 
a  house  of  mourning. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

N.  B.  JUDD. 

lion.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


Mr.  Jurld  to  Mr.  Seward. 

[Extract.] 

No.  94.]  UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

Berlin,  April  28,  1865. 

SIR:  I  have  to-day  received  a  communication  from  the  minister  president 
and  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  Herr  von  Bismarck  Schoenhauscn,  expressing 
the  deep  sympathy  of  his  Majesty's  government  with  the  government  of  the 
United  States  at  the  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  the  attempt  on  your  life,  and 
desiring  me  to  convey  the  expression  of  their  sympathy  to  my  government. 
Hcrr  von  Thile,  under-secretary  of  state  for  foreign  affairs,  was  charged  with 
delivering  the  note  in  person,  and  came  to  the  legation  with  it.  In  doing  so, 
he  expressed,  in  the  warmest  terms,  for  himself  and  his  government,  the  deep 
feeling  the  sad  occurrences  have  occasioned. 

******** 

My  colleagues  of  the  diplomatic  corps  are  all  calling  to  express  their  sym 
pathy  with  us  in  this  affliction,  and  their  abhorrence  of  the  foul  deed. 
I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

N.  B.  JUDD. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       643 

Mr.  Judd  to  Mr.  Seioard. 

No.  95.]  UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

Berlin,  April  29,  18G5 

SIR:  Telegraphic  advices  from  the  United  States,  by  a  later  steamer, 
reached  here  at  noon  to-day,  and  it  affords  me  sincere  pleasure  to  learn  that 
the  first  report  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Frederick'W.  Seward  has  been  erroneous, 
and  that,  although  in  a  critical  condition,  he  still  lives,  and  that  notwithstanding 
the  cruel  and  savage  wounds  inflicted  on  you  by  a  cowardly  assassin,  in  addition 
to  the  severe  injuries  sustained  by  your  late  accident,  your  condition  was  con 
sidered  hopeful. 

All  of  the  members  of  the  diplomatic  corps  have  paid  me  their  visits  of 
regard  and  condolence.  So  have  the  King's  chiefest  officials,  and  many  of  the 
distinguished  men  of  science  and  letters. 

As  the  details  of  the  horrible  crime  become  known,  the  interest  and  excite 
ment  in  every  circle  and  among  every  class  of  men  increases.  It  is  the  one 
theme  of  conversation  and  discussion.  The  public  journals  here  and  elsewhere 
are  entirely  filled  with  it.  One  intense  and  spontaneous  burst  of  sorrow  and 
indignation  is  ringing  throughout  Germany,  and  every  one,  high  and  low,  great 
and  humble,  is  eager  to  bear  testimony  of  his  admiration  and  grief  for  a  great 
and  good  man  departed. 

Yesterday  the  subject  was  brought  before  the  House  of  Deputies  by  one 
of  its  most  distinguished  members,  Dr.  William  Loewe,  well  known  among  our 
German  citizens  in  the  United  States,  1'rom  his  long  residence  in  New  York  as 
a  political  exile  from  his  fatherland.  In  eloquent  and  feeling  terms  he  paid  a 
warm  tribute  to  President  LINCOLN,  and  at  the  close  of  his  remarks  called  upon 
the  house  to  unite  with  him  in  an  address  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  to  be 
presented'  to  the  American  minister  here.  Nearly  the  whole  house  rose  in 
token  of  concurrence,  and  the  address,  as  drawn  up  by  the  speaker,  is  receiving 
numerous  signatures.  It  is  to  be  presented  to  me  by  a  deputation  of  members, 
headed  by  the  president  and  the  two  vice-presidents  of  the  house.  Dr.  Loewe 
lias  conferred  with  me,  and  it  is  arranged  that  the  address  is  to  be  presented 
on  the  afternoon  of  Monday  next. 

At  my  invitation  the  Americans  at  present  in  Berlin  have  met  at  the 
legation,  and  it  has  been  decided  to  have  divine  services  in  memory  of  the  late 
President  on  Tuesday  next,  May  2,  at  4£  o'clock  p.  m.,  in  the  Dorothea  church, 
the  use  of  which  for  that  purpose  has  been  kindly  granted  us  by  the  city 
authorities  and  the  pastors  of  the  church.  President  H.  P.  Tappan,  formerly 
of  Michigan  University,  will  conduct  the  services  for  us 
I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

N.  B.  JUDD. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWAKD, 

Secretary  of  Stale,  Washington 


644  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Mr.  Judd  to  Mr.  Seivard. 

No.  96.]  UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

Berlin,  May  1,  1865. 

SIR:  This  forenoon  Captain  von  Lucadon,  personal  aide-de-camp  of  his 
Royal  Highness  the  Crown  Prince  of  Prussia,  presented  himself  at  the  lega 
tion  and  informed  me  that  he  was  charged  by  their  Royal  Highnesses  the  Prince 
and  Princess  Royal  of  Prussia  to  request  me  to  transmit,  on  their  behalf,  to  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  their  condolence  at  the  sad  event  that  had 
transpired,  and  desiring  me  also  to  convey  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  their  kind  sympathies 
in  her  affliction. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

N.  B  JUDD. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


Mr.  Judd  to  Mr.  Seivard. 

No.  97.]  UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

Berlin,  May  2,  1865. 

SIR:  In  my  despatch  No.  95  you  were  informed  that  I  had  named  Mori- 
day,  the  first  day  of  May,  as  the  time  to  receive  from  the  members  of  the 
Prussian  House  of  Deputies  their  address  of  condolence  on  account  of  the 
death  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  attempt  to  assassinate  yourself.  A  note 
icceived  in  the  morning  of  that  day  appointed  five  o'clock  p.  m.  as  the  hour  at 
which  the  deputation  would  be  at  the  legation  for  that  purpose. 

I  had  concluded,  from  some  casual  remark  of  a  member,  that  the  deputa 
tion  would  be  composed  of  some  six  or  eight  members ;  but  to  my  pleasurable 
surprise  on  its  arrival,  I  found  it  numbered  twenty-six  of  the  most  talented, 
celebrated,  and  influential  men  of  the  Chamber,  headed  by  the  venerable  Presi 
dent  Graybow  first  vice-president,  Ilerr  von  Unruh,  and  second  vice-president 
Herr  von  Backum  Dolflfs.  The  additional  names  of  the  members  of  the  com 
mittee  were  as  follows: 

Deputies. 

Dr  William  Loewe;  Prof.  Dr.  Virchow;  Baron  von  Vaerst;  Stavenhagen; 

Dr.  Jur.  Waldeck;    Parrisius ; '  Von  Bonin,  (ex-minister;)  Bassenge;  Schro3- 

'der;  Dr.  Zicgert;  Duncker;  Lent;  Baron  von  Zedlitz  and  Kurzbach  ;  Riebold; 

Schneider;    Dr.   Johann   Jacoby ;   Raffauf;  Von  Saucken  ;   Tarputschen;   Dr. 

Siemens ;  Dahlmann ;  Dr.  Krebs ;  Dr.  von  Bnnsen. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       645 

The  title  of  doctor  repeatedly  recurring  indicates  a  university  degree,  and 
not  that  of  a  physician,  as  used  in  our  country.    Dr.  Loewe,  who  had  the  honor 
of  your  personal  acquaintance  when  he  resided  in  New  York,  (the  political 
troubles  of  1848  and  1849  having  caused  his  temporary  absence  from  Prussia,) 
as  stated  in  a  former  despatch,  presented  the  address  with  a  few  remarks  in 
German  expressive  of  the  deep  feeling  in  all  Germany  at  the  death  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN,  and  your  narrow  escape  from  the  same  fate,  at  the  hand  of  an  assassin, 
which  he  followed  by  reciting  the  address  in  full.    After  apologizing  in  German 
for  my  imperfect  use  of  that  language,  and  asking  to  be  allowed  to  respond  in 
English,  I  expressed  the  thanks  of  the  government  and  the  people  of  the 
United  States  for  this  sympathetic  manifestation  of  interest  in  our  affliction, 
assuring  them  that  the  latest  advices  happily  stated  your  improving  condition, 
although  the  danger  had  not  yet  fully  passed.     That  they  might  i-est  under  the 
certain  conviction  that  the  object  sought  to  be  accomplished  by  the  conspira 
tors  in  these  horrible  and  murderous  attacks  would  not  succeed.     The  govern 
ment  would  not   be  paralyzed,  but  move  stoutly  and  firmly  forward  in  the 
political  and  social  regeneration  of  the  communities  in  rebellion.     That  the 
experience  of  the  last  four  years  has  demonstrated,  beyond  question,  the  power 
of  a  people,  under  a  republican  form  of  government,  to  resist  and  overcome 
interior  commotion  and  rebellion.     That  the  administration  of  public  affairs 
has  passed  to  a  new  President,  habituated  to  public  life  and  to  deal  with  national 
questions,  and  whose  talents  and  firmness  of  purpose  would  speedily  bring  into 
submission  what  little  remained  of  the  rebellious  spirit.     That  revenge  was  no 
part  of  our  national  character,  but  security  for  the  future  was  the  essential  ele 
ment  that  would  control  and  guide  the  conduct  of  public  affairs.     That  the 
people  of  the  United  States  appreciated  the  sympathy  of  the  German  people 
during  this  terrible  rebellion,  and  that  the  soldiers  of  German  birth,  many  of 
whom,  not  even  citizens,  would  be  held  in  lasting  remembrance  by  a  grateful 
people,  and  that  their  memory  would  be  bound  with  the  laurel  common  to  all 
who  had  fought  this  battle  of  freedom,  without  distinction  as  to  nativity,  or 
color.     One  member  of  the   committee,  Mr.  Schneider  Sagan,  was  then  in 
mourning  for  an  only  son  killed  at  Petersburg,  Virginia,  and  another,  Deputy 
Raffauf,  has  now  a  son  serving  in  the  army  of  the  United  States.    The  German 
heart  has  been  more  moved  by  these  awful  occurrences  than  by  any  event  in 
their  own   history  since  the  year  1813.    In  the  minds  of  the  great  mass  of 
German  readers,  Mr.  LINCOLN  had  come  to  symbolize  the  republic  in  all  its 
attributes  of  the   liberty  and  equality  of  all  men.  and   their  aspirations  and 
hopes  turned  to  him  with  admiration  and  affection      They  feel  that  in  him  all 
humanity  has  lost  a  pure  and  noble  champion. 

After  the  close  of  my  remarks  some  time  was  spent  in  friendly  conversa 
tion  with  the  various  members  of  the  committee,  and  1   parted  with  them  at 


646  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

last,  deeply  gratified  and  consoled  by  this  mark  of  generous  and  noble  sympathy 
with  our  people  and  our  cause. 

I  enclose  herewith  the  original  address,  with  an  English  translation  thereof 
by  the  secretary  of  this  legation,  Mr.  Kreismann,  who  was  present  during  the 
interview.  It  is  signed  by  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  members  of  the  Cham 
ber,  and  I  feel  persuaded  that  a  fit  place  will  be  assigned  by  you  for  this  inter 
esting  document  in  the  archives  of  the  State  Department. 

Your  old  acquaintance  and  friend,  Professor  Tellkampf,  a  member  of  the 
upper  house,  sought  and  obtained  leave  to  add  his  signature.  You  will  readily 
find  his,  to  you,  familiar  handwriting. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

N.  B.  JUDD. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


Mr  Judd  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  98.]  UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

Berlin,  May  2,  1865. 

SIR:  To-day,  at  one  o'clock,  a  deputation,  composed  of  Count  Joseph  Potul- 
reki  and  Mr.  St.  Motty,  both  members  of  the  Prussian  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
presented  to  me  an  address,  on  the  subject  of  the  late  terrible  calamity  to  our 
nation,  signed  by  the  Polish  members  of  the  Prussian  Chamber  of  Deputies,  with 
a  request  to  have  the  same  laid  before  the  government  and  people  of  the  United 
States.  I  assured  them  of  our  full  appreciation  of  this  act  of  sympathy,  and 
that  I  would  not  fail  to  immediately  forward  the  address  to  my  government. 
I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

N.  B.  JUDD. 
lion.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  Stale,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Mr  Judd  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

No.  99  ]  UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

Berlin,  May  4,  18G5. 

SIR:  Your  official  circular,  dated  April  17,  is  received.  The  intelligence 
of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  attempt  upon  Mr.  Seward, 
accompanied  by  the  wounding  of  Mr.  F.  W.  Seward,  official  notice  of  which  is 
contained  in  your  circular,  reached  Berlin  on  the  26th  of  April.  I  need  not 
repeat  again  the  grief  and  horror  felt  on  receiving  the  tidings  of  the  sad  event. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY        647 

The  Americans  in  Berlin  met  at  this  legation,  and  resolved  to  hold  appro 
priate  divine  services  in  memory  of  the  lamented  President.  The  original  inten 
tion  of  meeting  in  the  little  chapel  ordinarily  used  by  us  for  religious  worship 
had  to  be  abandoned,  on  account  of  the  almost  universal  desire  of  men  of  all 
classes  here  to  afford  them  an  opportunity  of  participating  in  the  services,  and 
mingling  their  grief  with  ours,  in  paying  a  last  tribute  to  the  great  and  good 
man  departed.  We  therefore  sought  and  readily  obtained  of  the  Berlin  city 
authorities  the  use  of  the  Dorothea  church,  one  of  the  most  spacious  buildings 
of  public  worship  here.  It  was  arranged  that  the  Reverend  II.  P.  Tappan,  D. 
D.,  of  New  York,  now  temporarily  in  Berlin,  should  conduct  the  services  and 
deliver  an  address,  and  the  German  part  of  the  exercises  was  intrusted  to  the 
very  distinguished  author  and  divine,  Rev.  Dr.  Krummacher,  chaplain  to  his 
Prussian  Majesty  at  Potsdam,  who  kindly  had  consented  to  officiate  on  the 
occasion.  We  also  obtained  the  services  of  the  choir  of  the  royal  cathedral ; 
the  church  was  draped  in  black,  and  the  American  flag  hung  in  mourning. 

The  services  were  among  the  most  significant  and  solemn  ever  held  in 
Berlin.  The  attendance  was  so  large  that  many  persons  were  unable  to  obtain 
admission,  and  remained  standing  outside  in  the  churchyard.  His  Majesty  the 
King  was  represented  by  Major  General  von  Boyen,  his  aide-de-camp.  The 
president  of  the  minister  of  state,  and  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  Herr  von 
Bismarck,  was  also  present.  So  were  the  members  of  the  diplomatic  corps  in 
full,  a  large  number  of  the  Prussian  House  of  Deputies,  and  very  many  of  the 
distinguished  men  of  science,  letters,  and  art.  It  was  indeed  a  noble  tribute 
to  our  martyr  President  and  the  cause  in  which  he  had  died.  I  beg  leave  to 
enclose  the  order  of  exercises  as  printed  for  the  occasion. 

The  addresses  by  Dr.  Tappan  and  Dr.  Krummacher  were  eloquent  and 
feeling  tributes  to  the  public  and  private  virtues  of  the  deceased,  and  to  the 
genius  of  our  institutions  in  developing  character,  as  illustrated  in  the  life  of 
Mr.  LINCOLN.  Throughout  the  whole  of  the  exercises,  the  audience  remained 
absorbed  and  profoundly  touched  by  the  simple  solemnity  and  impressiveness 
of  the  scene,  which  will  be  long  remembered  by  the  people  of  Berlin. 

There  is  no  abatement  as  yet  of  the  intense  excitement  and  heartfelt  sym 
pathy  in  all  classes  of  society,  here  and  elsewhere,  in  Germany,  over  the  sad 
event,  and  the  possible  and  probable  consequences  thereof.  All  are  moved,  and 
seeking  words  and  modes  to  show  us  their  deep  emotion  and  genuine  sympathy. 

The  first  feeling  of  many  here  and  elsewhere,  on  learning  of  the  assassin 
ation  of  President  LINCOLN,  was  one  of  alarm  and  apprehension  lest  his  death 
might  be  followed  by  anarchy  and  confusion,  and  our  government  be  paralyzed. 
The  quiet  and  undisturbed  assumption  of  office  by  President  Johnson,  his 
speeches  at  his  inauguration  and  on  other  occasions,  have  now  removed  all  fear, 
and  convinced  all  persons  that  the  people  and  not  dynasties  rule  in  the  United 
States;  that  our  government  and  our  institutions  do  not  depend  upon  any  man's 


648  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

life,  however  great  and  good  that  man  may  be.     The  American  people  stand 
forth  greater  than  ever  in  the  eyes  of  Germany  and  Europe. 

AVhatever  may  have  been  done  in  the  United  States,  Mr.  LINCOLN  is  being 
canonized  in  Europe  A  like  unanimity  of  eulogy  by  sovereigns,  parliaments, 
corporate  bodies,  by  the  people,  and  by  all  public  journals,  was  never  before 
witnessed  on  this  continent.  The  most  truthful  and  eloquent  testimonials  are 
now  given  by  some  of  those  that  belied  him  most  while  living. 
I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

N.  B.  JUDD. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


[Translation.] 

Address  to  the  American  people  by  the  Berlin  Workingmcris  Club. 

BERLIN,  May  4,  1865. 

Mr.  MINISTER  :  With  liveliest  interest  we  have  watched  the  giant  struggle 
for  the  rights  of  free  labor  which  the  United  States  of  America  have  entered 
upon,  and  have  so  nobly  maintained  during  four  years.  With  great  joy  we 
beheld  the  star-spangled  banner  issuing  triumphantly  from  this  battle  for  free 
dom  and  civilization,  for  we  fully  understood  the  vast  import  and  bearing  of  the 
results  thereby  achieved. 

In  the  midst  of  the  rejoicings  over  these  victories  we  are  filled  with  horror 
at  the  tidings  of  the  cowardly  assassination  of  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Struck  down  by  a  murderous  hand  in  the  very  fulfilment  of  his  historical 
mission,  and  when  jubilant  voices  announced  the  triumph  of  freedom,  it  was  not 
vouchsafed  him  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  the  victories  which  his  kind  and  noble 
heart  prompted  him,  in  the  most  conciliatory  spirit,  to  employ  only  for  the  final 
ending  of  the  long  war,  and  the  restoration  of  a  speedy  peace. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  finished  his  course  and  accomplished  his  work. 
He  has  reached  the  highest  step  of  the  virtue  of  a  citizen.  The  son  of  a  labor 
ing  man,  and  himself  a  laborer,  he  took  up  the  fight  for  the  rights  of  free  labor 
and  carried  it  to  a  triumphant  termination. 

As  a  wise  legislator,  an  energetic  statesman,  a  loyal  citizen,  and  a  good  man, 
being  a  shining  example  for  present  generations  and  posterity,  his  memory  will 
be  held  sacred,  not  only  by  his  fellow-citizens,  but  by  all  mankind,  and  the 
greater  the  horror  with  which  the  intelligence  of  his  murder  is  received,  the 
more  brilliantly  in  immortal  splendor  will  it  cause  the  name  and  memory  of 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  to  shine. 

We  fully  share  the  sincere  grief  and  deep  abhorrence  which  this  odious 
crime  against  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  has  inspired  in  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       649 

minds  of  all  right-thinking  men.  But  in  giving  expression  of  our  deep  sym 
pathy  in  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  we  feel  compelled  at  the  same  time 
to  give  utterance  of  our  hopes  and  wishes  to  the  effect  that  the  freedom  which 
has  thus  been  sealed  with  the  blood  of  one  of  the  noblest  men  will  only  the 
more  fully  prevail,  and  that  the  star-spangled  banner  may  wave  in  triumph 
wherever  it  is  unfurled,  in  battling  for  the  cause  of  freedom  and  civilization. 

We  ask  you,  sir,  to  be  pleased  to  bring  this  expression  of  our  sympathies 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  government  of  the  United  States 
"  The  Berlin  Workingmen's  Club  :" 

A.  HORIG.  ROBT.  NOUVEL. 

L.  HOFF.  ELEHMANN. 

R.  KREBS.  J.   MfJLLER. 

AND    TEN    OTHERS. 


[Translation.  ] 

Address  of  the  Berlin  Artisans  and  Mechanic  Unwn. 

BERLIN,  May  21,  1865. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  The  undersigned,  a  committee  chosen  in  the  meeting  of 
the  Berlin  Altgesellcn-Vercin,  held  on  the  9th  instant,  are  charged  to  express 
to  you,  the  representative  of  the  great  American  republic,  our  profound  horror 
and  indignation  at  the  assassination  of  the  noble  and  faithful  citizen,  President 
AIJRAHAM  LINCOLN.  Not  merely  the  societies  in  Berlin,  but  the  working-men 
in  all  Europe — we  affirm  it  with  pride — have  ever  frankly  stood  on  the  side  of 
the  Union  in  that  giant  struggle  which  the,  people  of  the  United  States — it  is 
true,  not  without  great  sacrifices — have  carried  to  a  triumphant  end ;  a  struggle 
of  labor  truly  free  against  slavery — of  free  labor  such  as  we  here,  too,  are  striving 
for,  and  which  in  your  country,  in  full  possession  of  political  rights,  enjoys  that 
respect  which  is  due  to  it,  as  the  source  of  all  national  wealth. 

In  renewing,  therefore,  the  expressions  of  our  sympathy  for  the  cause  of 
the  Union,  and  our  admiration  for  the  noble  and  faithful  citizen,  President 
LIN-COLN,  permit  us,  Mr.  President,  to  utter  our  conviction  that  you,  a  true  son 
of  the  people,  will  be  able  to  achieve  the  fullest  recognition  of  the  principles  of 
human  rights,  so  that  your  enemies,  who  are  ours  likewise,  will  hereafter  be 
deprived  of  all  their  noxious  influence  and  power. 

By  direction  of  the  Altgesellen-Verein  : 

SCIILEY.  P.  RANTY. 

STENTY.  RIRMANN. 

WELEY. 
Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  Sfafex 
82 


650  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABEAHAM  LINCOLN. 

tTranslatiou.  ] 

BERLIN,  May  11,  1865. 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson : 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  In  accordance  with  the  resolution  unanimously  passed 
May  1,  instant,  in  the  Berlin  section  of  the  Allgemeiner  Deutsche  Arbeiter- 
Verein,  we  herewith  express  to  you,  as  the  representative  of  the  great  Ameri 
can  commonwealth,  our  deep  horror  at  the  monstrous  deed  which  robbed  your 
country  and  the  world  of  the  good  citizen  and  man,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and 
assure  you  of  our  warmest  sympathy  with  the  cause  whose  martyr  he  has 
become. 

Members  of  the  working  class,  we  need  not  affirm  to  you  the  sincerity  of 
these  our  sympathies ;  lor  with  pride  we  can  point  to  the  fact,  that,  while  the 
aristocracy  of  the  Old  World  took  openly  the  part  of  the  southern  slaveholder, 
and  while  the  middle  class  was  divided  in  its  opinions,  the  working-men  in  all 
countries  of  Europe  have  unanimously  and  firmly  stood  on  the  side  of  the  Union. 
And  how  could  it  have  been  otherwise?  as  the  gigantic  battle  which  the  peo 
ple  of  the  United  States  have  fought  so  valiantly  and  gained  so  gloriously  was 
the  battle  of  free  labor  against  slavery,  of  truly  free  labor — that  is,  in  the  full 
possession  of  its  political  rights,  and  therefore  enjoys  that  respect  which  is  due 
to  the  mother  of  all  social  wealth,  and  all  political  liberty,  but  which  in  Europe 
is  unfortunately  yet  denied  to  labor,  because  here  it  has  not  yet  conquered  its 
political  rights.  The  state  of  Franklin  and  LINCOLN,  the  state  whose  first 
citizen  is  now  again  a  son  of  toil,  has  indeed  vindicated  the  rights  of  labor ;  and 
the  example  it  gives  shall  not  be  lost  upon  us. 

Before  concluding,  we  express  once  more  our  admiration  for  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  one  of  the  purest  and  noblest  among  the  pure  and  noble  martyrs  of 
liberty.  He  has  done  his  duty.  And  happy  the  land  which,  after  such  a 
terrible  war,  after  such  an  enormous  crime,  could,  without  the  slightest  dis 
turbance  of  the  State,  make  an  Andrew  Johnson  the  successor  of  an  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN. 

In  the  name  of  the  Berlin  section  of  the  Allgemeiner  Deutsche  Arbeiter- 
Verein : 

W.  LIEBKNECHT. 

A.  VOGT. 

C.  SCHILLING. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       651 


PORTUGAL. 

Mr.  de  Figaniere  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

[Translation.] 

His  MOST  FAITHFUL  MAJESTY'S  LEGATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Charlestown,  Maryland,  April  17,  1865. 

SIR:  Your  note  of  the  15th  instant,  with  the  sad  information  of  the  awful 
events  of  the  previous  night,  resulting  in  the  unexpected  death  of  President 
LINCOLN,  was  received  by  me  this  day  with  great  regret. 

Sincerely  sympathizing  with  the  government  and  people  of  the  United 
States  for  the  loss  they  have  sustained,  I  trust  that  the  honorable  Secretary  of 
State  and  his  son,  Mr.  Frederick  Seward,  may  recover  from  the  injuries 
inflicted  upon  them. 

I  am  also  advised  by  your  said  note  that,  pursuant  to  the  provision  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Andrew  Johnson,  the  Vice-President,  has 
formally  assumed  the  functions  of  President,  and  that  you  have  by  him  been 
authorized  to  perform  the  duties  of  Secretary  of  State  until  otherwise  ordered. 

I  take  this  occasion  to  offer  to  you,  sir,  the  assurance  of  my  great  consid 
eration. 

DE  FIGANIERE  E  MORAO. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  Washington. 


[Translation.] 

HOUSE  OF  PEERS. — SESSION  OF  MAY  5,  18G5. 

Mr.  RKBELLO  DA  SILVA.  Mr.  Speaker :  I  desire  to  bring  forward  some 
considerations  on  an  affair  which  I  deem  of  importance.  My  object  is  to  pre 
sent  my  reasons  for  the  motion  which  I  .shall  presently  introduce. 

The  house  is  aware,  by  official  documents  published  in  the  foreign  papers, 
that  a  criminal  event  has  plunged  in  grief  and  mourning  a  great  nation  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  the  powerful  republic  of  the  United  States. 

The  COUNT  D'AVILA.  I  desire  to  speak  on  this  incident  .on  the  part  of  the 
government. 

Mr.  R.  DA  SILVA.  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  been  assassinated  in 
the  theatre,  almost  in  the  very  arms  of  his  wife ! 

The  perpetration  of  this  cruel  act  has  caused  profound  pain  in  America  and 
in  every  court  of  Europe.  Every  cabinet  and  every  parliament  have  given  vent 


652  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

to  their  deep  feelings  on  such  a  painful  event.  It  behooves  all  civilized  socie 
ties,  it  becomes  almost  the  duty  of  all  constituted  political  bodies,  to  cause  their 
manifestations  to  be  accompanied  by  the  sincere  expression  of  horror  and  pro 
found  pain  with  which  they  deplore  acts  so  grave  and  criminal.  [Hear,  hear.] 

It  very  often  happens,  apparently  through  fatality  or  through  the  sublime 
disposition  or  unfathomable  mysteries  of  Providence,  which  is  the  most  Christian 
historic  law,  that  in  the  life  of  nations,  as  in  that  of  individuals,  after  attaining 
the  highest  position,  after  consummating  the  most  eventful  destiny,  and  even 
having  reached  the  very  highest  steps  in  the  scale  of  human  greatness,  when 
the  road  appears  suddenly  easy  and  smooth,  when  all  clouds  disappear  from  the 
horizon,  and  the  brightest  light  enlivens  every  object  around — it  is  then  that 
an  invisible  hand  raises  itself  up  from  darkness ;  that  an  occult  and  inexorable 
force  arms  itself  in  silence;  and,  brandishing  the  poniard  of  a  Brutus,  pointing 
the  cannon  of  a  Wellington,  or  presenting  the  poisoned  cup  of  the  Asiatic  kings, 
dashes  down  from  the  heights  the  triumphant  and  laurelled  victor,  and  casts 
him  at  the  foot  of  Pompey's  statue  like  Ceesar,  at  the  feet  of  exhausted  Fortune 
like  Napoleon,  at  the  feet  of  the  Roman  Colossus  like  Hannibal. 

The  mission  of  all  great  men,  of  all  heroes,  who  are  looked  upon  almost  as 
demi-gods,  while  receiving  as  they  do,  from  above,  that  short-lived  omnipotence 
which  revolutionizes  society  and  transforms  nations,  passes  away  like  the  tem 
pest's  blast  in  its  fiery  car,  and  moments  afterwards  dashes  itself  against  the 
eternal  barriers  of  impossibility — those  barriers  which  none  can  go  beyond,  and 
where  all  the  pride  of  their  ephemeral  power  is  humbled  and  reduced  to  dust. 
God  alone  is  immutable  and  great! 

Death  strikes  the  blow,  or  ruin  attains  them  in  the  height  of  their  power, 
as  an  evidence  to  all  princes,  conquerors,  and  nations,  that  their  hour  is  but  one 
and  short,  that  their  work  becomes  weak,  as  all  human  work,  from  the  moment 
that  the  luminous  column  which  guided  them  is  extinguished,  and  darkness 
overtakes  them  on  their  way.  The  new  roads  which  they  have  carved  out,  and 
whereby  they  expect  to  proceed  undaunted  and  secure,  have  turned  into  abysses 
where  they  have  fallen  and  perished,  from  the  moment  that  the  Most  High 
numbered  the  days  of  their  empire  and  their  ambition.  [Hear,  hear.] 

This  has  been  witnessed  as  a  terrible  example,  as  an  admirable  lesson,  in 
the  catastrophes  which  have  overtaken  the  most  conspicuous  men  in  history. 
And  thus  do  we  see  this  day  the  recent  pages  of  the  annals  of  the  powerful 
republic  of  the  United  States  spotted  with  the  illustrious  blood  of  one  of  its 
most  remarkable  citizens. 

At  the  close  of  the  first  four  years  of  a  government,  during  which  war 
became  his  motto,  the  President  of  the  republic  is  suddenly  struck  down  at 
the  moment  of  his  triumph,  and  his  now  inanimate  and  paralyzed  hands  let 
fall  those  reins  of  administration  which  the  force  and  energy  of  his  will,  the 
co-operation  of  his  countrymen,  the  prestige  and  sublimity  of  the  grand  idea 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY,        653 

which  he  personified  and  defended,  have  immortalized,  with  the  accumulations 
of  millions  of  arms  on  the  battle-fields,  and  of  voices  in  the  popular  elections 
Re-elected,  carried  a  second  time  on  the  popular  bucklers  to  the  supreme  admin 
istration  of  affairs,  at  the  moment  when  the  ardor  of  a  civil  contest  was  subsiding, 
when  the  union  of  that  immense  dilacerated  body  seemed  to  foreshadow  the 
healing  up  of  the  wounds  whence  had  gushed  forth  for  so  many  months,  and  in 
such  torrents,  the  generous  blood  of  the  free,  almost  in  the  arms  of  victory,  in 
the  midst  of  that  populace  who  loved  him  most,  in  the  centre  of  his  popular 
court,  he  suddenly  meets  with  death,  and  the  bullet  of  an  obscure  fanatic  closes 
and  seals  up  the  golden  volume  of  his  destiny  at  the  very  hour  when  success 
promised  a  new  life  and  was  welcoming  peace  with  joyful  acclamations. 

This  is  no  king  who  disappears  in  the  darkness  of  the  tomb,  burying  with 
himself,  like  unto  Henry  IV,  the  realization  of  great  hopes.  He  is  the  chief  of 
a  glorious  people,  leaving  a  successor  in  every  citizen  who  shared  his  ideas,  and 
who  sympathized  with  his  noble  and  well-founded  aspirations.  It  is  not  a  pur 
ple-covered  throne  which  has  been  covered  with  crape — it  is  the  heart  of  a 
great  empire  which  has  been  cast  into  mourning.  That  cause  of  which  he  was 
the  strenuous  champion  has  not  ceased  to  exist,  but  all  weep  at,  his  loss,  in 
horror  at  the  crime  and  occasion,  and  for  the  expectations  which  his  pure  and 
generous  intentions  had  inspired. 

LINCOLN,  a  martyr  to  the  prolific  principle  which  he  represented  in  power 
and  in  strife,  now  belongs  to  history  and  to  posterity.  Like  unto  the  name  of 
Washington,  whose  example  and  principles  he  followed,  his  own  name  shall  be 
allied  with  the  memorable  era  to  which  he  belonged  and  which  he  appreciated 

As  the  champion  of  freedom  in  America,  LINCOLN  drew,  without  hesitation, 
the  sword  of  the  republic,  and  with  the  point  thereof  erased  from  the  code  of  a 
free  people  that  antisocial  stigma,  that  blasphemy  against  human  nature,  the 
sad,  shameful,  infamous  codicil  of  antiquated  societies,  the  dark  and  repugnant 
abuse  of  slavery,  which  Jesus  Christ  was  the  first  to  condemn  from  the  height 
of  the  cross  when  he  proclaimed  the  equality  of  men  before  God,  and  which 
nineteen  centuries  of  civilization,  enlightened  by  the  gospel,  has  proscribed  and 
condemned  as  the  opprobrium  of  these  our  present,  times.  [Hear,  hear.] 

At  the  moment  that  he  cast  away  the  chains  of  an  unibrtunate  race  of  men, 
and  when  he  contemplated  millions  of  future  citizens  in  the  millions  of  eman 
cipated  men — at  the  very  moment  that  the  echo  of  Grant's  victorious  cannon 
proclaimed  the  emancipation  of  the  soul,  of  conscience,  and  of  labor,  when  the 
lash  was  about  to  drop  from  the  hand  of  the  taskmaster,  when  the  former  hut 
of  the  slave  was  about  to  be  converted  inlo  a  home — at  the  moment  that  the 
stars  of  the  Union,  bright  and  resplendent  with  the  gladdening  light  of  liberty, 
waved  triumphant  over  the  fallen  ramparts  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond — it 
was  then  that  the  grave  opened  its  jaws,  and  the  strong  and  the  powerful  falls 


654  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

to  rise  no  more.  In  the  midst  of  triumphs  and  acclamations,  a  spectre  appeared 
unto  him,  and,  like  that  of  Caesar  in  the  ides  of  March,  said,  Thou  hast  lived ! 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  enter  into  the  appreciation  of  the  civil  questions 
which  have  disturbed  the  brotherhood  of  the  same  family  in  America.  I  am 
neither  their  judge  nor  their  censor.  I  bow  down  to  a  principle,  that  of  liberty, 
wherever  I  see  it  respected  and  upheld ;  but  at  the  same  time  I  have  learned 
to  love  and  cherish  another,  not  less  sacred  and  glorious — the  principle  of  inde 
pendence  May  the  force  of  progress  in  our  days  bind  again  those  who  have 
been  separated  by  differences  of  opinion,  and  may  it  reconcile  the  ideas  which 
exist  in  the  heart,  the  aspirations,  and  in  the  desire  of  all  generous-minded  men. 

In  this  warfare,  the  proportions  of  which  have  exceeded  everything  that 
has  ever  been  seen  or  heard  of  in  Europe,  the  vanquished  of  to-day  are  worthy 
of  the  great  race  from  which  they  descend.  Grant  and  Lee  are  two  giants 
whom  history  will  in  future  respect  in  an  inseparable  manner.  But  the  hour 
of  peace  was,  perhaps,  about  to  strike,  and  LINCOLN  desired  it  as  the  reward  of 
his  pains,  as  the  great  result  of  so  many  sacrifices.  After  the  exhibition  of 
strength  comes  toleration.  After  the  bloody  fury  of  battles  comes  the  fraternal 
embrace  of  citizens ! 

Such  were  his  manifested  intentions — these  were  the  last  and  noble  wishes 
which  he  had  formed.  And  at  this  very  instant,  perhaps  the  only  one  in  which 
a  noble  man  is  so  powerful  in  doing  good,  and  when  the  soul  rises  above  whole 
legions  as  a  pacificator,  the  hand  of  the  assassin  rises  up  in  treachery  and  cuts 
off  such  mighty  and  noble  purposes.  [Hear,  hear.] 

Were  not  the  American  nation  a  people  grown  old  in  the  painful  strifes 
and  experience  of  government,  who  is  there  that  could  foresee  the  fatal  conse 
quences  of  this  sudden  blow  1  Who  knows  but  that,  in  such  a  case,  the  fiery 
torch  of  civil  war,  in  all  its  horrible  pomp  and  terror,  would  spread  itself  to  the 
furthermost  States  of  the  federation  I  But,  happily,  no  such  calamity  is  to  be 
apprehended.  At  the  time  that  the  press  and  public  opinion  have,  with  justice 
and  severity,  condemned  this  event,  and  given  expression  to  their  horror  at  the 
fatal  crime — sentiments  and  feelings  which  are  common  to  the  whole  of 
Europe — they  pay  homage  to  the  ideas  of  peace  and  conciliation  just  as  if  the 
great  man  who  first  invoked  them  had  not  disappeared  from  the  great  scene  of 
the  world.  And  I  purposely  repeat  the  expression,  great  man,  because,  in 
truth,  great  is  that  man  who,  confiding  alone  in  his  own  merits,  rises  from  pro 
found  obscurity  to  the  greatest  heights,  like  Napoleon,  like  Washington,  like 
LINCOLN  ;  who  elevate  themselves  to  the  heights  of  power  and  of  greatness,  not 
in  virtue  of  the  chances  of  birth  or  of  a  noble  descent,  but  by  the  prestige  of 
his  own  actions,  by  that  nobility  which  begins  and  ends  in  themselves,  and 
which  is  solely  the  work  of  their  own  hands.  [Cheers.  Hear,  hear.] 

The  man  who  makes  himself  great  and  famous  by  his  own  acts  and  by  his 
own  genius  is  more  to  be  envied  than  he  who  was  born  among  inherited 


EXPRESSIONS  OF   CONDOLENCE  AND   SYMPATHY.  655 

escutcheons  of  nobility.  LINCOLN  belongs  to  that  privileged  race — to  that 
aristocracy.  In  infancy  his  energetic  soul  was  tempered  in  poverty.  In  youth 
labor  inspired  him  with  the  love  of  liberty  and  respect  for  the  rights  of  men. 
Up  to  the  age  of  twenty-two  educated  in  adversity,  with  his  hands  hardened 
by  honorable  labor ;  while  resting  from  the  fatigues  of  daily  toil,  drinking  in 
from  the  inspired  pages  of  the  Bible  the  lessons  of  the  gospel ;  and  in  the 
ephemeral  leaves  of  the  public  journals,  which  the  morning  brings  forth  and  the 
evening  disperses,  the  first  rudiments  of  that  instruction  which  is  subsequently 
ripened  by  solitary  meditation.  Light  gradually  and  gently  illuminated  that 
soul.  The  wings  with  which  it  took  its  flight  then  expanded  and  strengthened; 
the  chrysalis  felt  one  bright  day  the  rays  of  the  sun  which  called  it  into  life ;  it 
broke  through  its  bonds,  and  rose  up  from  its  humble  condition  to  those  lumin 
ous  spheres  where  a  higher  destiny  was  awaiting  its  approach.  The  farmer,  the 
laborer,  the  shepherd,  like  Cincinnatus,  abandoned  his  plough  half-buried  in  the 
rarth,  and,  as  a  legislator  in  his  native  State,  and  subsequently  in  the  national 
Congress,  he  prepared  in  the  public  tribunal  to  become  one  day  the  popular 
chief  of  many  millions  of  people — the  defender  of  the  holy  principle  which 
Wilberforce  inaugurated.  What  strifes,  what  agitated  scenes,  what  a  series  of 
herculean  works  and  incalculable  sacrifices  are  involved  and  represented  by 
their  glorious  results  in  these  four  years  of  warfare  and  government. 

Armies  in  the  field,  such  as  ancient  history  speaks  not  of!  Immense  bat 
tles,  during  which  the  sun  rises  and  sets  two  and  three  times  before  victory 
declares  itself  on  either  side !  Heavy  marches,  where  thousands  of  victims, 
whole  legions  covered  with  their  dead  every  foot  of  conquered  ground  !  Inva 
sions,  the  daring  and  dangers  whereof  far  surpass  the  records  of  Attila  and  the 
Huns  !  What  awful  obsequies  for  the  scourge  of  slavery  !  What  a  terrible  and 
salutary  lesson  has  this  people,  still  rich  and  vigorous  in  youth,  given  to  the 
timid  scruples  of  ancient  Europe,  now  the  battle-field  of  principles  likewise 
sacred !  These  were  the  beacons,  the  landmarks,  which  guided  his  grand 
career.  If  the  sword  was  the  instrument  in  his  hands,  yet  liberty,  inspiration,  and 
the  courage  which  were  the  outgrowth  of  his  principles  were,  equally  effective 
Trampling  down  the  thorns  on  his  path,  guiding  his  steps  amidst  the  tears  and 
the  blood  of  so  many  holocausts,  he  still  lived  to  see  the  promised  land  !  He  was 
not  permitted  to  plant  on  that  soil  the  auspicious  olive-branch  of  peace  and 
concord.  When  he  was  about  to  reunite  the  loosened  bond  of  the  Union : 
when  he  was  about  to  infuse  into  the  body  of  his  country  the  vivifying  spirit 
of  free  institutions,  after  collecting  and  reuniting  its  dispersed  and  bloody  mem 
bers;  when  the  standard  of  the  republic,  its  funeral  dirges  ended,  its  agonies  of 
pride  and  defeat  silenced  and  subsided,  was  about  to  rise  again  and  to  spread 
its  glorious  folds  over  a  reconciled  people,  purified  and  cleansed  from  the  stain 
of  slavery — the  great  athlete  stepped  in  the  ring  and  fell,  thus  proving  that, 
after  all,  he  was  but  uurtul '  [Hear,  hear,  hear.  Applause  1 


656  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

I  think  this  brief  and  hurried  sketch  is  quite  sufficient  for  the  occasion. 
The  Chamber  being  by  its  nature,  by  duty  and  by  organization,  not  only  the 
conservator  but  the  faithful  warden  of  traditions  and  principle,  will  not  hesitate 
to  take  part  in  the  demonstration  which  the  elective  Chamber  has  already 
adopted,  thus  following  the  example  of  all  the  enlightened  parliaments  of 
Europe.  Silence  in  the  presence  of  such  criminal  attempts  can  only  be  main 
tained  by  such  senates  as  are  dumb  and  void  of  elevated  sentiments  and  aspira 
tions.  [Hear,  hear.] 

By  voting  the  present  motion  the  Chamber  of  Peers  takes  a  part  in  the 
feelings  of  pain  now  experienced  by  all  civilized  nations.  The  crime  which 
has  closed  the  career  of  LINCOLN — a  martyr  to  the  noble  principles  of  which 
this  epoch  has  reason  to  be  proud — is  almost,  is  essentially  a  regicide,  and  a 
monarchical  country  cannot  but  abhor  and  condemn  it.  The  descendants  of 
those  men  who  were  the  first  in  the  sixteenth  century  to  reveal  to  Europe  the 
new  road  which,  across  stormy  and  unknown  seas,  opened  the  gates  of  the 
eastern  world,  must  not  be  the  last  to  bow  down  before  the  grave  of  a  great, 
citizen  and  a  great  magistrate,  who  himself  piloted  his  people  through  terrible 
tempests  and  succeeded  in  leading  them  in  triumph  over  the  fallen  ramparts  of 
slavery's  stronghold.  Let  each  people  and  each  era  have  its  task  and  its  share 
of  glory.  Let  each  illustrious  citizen  have  his  crown  of  laurel  or  his  civic 
crown.  [Hear,  hear.  Applause.] 

The  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  COUNT  D'AviLA.  As  a  peer  of  the  realm 
he  takes  part  in  this  noble  manifestation ;  as  minister  of  the  Crown  he  had 
already  done  as  much  in  his  own  name  at  first,  when  mere  rumors  are  circu 
lated  that  the  crime  had  been  committed,  and  again  after  having  received  the 
order  of  his  Majesty,  as  soon  as  no  doubt  unfortunately  existed  on  the  subject, 
in  order  to  show  what  were  the  sentiments  of  the  Portugese  government. 

Mr.  REBELLO  DA  SILVA.  Mr.  Speaker :  I  am  rejoiced  to  hear  the  words 
of  the  minister  of  finance  and  of  foreign  affairs.  They  give  evidence  that  the 
government  has  acted  in  this  affair  with  that  propriety  and  promptitude  which 
its  duty  indicated,  and  which  are  inspired  by  noble  feelings.  I  shall  now  lay 
on  the  table  my  motion  of  order,  as  follows : 

"The  Chamber  of  Peers  deplores,  with  the  most  sincere  feelings  of  pain, 
the  criminal  act  which  has  just  thrown  into  mourning  the  sons  of  a  great  nation, 
by  the  death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  Mr.  LINCOLN, 
who  died  a  martyr  to  his  duty. 

"L.  A.  REBELLO  DA  SILVA." 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Chamber  has  heard  the  reading  of  this  motion  ;  I  do 
not  consider  it  necessary  to  have  it  again  read  from  the  table,  as  it  would  not 
have  a  better  effect  than  when  read  by  its  author.  [Hear,  hear  ] 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       657 

Mr.  REBELLO  DA  SILVA.  The  Count  d'Avila  has  likewise  signed  the 
motion. 

The  SPEAKER.  All  the  worthy  peers  who  approve  of  the  motion  will  be 
pleased  to  indicate  as  much. 

It  was  unanimously  approved. 

The  COUNT  D'AVILA.  I  request  that  it  be  recorded  in  the  minutes  that 
the  voting  was  unanimous.  [Hear,  hear.] 


[Translation.] 

HOUSE  OF  DEPUTIES. — SESSION  OF  MAY  3,  1865. 

The  PRESIDENT.  The  proposal  just  placed  on  the  table  by  the  deputy, 
Mr.  Medeiros,  will  now  be  read.  It  is  as  follows : 

"Proposal. — I  move  that  the  House  do  insert  in  its  minutes  a  significant 
expression  of  the  profound  emotion  with  which  it  received  the  news  of  the 
barbarous  assassination  committed  on  the  person  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  the  President 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  that  the  worthy  representative  of  that 
republic  at  this  court  be  respectfully  informed  of  the  deliberation  of  the  House 
on  this  subject. 

"The  Deputy  HENRIQUE  FERREIRA  DE  PAULA  MEDEIROS. 

""HOUSE  OF  SESSIONS,  May  3,  1865." 

The   Minister  of  Public  Works,  Mr.  CARLOS   BENTO.     I  do  not  know 
whether  the  motion  is  admitted,  but  it  appears  to  me  that,  from  its  very  nature, 
it  is  of  an  urgent  and  unexceptional  character.     On  my  part  I  do  not  hesitate, 
in  the  name  of  the  government,  in  sharing  such  a  noble  and  feeling  manifesta 
tion  as  the  one  contained  in  the  proposal. 

We  are  all  unanimous  in  common  with  the  civilized  nations  of  Europe  in 
condemning  an  act  which  has  excited  the  indignation  of  the  whole  people  with 
out  respect  to  party  distinctions.  All  and  every  individual  reprobates  the  fatal 
deed  which  has  taken  place  in  the  United  States. 

I  willingly  take  part  in  the  expression  of  the  vote  contained  in  the  pro 
posal.  I  feel  convinced  that  the  Portuguese  Parliament  will  not  hesitate  one 
moment  in  adopting  the  manifestation  of  such  becoming  sentiments.  [Hear, 
hear.] 

Mr.  SANT'ANNA  E  VASCONCELLOS.  I  thank  the  illustrious  deputy,  the 
author  of  the  motion,  for  having  brought  it  forward,  and  I  do  so  from  my  whole 
heart. 

Mr.  PAULA  MEDEIROS.     I  thank  the  noble  deputy  for  his  expressions. 

83 


658  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Mr.  SANT'ANNA  E  VASCONCELLOS.  If  the  disastrous  war  which  has  existed 
in  America  during  the  last  three  or  four  years  has  a  justification,  it  is  to  be  found 
in  the  one  grand  and  noble  motive  which  has  dominated  throughout,  the  aboli 
tion  of  slavery.  The  man  who  has  just  fallen  a  victim  to  the  assassination 
which  we  all  deplore  maintained  that  noble  and  sublime  idea.  In  view  of  the 
fact,  which  is  in  itself  so  much  to  be  deplored,  and  in  presence  of  the  great  and 
persistent  idea  of  that  great  citizen,  we  cannot  refrain  from  being  unanimous  in 
voting  the  motion. 

The  MINISTER  OF  PUBLIC  WORKS.  I  spoke  in  the  name  of  the  govern 
ment,  and  I  can  assure  the  house  that  the  government  has  already  tendered 
those  manifestations  which  its  duty  and  its  feelings  clearly  indicated.  I  con 
gratulate  myself  on  the  fact  that  the  Parliament  was  allowed  the  opportunity, 
by  a  spontaneous  initiative,  of  manifesting  its  sentiments. 

On  putting  the  motion  to  the  vote,  it  was  carried  unanimously. 


Count  d'Avila  to  Mr.  Harvey. 

[Translation.  ] 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE  FOR  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 

May  G,  1865. 

I  have  the  honor  of  handing  you  copies  enclosed  of  a  communication 
addressed  to  me  by  the  secretary  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  under  yester 
day's  date,  and  of  the  motion  referred  to  in  said  communication,  which  was 
presented  in  the  session  of  the  3d  instant,  and  voted  unanimously,  manifesting 
the  sentiments  of  said  Chamber  in  regard  to  the  horrible  deed  committed  on 
the  person  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America. 

While  requesting  you  to  bring  these  documents  before  your  government, 
it  is  my  duty  to  inform  you  that  his  Majesty's  government,  immediately  that  it 
was  informed  of  an  event  which  has  saddened  a  nation  whose  destinies  had 
been  confided  to  so  illustrious  a  magistrate,  issued  the  needful  instructions  to 
his  Majesty's  minister  at  the  United  States,  with  a  view  to  express  to  the 
American  government  the  profound  regret  with  which  his  Majesty  the  King 
and  his  government  received  the  news  of  that  event. 

I  avail  of  this  opportunity  to  reiterate  the  assurances  of  my  most  distin 
guished  consideration. 

CONDE  D'AVILA. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY  659 

Count  d'  Avila  to  Mr.  Harvey 

[Translation.  J 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE  FOR  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 

May  12,  1865. 

In  addition  to  my  note,  dated  6th  instant,  I  have  the  honor  to  hand  you 
enclosed  a  copy  of  the  communication  which,  under  date  of  9th  instant,  was 
sent  to  me  by  the  vice-president  of  the  Chamber  of  the  Peers  of  the  realm,  as 
well  as  of  the  document,  a  copy  of  which  accompanied  it,  containing  the  motion 
made  in  the  session  of  the  5th  instant,  by  the  worthy  Peer  Luis  Augusto  Rc- 
bello  da  Silva — a  motion  in  which  I  took  part  as  a  peer  of  the  realm,  and  which 
was  carried  unanimously,  to  the  effect  of  having  it  recorded  in  the  minutes — 
how  deep  was  the  pain  experienced  at  the  news  of  the  horrible  crime  perpe 
trated  on  the  person  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States. 

In  the  aforesaid  document  you  will  find  that  part  of  the  minutes  which 
refers  to  the  subject ;  and  I  have  to  request  that  you  will  be  pleased  to  make 
known  to  your  government  the  manifestations  of  said  Chamber  on  an  event 
which  all  so  deeply  deplore. 

I  avail  of  this  opportunity  to  renew  the  assurances  of  my  most  distin 
guished  consideration. 

COUNT  D' AVILA. 

JAMES  E.  HARVEY,  Esq.,  Sfc.,  tyc.,  Sfc. 


[Translation.] 
CHAMBER  OF  WORTHY  PEERS  OF  THE  REALM. 

MOST  EXCELLENT  SIR  :  The  Chamber  of  Peers  of  the  realm  having  unan 
imously  resolved,  in  its  session  of  the  5th  instant,  and  on  motion  of  the  worthy 
Peer  Luis  Augusto  Kcbello  da  Silva,  in  which  the  worthy  Peer  Count  d' Avila 
look  part,  to  record  in  its  minutes  the  expression  of  great  pain  which  the  Cham 
ber  felt  at  the  news  of  the  horrible  crime  committed  in  the  United  States  of 
America  on  the  person  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  their  illustrious  President,  I  have  now 
the  honor  of  handing  your  excellency  the  enclosed  copy,  containing  the  afore 
said  motion,  and  that  part  of  the  minutes  which  relates  to  the  subject,  in  order 
that  your  excellency  may,  through  such  channel  as  may  be  deemed  most  appro. 


660  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

priate,  cause  the  same  to  be  made  known  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States. 

My  God  preserve  your  excellency ! 

COUNT  DE  CASTRO,  Vice-President. 

PALACE  OF  THE  CORTES,  May  9,  1865. 

His  Excellency  the  COUNT  n'AviLA, 

Minister  and  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE  FOK  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 

May  12,  1865. 
True  copy : 

EMILIO  ACHILLES  MONTEVERDE. 


Count  d'Avila  to  Mr.  Harvey. 

[Translation.  ] 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE  FOR  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 

May  16,  1865. 

I  have  the  honor  of  handing  you,  for  your  information,  the  enclosed  copy 
of  a  despatch  which  the  secretary  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  now  dissolved, 
addressed  to  me  under  date  of  the  13th  instant,  and  likewise  of  the  motion 
which  accompanied  the  same,  made  by  one  of  its  members,  and  unanimously 
voted,  on  the  occasion  of  communicating  to  the  said  Chamber  the  note  which 
you  addressed  to  the  house  on  the  10th  instant. 

I  avail  of  this  opportunity  to  renew  the  assurances  of  my  most  distin 
guished  consideration. 

COUNT  D'AVILA. 
JAMES  E.  HARVEY,  Esq.,  fyc.,  Sfc.,  Sfc. 


[Translation.] 

BUREAU  OF  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  CHAMBER  OF  DEPUTIES, 

Pa/ace  of  the  Cortes,  May  13,  1865. 

MOST  EXCELLENT  SIR:  I  have  the  honor  of  transmitting  to  your  excel 
lency,  for  your  information,  the  enclosed  copy  of  the  motion,  presented  in  this 
Chamber  by  one  of  its  members,  and  voted  unanimously,  on  the  occasion  of 
communicating  to  the  house  the  note  from  the  legation  of  the  United  States 
of  America  at  this  court,  in  reply  to  the  manifestation  of  feeling  and  regret 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  6(51 

addressed  to  said  legation  on  the  atrocious  assassination  of  the  President  of  that 
republic. 

May  God  preserve  your  excellency.  . 

JOAQUIN  XAVIER  PINTO  DA  SILVA, 

Deputy  and  Secretary. 
His  Excellency  the  MINISTER  AND  SECRETARY 

OF  STATE  FOR  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE  FOR  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 

May  16,  1865. 
True  copy : 

EMILIO  ACHILLES  MONTEVERDE. 


I  move  that  it  be  recorded  in  the  minutes  that  the  Chamber  has  heard, 
with  every  demonstration  of  true  respect  and  profound  sympathy,  the  note 
which  has  just  been  read  at  the  table  and  addressed  to  the  house  by  the  min 
ister  resident  of  the  United  States  of  America  at  this  court. 

I  further  move  that  the  government  be  informed  of  this  deliberation,  in 
order  to  communicate  the  same  to  the  distinguished  minister. 

JACINTHO  AUGUSTO  DE  SANT'ANNA  E  VASCONCELLOS. 

BUREAU  OF  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  CHAMBER  OF  DEPUTIES, 

May  13,  1865. 
Correct  copy : 

POSSIDONIO  A.  P.  PICALUGA. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE  FOR  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 

May  16,  1865. 
True  copy : 

EMILIO  ACHILLES  MONTEVERDE. 


[Translation.] 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE  FOR  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 

May  1,  1865. 

The  government  of  his  Majesty  has  been  informed  of  the  horrible  crime 
of  which,  unhappily,  President  LINCOLN  and  his  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward, 
have  been  victims. 

So  sad  an  event,  clothing  in  mourning  a  nation  over  whose  destinies  that 
distinguished  magistrate  presided,  could  not  but  be  profoundly  felt  by  the 
Portuguese  nation,  connected  as  it  ever  has  been  in  the  closest  ties  of  friend 
ship  and  good  understanding  with  the  United  States. 

The  part  which  his  Majesty's  government  takes  in  the  grief  which,  with 
reason,  oppresses  the  American  nation,  and  the  indignation  which  that  crime. 


662  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

has  given  cause  for,  have  led  me  to  direct  you,  by  order  of  his  Majesty  the 
King,  to  make  known,  without  loss  of  time  and  in  the  most  express  terms,  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States  the  feelings  of  true  sorrow  with  which 
our  sovereign  lord  and  his  government  are  penetrated  by  so  fatal  an  occurrence. 

God  save  your  excellency  ! 

CONDE  D'AVILA. 

Sefior  JOAQUIN  CESAR  DE  FIGANIERE  E  MORAO. 


[Translation.] 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE  FOR  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 

May  8,  1865. 

In  addition  to  my  despatch  of  the  1st  instant,  I  send  you  the  enclosed 
copies,  as  well  of  the  despatch  which  the  secretary  of  the  Chamber  of  Depu 
ties  sent  to  me  under  date  of  the  5th,  as  of  the  resolution  to  which  said  despatch 
refers,  presented  at  the  sittings  on  the  3d,  unanimously  adopted,  tending  to 
manifest  the  regret  of  said  Chamber  at  the  horrible  crime  committed  on  the 
person  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  Of  these 
documents  you  will  please  to  give  knowledge  to  that  government,  stating  that 
they  were  communicated  to  Mr.  Harvey  on  the  6th  of  this  month. 

Their  Majesties  and  highnesses  are  going  on  happily  without  change  in 
their  important  health. 

God,  &c. ! 

CONDE  D'AVILA. 

Seflor  JOAQUIN  CESAR  DE  FIGANIERE  E  MORAO. 


[Translation.] 

SECRETARIAT  OF  THE  CHAMBER  OF  DEPUTIES, 

Palace  of  the  Cortes,  May  5,  1865. 

MOST  EXCELLENT  SIR:  There  having  been  represented  by  the  Sefior  Dep 
uty  Henrique  Ferreira  de  Paula  Medeiros,  at  the  session  of  this  Chamber  on 
the  3d  instant,  a  resolution  tending  to  give  a  manifestation  of  feeling  in  regard 
to  the  wicked  assassination  of  the  worthy  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  I  have  the  honor  to  send  you  a  copy  of  the  said  resolution,  to  the  end 
that  you  may  cause  it  to  reach  the  knowledge  of  the  representative  of  that  gov 
ernment  at  this  court,  with  the  declaration,  that  it  may  have  its  full  effect,  that 
it  was  unanimously  approved  by  the  Chamber. 
God  save  your  excellency ! 

JOAQUIN  XAVIER  PINTO  DA  SILVA, 

Deputy  Secretary. 
His  Excellency  the  MINISTER  AND  SECRETARY 

OF  STATE  FOR  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        663 

Mr.  Harvey  to  Mr.  Scward. 

No.  336.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Lisbon,  April  28,  1865. 

SIR  :  Mr.  Adams  telegraphed  me  last  night  from  London  the  terrible  news 
of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  of  an  atrocious  attempt  upon 
the  life  of  Mr.  Seward  on  the  same  evening,  the  result  of  which  is  not  yet 
known  here,  by  the  hand  of  another  assassin.  These  events  have  excited  the 
profoundest  emotion  in  all  the  circles  of  Lisbon,  and  have  called  out  general 
and  particular  expressions  of  sympathy  and  respect  from  the  government,  the 
diplomatic  body  and  the  community. 

I  do  not  trust  myself  to  speak  of  this  great  crime  at  a  moment  of  mingled 
sorrow  and  prostration  ;  but  I  may  be  allowed  to  say,  that  after  the  grief  natural 
to  such  an  occasion,  the  sense  of  humiliation  at  the  thought  that  an  atrocity  so 
awful  could  by  possibility  be  perpetrated  in  a  country  like  ours  is  that  which 
most  masters  and  overwhelms  me. 

Christian  charity  may,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  teach  us  to  bow  down 
before  this  stern  trial,  but  the  stain  which  it  inflicts  cannot  soon  be  wiped  out 
from  a  name  heretofore  untarnished  by  any  such  act  of  infamy. 

If  there  was  anything  wanting  to  complete  the  fame  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  it 
may  be  found  in  the  crown  of  martyrdom  with  which  an  eventful  career,  in  a 
most  eventful  epoch,  has  been  closed,  to  the  regret  of  a  whole  people,  who 
shared  his  convictions,  honored  his  virtues,  and  lament  his  "  taking  off." 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  E.  HARVEY. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State 


Mr.  Harvey  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  338.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Lisbon,  May  11,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  papers  will  bring  to  your  view  the  proceedings  of  the  Cortes  in 
regard  to  the  recent  melancholy  event  which  has  so  much  shocked  the  civil 
ized  world. 

The  note  of  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  only  communicates  the  action 
of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  because  the  motion  in  that  body  specially  required 
it  to  be  done,  while  that  in  the  Peers  did  not  do  so.  I  have  thought  it  best, 
however,  to  send  a  translated  copy  of  the  lull  proceedings  in  both  branches  of 
the  Cortes,  in  order  that  their  spirit  may  be  the  better  appreciated.  The  tardy 


664  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

publication  of  the  official  journal  does  not  permit  at  this  time  (on  the  eve  of 
the  departure  of  the  mails)  such  a  translation  as  I  desired  to  furnish,  but  the 
general  tone  of  the  speeches  is  fairly  reported.  That  of  Mr.  Rebello  da  Silva, 
in  the  Peers,  was  remarkably  eloquent  and  touching,  and  has  received  very 
imperfect  justice  at  the  hands  of  the  translator.  In  the  pressure  of  the  moment 
it  has  been  found  impracticable  to  translate  one  of  the  addresses,  which  is  com 
municated  in  the  original. 

It  seemed  to  me  only  becoming  to  make  an  acknowledgment  of  the  note 
of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 

Every  manifestation  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  late  President  LIN 
COLN  which  could  be  expected  or  desired  has  been  made  by  this  government 
and  people,  both  in  an  official  and  in  a  private  manner.  His  Majesty  the  King, 
immediately  upon  being  informed  of  the  sad  event,  sent  me  the  kindest  words 
of  sympathy  and  regret.  Every  member  of  the  government  called  in  person 
to  express  similar  sentiments,  and  when  our  ships  of  war,  the  Niagara  and 
Kearsarge,  exhibited  the  customary  signs  of  mourning,  on  Sunday,  Monday,  and 
Tuesday  last,  the  Portuguese  national  ships  not  only  united  in  a  similar  observ 
ance,  but  Castle  Belem  also  responded  to  all  the  salutes,  by  order  of  the 
authorities,  and  without  any  notice  or  request  on  our  part. 

While  upon  this  subject  I  may  be  permitted  to  remark,  as  quite  worthy 
of  notice,  that  the  popular  legislative  bodies  of  the  different  states  of  Europe 
have  taken  the  initiative  in  nearly  all  the  expressions  of  public  sympathy.  Such 
a  tribute  was  not  only  fitting  in  itself  towards  our  lamented  President,  but  the 
fact  is  significant  of  a  mighty  change  and  progress  in  ideas  and  usages,  as  it  is 
of  a  coming  time,  in  the  near  future,  when  the  peoples  of  Europe,  will  claim 
the  right  to  assert  those  great  principles  of  political  and  personal  liberty  which 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  illustrated  so  well,  and  for  which  he  may  be  said  to  have 
even  made  a  sacrifice  of  his  life. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  E.  HARVEY. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation  from  the  Commercio  da  Lisboa.  ] 

An  address  was  delivered  to-day  to  the  minister  of  the  United  States  at 
this  court,  expressing  the  deep  feelings  of  pain  and  regret  with  which  the  news 
of  the  death  of  citizen  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States, 
was  received  at  Lisbon. 

This  address,  which  received  its  inspiration  from  Mr.  Jose  de  Seabra  Pes- 
soa,  was  proposed  at  the  association  (ccntro)  by  the  member  Costa  Pereira, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       665 

and  signed  by  the  members  J.  Pessoa,  Costa  Pereiru,  E.  Coetlio,  Brito  Aranha, 
Vieira  da  Silva,  and  Gouveia. 

At  11.30  the  minister  received  the  deputation,  composed  of  Messieurs 
Vieira  da  Silva,  Gonzalves,  Costa  Pereira,  and  Jose  Seabra  Pessoa.  His  excel 
lency,  in  returning  thanks  for  this  spontaneous  manifestation,  addressed  the 
committee  in  most  agreeable  and  very  flattering  terms. 


[Translation  from  the  Jorual  du,  Lisboa.  ] 

A  deputation  from  the  "Association  for  Promoting  the  Improvement  of 
the  Laboring  Classes"  delivered  to-day,  about  1 1  o'clock,  into  the  hands  of  the 
minister  of  the  United  States,  an  address  of  condolence  voted  at  a  meeting  of 
the  members,  on  the  death  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  that 
republic. 

The  minister  received  the  deputation  with  every  mark  of  consideration, 
declaring  that  he  would  immediately  transmit  the  autograph  message  to  his 
government;  and  he  thanked  the  association  for  this  proof  of  good  feeling  and 
fraternity  between  the  people  of  the  two  nations. 


[Translation.  ] 

SIR  :  All  the  civilized  countries,  all  the  liberal  men,  are  at  present  under 
the  most  affecting  impression.  The  crime  that  struck  with  horror  an  illustri 
ous  people,  worthy  of  universal  consideration,  was  condemned  by  all  those  for 
whom  the  word  liberty  is  the  strongest  chain  than  can  unite  them.  From  all 
quarters  eloquent  words  were  heard  condemning  the  monstrous  attempt  by 
which  the  United  States  of  America  were  deprived  of  the  most  useful  citizen 
that  in  modern  times  has  been  elevated  by  that  country  to  the  high  dignity  of 
President  of  the  United  States.  To  these  eloquent  words  of  empires  and 
nations,  of  people  and  states,  are  joined  the  humble  homage  of  the  Centra  Pro- 
motor  dos  Methoramentos  das  Classes  Laboriosas  de  Lisboa,  that  under  the 
deepest  grief  shows  his  feelings  when  acquainted  that  LINCOLN,  the  emancipator 
of  the  slaves,  fell  a  victim  to  the  stroke  of  a  cowardly  assassin. 

The  Centro  Promotor  could  not  do  otherwise  than  to  partake  the  general 
feelings,  for  his  ideas  were  offended  with  the  crime  by  which  America  was 
deprived  of  such  an  illustrious  man,  mankind  of  a  devotional  friend,  and  the 
noble  and  magnanimous  enterprise  of  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  of  a  strong 
and  generous  arm.  The  endeavor  in  which  LINCOLN  was  engaged  as  a  repre 
sentative  of  his  people's  ideas,  which  he  sustained  for  so  long  a  time  with  the 
84 


666  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

most  heroic  deeds,  meant  the  extinction  of  the  most  reluctant  stain  with  which 
the  banners  of  some  states  are  yet  overshadowed  ;  it  means  the  abolishment  of 
slavery,  the  emancipation  of  the  black  race,  the  transformation  of  the  slave 
labor  into  free  labor.  To  this  sacred  idea  the  Centro  should  render  his  most 
respectful  homage,  because  in  peaceful  struggles  he  incessantly  works  to  destroy 
the  few  vestiges  of  slavery  that  may  yet  press  upon  the  laborious  classes.  The 
Centro,  resolute  defender  of  those  who  labor,  does  not  see  in  the  black  race  but 
men  who  ought  to  be  protected  by  free  labor,  and  elevated  to  that  rank  which 
cannot  be  contested  before  God  by  any  race.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  the  rep 
resentative  of  these  ideas.  Providence  designated  him  as  a  brilliant  light  for 
guiding  the  noble  American  people  to  the  conquest  of  this  victory  of  civiliza 
tion.  It  was  he  that  as  an  instrument  of  divine  justice  made  the  utmost  efforts 
to  extinguish  upon  earth  the  last  traces  which  divide  men  from  men,  and  which 
do  not  permit  that  its  fruits  may  be  only  the  share  of  work,  and  not  of  a  priv 
ileged  race.  How  could  the  Centro  forget  this  unlucky  event  that  covered  with 
mourning  a  whole  people,  with  whom  the  world  condole  in  such  painful  suffer 
ing  1  The  conquest  was  made.  The  slave  was  free.  It  was  not  without  blood 
that  this  holocaust  was  consummated.  But  never  liberty  nor  social  rights  were 
acquired  without  a  great  and  immense  martyrdom.  The  Roman  slave  deserved 
the  most  precious  blood  that  has  been  spread  upon  earth.  This  is  the  history 
of  all  the  conquests  of  liberty.  It  approached  the  time  when,  under  the  pro 
tection  of  peace,  should  be  proved  the  value  that  has  for  the  propriety  and 
advancement  of  nations  the  liberty  of  labor  upon  the  work  of  the  slave.  LIN 
COLN  could  not  enjoy  the  result  of  his  efforts,  and  show  to  his  country  where 
his  enterprising  character  could  arrive.  Those  who  suffered  with  America  this 
irreparable  loss  must  have  resignation,  and  let  it  be  a  lenitive  to  our  grief;  the 
well-founded  hope  that  LINCOLN'S  work  does  not  stop,  and  that  among  that  free 
people  shall  appear  as  many  statesmen  as  are  required  for  this  noble  cause  to 
complete  its  triumph. 

These  are,  sir,  the  vows  of  the  Centro;  this  is  the  manifestation  of  his 
feelings,  by  the  fatal  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  the  devoted  friend  to  his  people,  the  faithful  follower  of  the  honorable 
and  liberal  traditions  of  the  country  where  Washington  and  Franklin  lived. 

Centro  Promotor  dos  Methoramentos  das  Classes  Laboriosas  Office,  June 
11,  1865 

The  President, 

FRANCISCO  VIERRA  DA  SILVA. 
The  Secretaries, 

MIGUEL  JUSTINIANO  CORREA  E  SILVA. 
ALFREDO  AUGUSTO  CORREA. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.  607 

Governor  Amarol  to  Mr.  Jones. 

[Translation.] 

No.  72.]  EXPEDIENT  OF  FORMGN  AFFAIRS, 

Macao,  June  23,  18G5. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  official 
letters,  with  date  of  yesterday,  communicating  to  me,  in  one,  your  receipt 
of  official  confirmation  from  your  government  of  the  death  of  his  Excellency 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  and,  in  the  other,  notify 
ing  me  that  the  sloop-of-war  of  your  nation  anchored  in  this  port  desires 
to  make  the  usual  funeral  demonstrations  for  such  a  sad  event  to-morrow,  the 
24th,  current. 

At  the  first  intelligence  of  this  disgraceful  event  I  expressed  immediately 
to  you  the  profound  grief  of  which  I  was  possessed.  Repeating  now  this  mani 
festation,  I  am  sure  that  you  will  receive  the  same  as  a  sincere  expression  of 
the  good  and  cordial  friendship  existing  between  the  peoples  of  the  United 
States  and  Portugal,  and  no  less  as  witness  of  my  personal  and  lively  sympathy 
toward  your  noble  nation. 

That  was  a  doubly  deplorable  attempt  which  deprived  a  great  country  of 
its  worthy  chief  just  at  the  time  when  he  had  achieved  the  end  of  a  civil  war 
which  had  for  so  long  a  period  ravaged  it. 

This  fatal  occurrence  will  serve,  however,  to  render  still  more  grateful  and 
cherished  the  memory  of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  to  his  countrymen 
for  the  eminent  services  which  he  bestowed,  even  to  the  sacrifice  of  his  own 
life. 

Furthermore,  expressing  my  sorrow  that  his  excellency  the  Secretary  of 
State,  Mr.  Sevvard,  and  his  son,  Frederick  Seward,  should  have  been  made 
victims  of  this  attempt,  I  congratulate  with  you  over  the  comforting  intelligence 
that  they  are  thought  to  be  beyond  peril  of  life. 

It  remains  for  me  to  say  to  you  that  to-morrow  the  forts  of  the  city  and 
the  lorcha  of  war  Amazona  will  have  their  ensigns  at  half-mast,  and  the  Guia 
fort  will  accompany  this  demonstration  of  grief  with  discharges  of  cannon,  a  gun 
every  half-hour. 

God  preserve  you. 

J.  M.  COELIIO  DO  AMAROL, 

Governor  of  Macao. 

W.  E.  JONES,  Esq., 

Consul  dos  Estados  Unidos  em  Macao. 


(>68  ASSASSINATION    OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

PEBTJ. 


[Translation.] 

MINISTRY  OF  FOREIGN  RELATIONS, 

Lima,  May  19,  1865. 

The  undersigned,  minister  of  foreign  relations  of  Peru,  has  been  impressed 
with  the  most  profound  grief  by  the  note  of  his  excellency  the  envoy  extra 
ordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  of  North  America, 
concerning  the  painful  death  of  the  President  of  that  republic,  caused  by  a 
pistol-shot  discharged  upon  him  by  an  assassin. 

The  deed  in  itself  and  by  the  circumstances  which  surrounded  it  will  be 
branded  in  the  history  of  these  times  with  the  anathema  of  a  universal  repro 
bation. 

Assuring  his  excellency,  Mr.  Robinson,  that  the  government  of  Peru  fully 
sympathizes  with  the  afflicting  sorrow  which  his  excellency  expresses  for  so 
unhappy  an  event,  I  have  the  honor  to  reiterate  to  him  the  professions  of  his 
very  high  consideration. 

PEDRO  JOSE  CALDERON. 
The  ENVOY  EXTRAORDINARY  AND  MINISTER  PLENIPOTENTIARY 

of  the  United  States  of  North  America. 


[Translation.  ] 

DEPARTMENT  or  FOREIGN  RELATIONS  IN  PERU. 

Juan  Antonio  Pezet,  constitutional  President  of  the  republic  of  Peru,  to  his 
Excellency  tJie  President  of  the  United  States  of  North  America. 

SIR:  I  comply  with  a  necessity  of  my  heart  and  with  the  most  sacred  duty 
in  testifying  to  your  Excellency  the  lively  and  intense  grief  which  I  experienced 
through  the  unhappy  event  which,  on  the  14th  day  of  April  last,  put  an  end 
to  the  existence  of  his  Excellency  the  President  of  your  republic,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN. 

The  very  high  qualities  which  adorned  the  illustrious  dead,  and  among 
those  which  were  surpassing,  his  judgment  as  a  mandatory,  his  valor  displayed 
during  the  heroic  strife  sustained  in  your  country  for  the  space  of  four  years, 
and  his  magnanimity  towards  the  offspring  of  that  great  people,  had  won  for 
him  throughout  the  world,  and  particularly  in  this  republic,  the  purest  sympathy 
and  admiration;  and  the  deplorable  circumstances  of  his  death  have  produced 
in  a  palpable  manner  among  all  my  fellow-citizens  a  sentiment  of  profound  grief, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        669 

which  will  with  difficulty  be  obliterated.  In  the  midst  of  my  sorrow  I  am 
consoled  by  the  well-grounded  hope  which  I  cherish  that  you,  inspired  by  the 
most  ardent  zeal  and  most  intense  love  of  your  country,  will  reorganize  very 
shortly,  for  whose  preservation,  progress,  and  prosperity  I  form  the  most  cordial 
and  sincere  wishes. 

Given  at  government  house,  Lima,  on  the  28th  day  of  the  month  of  May) 

in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1865. 

JUAN  ANTONIO  PEZET 

PEDRO  JOSE  CALDERON, 


[Translation.] 

NEW  YORK,  September  25,  1865. 

SIR  :  A  delay  as  noticeable  as  inexplicable,  which  has  happened  to  one  of 
the  mails  despatched  from  Peru  for  this  republic,  has  been  the  cause  that  only 
on  the  23d  of  this  month  a  despatch  has  reached  me  from  my  government,  in 
which  it  orders  me  to  transmit  to  his  Excellency  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  through  your  excellency  as  the  respected  organ,  the  cabinet  letter 
which  the  President  of  Peru  addresses  to  him,  expressing  the  sentiments  which 
inspired  the  Peruvian  people  and  government  on  the  unhappy  death  of  the 
eminent  citizen,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

I  have  the  honor  to  send  with  this  note,  in  original,  an  authentic  copy  of 
the  said  cabinet  letter,  and  to  ask  your  excellency  to  cause  it  to  reach  its  high 
destination.  I  comply  with  an  ardent  wish  of  my  heart  in  expressing  to  you 
once  more  the  bitter  and  deep  sorrow  with  which  I  have  deplored  the  crime 
of  which  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  this  republic  was  the  victim,  and  the  venera 
tion  in  which  he  will  live  in  my  memory,  as  well  as  in  that  of  almost  all  my 
countrymen,  the  memory  of  the  illustrious  martyr  to  freedom,  civilization,  and 
humanity. 

I  have  the  satisfaction  to  present  myself  to  you  with  all  respect. 

JOSE  ANTONIO  G.  GARCIA. 

The  SECRETARY  OF  STATE,  Washington. 


Manifestation  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  North  America  in  Arequipa, 

Peru. 

AREQUIPA,  June  3,  1865. 

We,  in  accordance  with  the  sincere  and  profound  sympathy  which  actuates 
our  patriotic  hearts,  have  met  together  on  this  occasion  to  express  condolence 
for  the  sad  calamity  which  has  befallen  our  country  in  the  death  of  the  much 
honored  and  beloved  late  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Therefore  we,  with  great  sorrow  for  the  irreparable  loss  with  which  the 


670  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

United  States  have  so   recently  been  afflicted,  1)}'  the  fiendish  and   horrible 
assassination  of  the  late  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN — 

Resolved,  That  in  this  awful  calamity  our  country  not  only  feels  the 
vacancy  of  her  first  magistrate,  but  the  loss  of  the  most  illustrious  and  dis 
tinguished  of  men  in  the  cause  of  the  Union  and  that  of  humanity. 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  family  of  the  lamented 
late  President  in  their  affliction  and  bereavement, 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  sufferings  of  our  eminent 
Secretary  of  State,  the  Hon.  William  H.  Seward,  and  of  his  sons,  caused  by  the 
hand  of  a  desperate  and  inhuman  assassin ;  and  may  Divine  Providence  pre 
serve  their  lives  to  their  families  and  their  country. 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  this  expression  of  our  heartfelt  sympathies  be 
forwarded  to  the  families  of  the  late  President  arid  the  honorable  Secretary  of 
State ;  and  that  the  same  be  published  in  the  papers  of  Panama,  New  York, 
and  Washington. 

EDMUND  HOLLER. 
GEORGE  CAREY. 
S.  K.  G.  NELLIS. 
S.  P.  ALZAMORA. 


Mr.  Robinson  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  305.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Lima,  May  25,  1865 

SIR:  The  steamer  of  the  18th  instant  brought  to  us  the  astounding  intel 
ligence  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  so  much  honored  and  beloved 
by  all  the  American  people,  and  respected  and  esteemed  wherever  justice, 
humanity,  and  civilization  have  their  advocates  and  defenders. 

The  announcement  of  this  horrid  tragedy  was  made  by  the  telegraph  from 
Callao  immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  the  steamer  of  the  English  mail  line, 
which  entered  the  port  with  the  American  flag  at  the  main  at  half-mast.  The 
intelligence  spread  with  electric  rapidity,  but  its  savage  cruelty  and  horrid 
barbarism  staggered  belief,  until  the  arrival  of  passengers  in  Lima  with  copies 
of  the  United  States  newspapers  containing  the  particulars  of  the  awful  tragedy 
convinced  us  of  its  truth. 

The  feeling  of  indignation  which  the  bloody  and  cowardly  act  excited  was 

unanimous,  pervading  all  classes,  as  was  also  the  regret,  that  in  this,  the  hour 

of  their  triumph  over  the  wicked  and  atrocious  rebellion,  the  people  of  the 

•  United  States  should  lose  their  honored  and  revered  chief,  and  civilization, 

justice,  and  religion  a  true,  sincere,  and  devoted  friend. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       071 

Thus  has  passed  away,  by  the  sullen  and  vindictive  shot  of  the  assassin,  a 
statesman  whose  honest  purposes  and  sincere  devotion  to  his  constitutional 
duties  had  triumphed  over  the  dark  and  bloody  conspiracies  of  treason,  and  had 
secured  the  re-establishment  of  law,  order,  and  security.  A  martyr  to  the  cause 
of  humanity,  he  still,  though  dead,  speaks  to  the  hearts  and  affections  of  the 
American  people  in  language  more  eloquent  than  words. 

I  received  no  official  information  of  this  deplorable  event,  but  on  the  19th 
instant  I  communicated  to  the  minister  of  foreign  relations  the  melancholy 
intelligence  in  an  official  note.  On  the  same  day  I  received  a  response  from 
his  excellency,  expressing  detestation  of  the  crime,  and  the  warmest  sympathies 
of  the  Peruvian  government  with  the  American  people  for  the  loss  they  have 
sustained  by  this  afflictive  event. 

On  Saturday,  the  20th,  a  committee  of  the  Chilian  citizens  resident  in  this 
city  waited  upon  me  with  a  letter  of  condolence  at  this  mournful  occurrence 
and  sympathy  for  the  loss  which  the  government  of  the  United  States  and  the 
cause  of  freedom  had  sustained.  The  letter  was  numerously  signed,  and  con 
tained  earnest  and  honest  expressions  of  grief. 

I  expressed  to  the  committee  my  gratitude  for  the  noble  and  generous 
sentiments  of  fraternal  feeling  contained  in  their  note. 

On  the  23d  I  received  from  the  president  of  the  municipality  of  this  city, 
General  Antonio  G.  de  la  Fuente,  a  letter  expressing  the  utter  detestation  of 
the  members  of  that  honorable  corporation  at  the  crime,  and  their  profound 
grief  for  the  loss  sustained  by  the  United  States  and  the  cause  of  freedom 
throughout  the  world. 

In  fact,  all  classes  of  individuals  hastened  to  express  to  me  their  sympa 
thies  for  our  loss,  and  their  utter  abhorrence  of  the  crime  and  the  assassin.  In 
Lima  all  the  flags  on  the  government  houses,  foreign  legations,  and  consulates, 
were  displayed  at  half-mast  for  three  days  following  the  arrival  of  the  news,  and 
no  token  or  manifestation  of  mourning  was  lacking  to  show  that  these  expres 
sions  of  grief  were  sincere,  not  only  for  us  as  a  people,  but  for  the  cause,  the 
most  decided  champion  of  which  had  become  a  martyr  to  his  devotion  to  duty. 

At  Callao  were  the  same  manifestations  of  grief  and  sympathy.  Immedi 
ately  that  the  news  became  known  in  that  city,  although  the  steamer  arrived 
late  in  the  afternoon,  the  flags  upon  the  government  houses,  the  Peruvian  and 
foreign  ships  of  war,  English  and  Spanish,  were  dropped  at  half-mast,  and  on 
the  next  day  at  noon  the  usual  funeral  salutes  were  fired  from  the  United 
States  steamer  St.  Mary's,  accompanied  by  the  sad  responses  from  the  Peruvian, 
English,  and  Spanish  ships  of  war  then  in  port,  and  from  the  fort  of  the  castle 
on  shore. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  despatch  without  tendering  my  own  sympathy  and 
lhat  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  resident  here  and  in  Callao,  to  the 
honorable  Secretary  of  State,  and  expressing  their  horror  at  the  crime  attempted 


672  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

upon  him  and  his  son,  and  the  earnest  hope  for  a  speedy  recovery  from  their 
wounds. 

The  assassination  of  the  President,  and  the  attempted  one  of  the  head 
of  the  Department  of  State,  exhibit  a  conspiracy  at  which  civilization  stands 
aghast,  and  which  for  the  results  it  intended,  as  well  as  for  its  atrocity,  cruelty ; 
barbarism,  and  infamy,  stands  unapproached  and  unapproachable  in  the  annals 
of  history. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHRISTOPHER  ROBINSON. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD,  §c.,  $c.,  $c. 


Mr.  Robinson  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  306.  ]  LEGATION  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Lima,  May  26,  1865. 

SIR  :  Believing  that  the  American  citizens  resident  in  this  capital  and 
vicinity  wished  to  have  an  opportunity  to.  testify  their  sorrow  for  the  great 
calamity  that  has  fallen  upon  our  nation  in  the  lamentable  death  of  President 
LINCOLN,  and  their  horror  and  detestation  of  the  crime  of  which  he  was  the 
victim,  I  invited  them  to  assemble  at  this  legation  on  the  22d  instant  for  that 
purpose. 

On  the  day  designated  a  large  number  of  them  assembled  and  passed  the 
resolutions.  A  profound  sadness  and  grief  pervaded  all  present.  This  solemnity 
of  feeling  made  it  manifest  that  the  nation  had  suffered  a  terrible  misfortune  in 
his  death,  while  the  mode  in  which  it  was  perpetrated  produced  sad  suspicions 
and  gloomy  forebodings  that  others  might  become  victims  to  this  expiring  effort 
of  treason  ;  but  none  expressed  a  doubt  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  our  cause. 
I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHRISTOPHER  ROBINSON. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  §c.,  Sfc.,  Sfc. 


Mr.  Robinson  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

No.  311.]  LEGATION  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Lima,  June  11,  1865. 

SIR  :  Your  despatch  No.  159,  communicating  the  sad  intelligence  of  the 
assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  at  Ford's  theatre,  on  the  evening  of  the 
14th  of  April  last,  and  of  the  horrible  attempt  that  was  made  about  the  same 
time  to  assassinate  the  Secretary  of  State  in  his  own  house,  when  an  invalid  in 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       673 

bed,  suffering  from  injuries  he  had  previously  received  from  the  dangerous 
accident  which  lately  happened  to  him,  and  of  the  assault  on  Mr.  F.  W. 
Seward,  was  received  by  the  steamer  of  the  2d  instant. 

The  same  intelligence  was  received,  communicated  in  the  columns  of  the 
United  States  papers  and  private  letters  by  the  mail  of  the  18th  of  May. 
Though  I  received  no  official  intelligence  by  that  mail,  I  communicated  the 
notice  of  the  President's  death  to  the  minister  of  foreign  relations,  as  related  in 
my  despatch  No.  305,  of  the  date  of  the  28th  of  May.  The  same  despatch 
gives  also  a  narrative  of  the  proceedings  at  Lima  upon  this  melancholy  event. 

I  can  only  add  that  language  has  no  words  sufficiently  significant  to 
express  the  abhorrence  and  detestation  entertained  by  American  citizens  here, 
and  all  other  persons,  of  the  crime  and  its  perpetrator;  and  their  regret  that  he 
whose  policy,  integrity  of  purpose,  and  unwearied  devotion  to  duty  had  been  so 
successful  in  suppressing  this  gigantic  rebellion  should  not  have  lived  to  witness 
the  final  and  conclusive  triumph.  We  feel  that  we  have  lost  a  friend  as  well 
as  a  statesman,  who  in  the  darkest  hour  of  our  bloody  struggle  never  deviated 
from  the  glorious  purpose  of  sustaining  the  Constitution  and  the  government 
against  the  designs  of  heartless  traitors  who  attempted  their  destruction. 

The  legation  is  draped  in  mourning  for  thirty  days,  and  all  our  citizens  will 
wear  crape  upon  the  left  arm  for  the  same  space  of  time. 

Your  order  to  all  officers  and  others  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  Secretary 
of  State,  that  the  same  should  be  worn  by  them  for  six  months,  has  been 
received,  and  will  be  complied  with  by  the  members  of  this  legation. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

CHRISTOPHER  ROBINSON. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTEK, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation.] 

ALCALDIA  MUNICIPAL  OF  LIMA, 

Lima,  May  22,  18G5. 

MOST  EXCELLENT  SIR:  The- honorable  municipality  over  which  I  have  the 
honor  to  preside  has  been  profoundly  affected  at  the  painful  catastrophe  which, 
in  the  person  of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  has  deprived  the  world  of 
an  honest  man,  the  United  States  of  an  unblemished  ruler,  and  liberty  of  its 
most  decided  champion. 

There  is  not  a  single  heart  that  has  remained  indifferent  in  presence  of  so 
heinous  a  crime,  and  the  municipality  of  Lima  would  think  itself  wanting  in 
one  of  its  most  precious  duties — gratitude  to  the  great  men  who  recognize  and 
sustain  the  true  rights  of  humanity — if  it  did  not  hasten  to  manifest  to  your 

85 


674  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

excellency  the  indignation  which  the  crime  has  caused  to  it,  and  the  profound 
grief  which  its  consummation  has  deserved  from  it.  LINCOLN  is  dead,  sir, 
but  he  will  eternally  live  in  the  hearts  of  the  good  patriots  and  of  the  honest 
men  of  the  earth.  His  name  will  be  written  in  letters  of  gold,  in  order  to 
record  the  value  of  virtue  in  rulers,  while  that  of  his  assassin  will  be  pronounced 
with  horror  so  long  as  morality  exists  in  the  world. 

Will  your  excellency  deign  to  accept  this  sincere  manifestation  of  the 
sentiments  which  animate  the  municipality,  and  my  own  private  ones,  although 
it  is  very  painful  to  improve  so  sad  an  opportunity  to  subscribe  myself  your 

attentive  servant. 

ANTO.  G.  DE  LA  FUENTE. 

His  Excellency  the  MINISTER  PLENIPOTENTIARY 

of  the  United  States  of  North  America. 


[Translation.  ] 
SOCIETY  OF  THE  FOUNDERS  OF  THE  INDEPENDENCE  OF  PERU. 

Liberty  —  Equality  —  Fraternity. 

LIMA,  May  23,  1865, 


And  the  44^A  year  of  the  Independence  and  the  41s£  of  the  Republic, 
SIR  :  The  deplorable  event  which  has  moved  the  entire  continent,  drawing 
from  it  a  cry  of  sincere  grief,  could  not  fail  to  be  felt  also  by  the  "  Society  of 
the  Founders  of  the  Independence  of  Peru,"  over  which  I  have  the  honor  to 
preside,  covering  with  mourning  the  heart  of  each  one  of  its  members.  In  the 
midst  of  the  tei'rible  allusions  which  have  passed  over  our  age-whitened  heads 
it  was  a  pleasing  consolation  that  in  the  front  of  the  American  Union  there 
existed  so  indefatigable  a  champion  of  liberty,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  whom  entire 
humanity  has  seen  during  four  years  sustaining  the  most  noble  and  sacred  of 
causes.  So  energetic  a  chief  would  have  been  already  sufficiently  great  by  the 
excellent  endowments  of  his  heart,  by  the  magnanimity  and  firmness  of  his 
republican  principles,  and  by  the  elevation  of  the  sacred  cause  of  liberty  which 
Providence  confided  to  his  inspirations  ;  but  it  W7as  necessary  that  so  elevated  a 
figure  should  shine  through  ages  with  the  lustre  of  martyrdom,  and  destiny  has 
been  employed  in  realizing  this  mysterious  work,  snatching  him  suddenly  from 
the  arms  of  his  family  and  his  people. 

Death  has  been  able  to  carry  off  an  apostle  and  a  genius,  but  his  teaching 
will  survive,  because  it  is  the  law  of  good  causes  to  triumph  and  exist  with  an 
immortal  life.  Unfortunate  he  who  so  obtuse  as  not  to  see  that  the  cause  of 
liberty  is  made  now  more  firm  than  ever  since  the  illustrious  blood  of  the  most 
generous  of  martyrs  has  made  it  fertile. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       675 

We  hope,  then,  full  of  faith  that,  for  the  good  of  these  people  and  of  entire 
humanity,  there  will  be  fulfilled  the  immortal  destinies  of  that  great  and  opu 
lent  nation  on  which  the  world  looks  with  astonishment ;  meanwhile,  sharing 
in  the  grief  which  oppresses  all  Americans,  with  the  sincerity  with  which  apos 
tles  of  the  same  doctrine  and  relatives  of  the  same  family  ought  to  do,  we  pray 
to  God  not  to  extinguish  that  faith,  and  that  by  it  He  will  give  to  the  illustrious 
victim  the  reward  of  his  virtues  on  the  majestic  throne  of  his  glory.  The  cause 
of  liberty  will  have  in  heaven  one  who  pleads  lor  it,  after  having  valorously 
sustained  it  before  an  astonished  world. 

The  society  charges  me  with  transmitting  to  your  excellency  the  expres 
sion  of  these  sentiments ;  and  in  doing  it,  adding  the  proposition  presented  by 
one  of  its  worthy  members  and  unanimously  approved,  and  as  a  fraternal  reso 
lution,  it  is  pleasing  to  me  to  oifer  to  your  excellency  the  personal  assurances 
of  my  greatest  respect  and  consideration,  as  your  obedient,  attentive,  and  true 
servant. 

ESTANISLAO  CORREA  Y  GARAY. 

His  Excellency  Sefior  CHRISTOPHER  ROBINSON, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary 

of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  $c.,  $$c.,  fy. 


[Translation.] 
SOCIETY  OF  THE  FOUNDERS  OF  THE  INDEPENDENCE  OF  PERU. 

At  the  session  which  the  permanent  junta  held  on  Monday,  the  22d  instant, 
the  worthy  vocal  of  the  said  junta,  C.  D.  Jose*  Antonio  Alvarado,  presented  the 
following  proposition,  which  was  unanimously  approved  of: 

Proposition. — The  unhappy  intelligence  having  arrived  by  the  last  steamer 
from  Panama  of  the  tragic  death  of  the  illustrious  and  virtuous  President  of 
the  great  North  American  republic,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  which  took  place  on 
Saturday,  the  15th  of  April  last,  and  which  has  struck  with  horror  the  entire 
continent,  on  account  of  the  irreparable  loss  of  the  eminent  patriot,  of  the  idol 
of  republicanism,  of  the  worthy  successor  of  the  immortal  Washington,  of  the 
missionary  of  liberty,  the  friend  of  humanity,  and  the  unwearied  defender  of 
the  emancipation  of  the  slave,  the  Society  of  the  Founders  of  the  Independence 
of  Peru,  composed  of  the  last  remains  of  the  great  liberating  army  which,  with 
its  blood  and  sacrifices,  had  the  high  glory  of  founding  this  nation  free  and  inde 
pendent  of  all  foreign  power,  sustaining  with  valor  and  constancy  that  heroic 
struggle,  imitating  the  example  of  that  colossal  republic,  perform  the  sacred 
duty  of  manifesting,  in  a  solemn  manner,  the  bitter  grief  which  animates  them 
on  account  of  the  misfortune  of  that  prominent  citizen,  the  idol  of  the  great 


676  ASSASSINATION  OP  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

American  family,  and  upon  whom  the  greatest  encomium  would  be  too  short  to 
exalt  his  merit  and  virtues.  And  if  a  parricidal  ball,  fired  by  an  American  mon 
ster,  cut  the  thread  of  his  precious  and  interesting  existence,  that  same  ball 
has  transpierced  the  hearts  of  the  founders  of  the  independence  of  Peru,  leaving 
them  overwhelmed  in  bitter  weeping ;  and  to  manifest  their  profound  grief, 
have  resolved : 

1st.  That  the  members  of  the  society  wear  mourning  for  eight  consecu 
tive  days. 

2d.  That  a  committee  wait  upon  his  excellency  the  minister  of  the  United 
States  resident  in  this  capital,  placing  in  his  hands  a  respectful  note,  expressing 
the  sentiments  of  the  society,  requesting  him  to  transmit  it  to  his  excellency 
the  minister  of  foreign  relations  of  that  great  republic,  for  the  knowledge  of  his 
government  and  of  all  the  sons  of  that  afflicted  nation,  who  are  our  brothers,  and 
whom  we  accompany  in  the  grief  and  affliction  which  they  suffer  at  the  death 
of  their  affectionate  father. 

3d.  That  the  society  invite  the  celebration  of  a  funeral  service  to  the 
memory  of  the  illustrious  martyr  of  liberty. 

4th.  That  the  act  which  the  session  of  the  permanent  junta  of  the  society 
has  had  with  so  laudable  an  end  be  published  in  the  journals  of  the  capital,  as 
also  the  note  directed  to  the  minister  of  foreign  relations,  and  which  documents 
shall  be  published,  as  well  as  translated  into  the  North  American  idiom,  in  order 
that  all  may  be  acquainted  with  the  pure,  just,  and  patriotic  manifestation  which 
the  few  founders  of  the  independence  who  still  remain  make,  out  of  respect  to 
the  noble  victim  immolated  in  defence  of  liberty. 

Let  note  be  given  and  exemption  from  the  usual  proceedings  of  rule. 

LIMA,  May  22,  1865. 

JOSE  ANTONIO  ALVARADO. 

Approved  of  unanimously : 

CORREA, 

J.  JULIAN  UGARTE, 

Secretario  Cesante. 


LIMA,  May  22,  1865. 

In  pursuance  of  the  call  made  by  the  minister  of  the  United  States,  a 
large  and  highly  respectable  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  that  country,  resident 
in  Lima  and  vicinity,  assembled  at  the  legation  of  the  United  States  at  12 
o'clock  to-day,  the  22d  instant,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  their  sorrow  at 
the  untimely  and  lamented  death  of  the  late  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  the  honorable  Christopher  Robinson, 
envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  to  Peru, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       677 

who,  in  eloquent  and  affecting  language,  spoke  of  the  cause  which  had  convened 
them,  the  virtues  of  the  late  President,  the  barbarity  of  his  assassination,  and 
his  confidence  in  the  future  under  the  administration  of  President  Johnson. 
During  the  speech  of  the  minister,  his  audience  gave  tokens  of  their  sympathy 
and  sorrow  by  their  most  fixed  attention  and  emotion. 

At  the  conclusion  of  his  remarks,  the  meeting  was  organized  by  the  elec 
tion  of  the  minister  as  chairman  ;  and  Thomas  J.  Pope,  secretary  of  the  United 
States  legation,  was  appointed  secretary.  On  motion,  a  committee  was  appointed 
by  the  chairman  to  report  a  series  of  resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the 
meeting.  Messrs.  Thomas  R.  Eldridge,  Hobson,  Church,  Moore,  Davis,  and 
Sartori  were  the  committee,  who  in  a  short  time  returned  and  reported  the 
following  preamble  and  resolutions  : 

Whereas  the  honored,  respected,  and  magnanimous  Chief  Magistrate  of 
our  nation,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  has  been  cruelly  slain  by  the  hand  of  a  foul 
assassin;  cut  off  in  the  fulness  of  his  years,  the  maturity  of  his  intellect,  and 
the  zenith  of  his  usefulness  and  fame ;  slain  in  the  presence  of  his  family  and 
friends,  at  a  time  when  the  nation  of  which  he  was  the  constitutional  head  was 
about  to  emerge  from  the  horrors  of  a  protracted  and  ruthless  civil  war,  through 
a  baptism  of  blood,  to  the  glorious  consummation  of  permanent  reunion,  and  a 
new  existence  of  universal  liberty  and  justice;  and  whereas,  under  this  last  ter 
rible  stroke,  this  appalling  tragedy,  and  wicked  deed  of  a  hydra-headed  treason, 
unparalleled  cither  in  the  base  ingratitude  of  the  act,  committed  so  close  upon 
the  generous  policy  announced  by  the  noble-hearted  President  to  the  people  of 
the  South,  or  in  the  ominous  consequences,  fraught  as  they  may  be  with  the 
welfare  of  millions  of  our  fellow-countrymen,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  every  citi 
zen  of  our  republic  abroad,  as  well  as  at  home,  to  express  their  heartfelt  sorrow 
tor  the  untimely  loss  of  our  great  and  good  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN;  their 
cordial  sympathy  with  his  afflicted  family ;  their  horror  at  the  deed,  and  most 
profound  detestation  of  the  means  by  which  it  has  been  consummated :  we,  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America,  resident  in  Lima  and  vicinity,  recog 
nizing  our  loyalty  to  our  beloved  country,  and,  although  at  a  distance  from  it, 
actuated  by  the  same  spirit  of  patriotism  as  our  brethren  at  home,  would  place 
on  record  our  firm  and  unshaken  faith  in  its  glorious  destiny.  Be  it,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  have  heard  with  the  deepest  sorrow  and  indignation  of 
the  death  of  President  LINCOLN  by  the  assassin's  hand  ;  that  at  this  time,  when 
the  eyes  of  the  nation  were  turned  to  him  for  the  display  of  great  practical 
wisdom  and  executive  ability,  for  magnanimity  and  forbearance,  blended  wilh  a 
firm  and  unalterable  adherence  to  the  principles  of  free  government  and  liberty, 
his  death  is  a  most  grievous  national  calamity. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  recognize  and  deeply  lament  the  terrible  nature 
of  the  calamity  which  has  befallen  our  nation,  still,  placing  our  trust  in  that 
Supreme  Being  who  has  so  signally  blessed  our  people  hitherto,  we  do  not 


G78  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

despair  of  the  ultimate  success  of  our  cause,  to  the  sustaining  of  which,  under 
the  policy  of  the  late  President,  we  give  our  earnest  support  and  countenance. 

Resolved,  That  we  will  ever  cherish  the  memory  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  as 
the  honest,  fearless,  patriotic,  and  noble  defender  of  that  Constitution  which 
was  originally  cemented  under  the  auspices  of  the  immortal  Washington,  as  the 
bulwark  of  universal  freedom  and  civil  liberty. 

Resolved.  That  we  tender  the  expression  of  our  most  profound  sympathies 
to  the  consort  and  family  of  our  late  revered  President,  with  our  condolence  for 
their  irreparable  bereavement,  trusting  that  strength  may  be  given  to  them  to 
bear  up  under  their  great  affliction. 

Resolved,  That  as  citizens  of  the  United  States  we  are  profoundly  grateful 
for  the  general,  cordial,  and  generous  sympathy  manifested  towards  our  nation 
by  the  government  and  people  of  Peru,  as  well  as  by  the  representatives  and 
residents  of  other  nations,  in  our  great  misfortune ;  that  we  extend  to  them  all, 
individually  and  collectively,  the  assurance  of  our  warmest  acknowledgments 
for  the  honors  paid  and  the  respect  shown  to  the  memory  of  our  late  President- 

Resolved,  That  to  the  press  of  Lima  and  Callao  we  offer  our  especial  recog 
nition  of  the  able,  eloquent,  and  cordial  tributes  of  eulogy  and  sympathy  on 
this  event. 

Resolved,  That  we  offer  to  the  honorable  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary 
of  State  of  the  United  States,  and  to  F.  W.  Sevvard,  esq.,  Assistant  Secretary 
of  State,  our  unfeigned  and  profound  sympathy  in  the  hour  of  their  affliction, 
caused  by  the  hand  of  an  infamous  assassin ;  that  we  rejoice  at  their  provi 
dential  escape  from  death,  and  hopes  of  recovery,  and  trust  that  they  may  long 
be  spared  to  do  eminent  service  in  the  cause  of  our  country. 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  to  the  family  of  our  late  President,  and  to  the  honorable 
Secretary  of  State,  and  that  they  be  published  in  the  Comercio  of  this  city, 
and  the  Washington  Chronicle. 

Resolved,  That  the  legation  of  the  United  States  in  this  city  be  draped  in 
mourning  for  the  space  of  thirty  days,  and  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to 
carry  the  same  into  effect. 

Messrs.  Barnes,  Pope,  and  Ells  were  appointed  on  this  committee 

Mr.  Robinson  having  addressed  a  few  appropriate  remarks  to  the  meeting 
in  reply  to  a  vote  of  thanks  which  was  given  to  him  for  his  able  conduct  in  the 
chair,  the  meeting  was,  on  motion,  adjourned. 

CHRISTOPHER  ROBINSON, 

Chairman. 

THOMAS  J.  POPE, 

Secretary. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        679 

KUSSIA. 


Prince  Gortchacow  to  Mr.  de  Stoeckl. 

[Translation.] 

ST.  PETERSBURG,  April  16-28,  1865. 

SIR:  The  telegraph  has  brought  us  the  news  of  the  double  crime  of  which 
the  President  of  the  United  States  has  fallen  a  victim  and  Mr.  Seward  barely 
escaped. 

The  blow  which  has  struck  Mr.  LINCOLN,  at  the  very  moment  when  he 
seemed  about  to  harvest  the  fruits  of  his  energy  and  perseverance,  has  been 
deeply  felt  in  Russia. 

Because  of  the  absence  of  the  Emperor  I  am  not  in  a  position  to  receive 
and  transmit  to  you  the  expression  of  the  sentiments  of  his  Imperial  Majesty. 
Being  acquainted,  nevertheless,  with  those  which  our  august  master  entertains 
toward  the  United  States  of  America,  it  is  easy  for  me  to  realize  in  advance  the 
impression  which  the  news  of  this  odious  crime  will  cause  his  Imperial  Majesty 
to  experience. 

I  have  hastened  to  testify  to  General  Clay  the  earnest  and  cordial  sympa 
thy  of  the  imperial  cabinet  with  the  federal  government. 

Please  to  express  this  in  the  warmest  terms  to  President  Johnson,  adding 
thereto  our  most  sincere  wishes  that  this  new  and  grievous  trial  may  not 
impede  the  onward  march  of  the  American  people  toward  the  re-establishment 
of  the  Union,  and  of  that  concord  which  is  the  source  of  its  power  and  of  its 
prosperity. 

Receive,  sir,  the  assurance  of  my  very  distinguished  consideration. 

GORTCHACOW. 

His  Excellency  Mr.  STOECKL,  $c.,  fyc.,  §c. 


Prince  Gortcltacow  to  Mr.  Clay. 
[Translation.] 

ST.  PEI-ERSBURG,  April  16-28,  1865. 

SIR:  Although  the  absence  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  makes  it  impos 
sible  for  me  to  obtain  and  communicate  to  you  the  expression  of  the  sentiments 
which  my  august  master  would  have  felt  at  the  news  of  the  foul  crime  to  which 
the  President  of  the  United  States  has  just  fallen  a  victim,  and  which  Mr. 
Seward  lias  barely  escaped,  I  did  not  wisli  to  delay  in  testifying  to  you  the 


680  ASSASSINATION   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN 

lively  and  profound  sympathy  of  the  imperial  cabinet  for  the  federal  government 
in  this  new  trial  which  Providence  lias  reserved  for  it.  I  have  asked  our  min 
ister  at  Washington  to  communicate  it  to  the  Vice-President,  Mr.  Johnson. 
Will  your  excellency  transmit  it  to  him,  together  with  our  sincere  wishes  that 
this  abominable  crime  will  not  hinder  the  progress  of  the  American  nation 
towards  the  establishment  of  the  Union  and  of  peace,  which  are  the  pledges  of 
its  power  and  its  prosperity  ? 

Will  your  excellency  be  pleased  to  accept  the  assurance  of  my  most  dis 
tinguished  consideration  ? 

GORTCHACOW. 

C.  M.  CLAY,  Esq.,  §r.,  Sfc.,  fyc. 


Prince  Gortchacow  to  Mr.  Clay. 

[Translation.] 

ST.  PETERSBURG,  May  16,  1865. 

Mr.  MINISTER  :  In  informing  you,  in  the  name  of  the  imperial  cabinet,  of 
the  profound  indignation  excited  by  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  heartfelt  sympathy  which  the  American  government 
and  people  have  met  with  among  us  in  this  their  national  grief,  I  was  certain 
of  having  expressed  the  sentiments  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor. 

Scarcely  has  my  august  master  returned  to  his  dominions  when  he  orders 
me  to  testify  to  you  his  grief  at  this  painful  event.  Tried  himself  by  a  woful 
loss,  which  is  also  a  cause  of  national  mourning  for  Russia,  the  Emperor  joins 
in  the  unanimous  regrets  which  encircle  the  memory  of  the  eminent  statesman 
snatched  away  so  suddenly,  and  in  so  terrible  manner,  from  his  noble  career. 

His  Imperial  Majesty  requests  us,  your  excellency,  to  transmit  to  you,  in 
his  name,  the  assurance  of  his  living  and  deep  sympathy  with  the  family  of  the 
late  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  with  his  Excellency  President  Johnson. 

I  also  fulfilled  the  orders  of  my  august  master  by  informing  you  how  much 
his  Imperial  Majesty  has  been    touched  by  the  spontaneous  testimonials  of 
respect  which  the  federal  officers  have  shown  to  the  memory  of  his  dearly, 
beloved  son  during  the  passage  of  the  squadron  bearing  to  Russia  his  mortal 
remains. 

I  have  already  communicated  to  the  federal  government  the  thanks  of  his 
Imperial  Majesty  through  his  representative  at  Washington.  He  asks  of  you 
the  favor  to  reiterate  them. 

Be  assured,  your  excellency,  of  my  very  distinguished  consideration. 

GORTCHACOW. 

General  CLAY,  Sfc.,  $$c.,  $c. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       681 

Mr.  Clay  to  Mr.  Reward. 

No.  79.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

St.  Petersburg,  Russia,  May  4,  1865. 

SIR:  I  know  not  how  to  express  my  grief  for  the  loss  of  our  great  and  good 
President  LINCOLN,  and  my  indignation  at  the  crime  of  which  he  is  a  victim. 

I  thank  God  that  you  are  spared  to  us,  and  I  trust  that  our  country  and 
the  nations  will  still  continue  to  reap  the  fruit  of  your  patriotic  labors  and 
pacific  sentiments.  The  ambassadors  of  France  and  England  called  in  person, 
and  those  who  did  not  do  so  wrote  letters  full  of  admiration  tor  the  virtues  of 
the  late  President,  and  horror  at  the  crime  of  his  assassination.  His  Imperial 
Highness  the  Grand  Duke  Constantino  sent  his  aide-de-camp,  General  Greigg; 
her  Imperial  Highness  the  Grand  Duchess  Helen  sent  Baron  Rosen ;  and  his 
Imperial  Highness  the  Prince  d'Oldenburg  called  in  person,  all  to  utter  senti 
ments  of  sorrow  and  sympathy  with  the  American  government  and  people.  A 
great  many  distinguished  Russians  also  expressed  their  grief  at  our  loss  in 
words  and  through  the  press.  Her  Imperial  Highness  the  Grand  Duchess 
Helen,  who  is  well  versed  in  the  politics  and  history  of  our  country,  has  invited 
me  to  call  upon  her,  informally,  on  Saturday,  with  a  view  of  giving  us  further 
evidence  of  her  kind  feelings  for  our  nation  and  its  progressive  cause,  of  which 
she  is  an  admirer. 

These  sentiments  of  esteem  and  sadness  arc  gratifying  to  me,  and  such  as 
lead  me  to  the  hope  that  the  martyrdom  of  our  noble  friend  will,  at  home  and 
abroad,  consecrate  in  the  hearts  of  all  men  the  principles  of  liberty  and  self- 
government  for  which  LINCOLN  lived  and  died. 

President  Johnson  enters  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  under  great  diffi 
culties.  I  like  the  words  of  humility  and  calm  devotion  which  characterize  the 
partial  revelation  of  his  views  at  his  accession  to  office. 

That  which  won  for  Mr.  LINCOLN  most  admiration  in  Europe  was  his  mode 
ration  in  expression  and  firmness  in  action 

The  new  President,  we  are  told,  proposes  to  retain  the  old  cabinet,  and,  we 
trust,  the  old  policy  of  peace  with  foreign  nations  and  magnanimity  in  all  things 
at  home  consistent  with  the  destruction  of  slavery  and  the  restoration  of  the 
Union. 

The  prayers  of  the  good  of  all  the  world  follow  him  in  his  responsible  task. 

I  beg  you  will  lay  this  paper  before  the  President. 

Hoping  to  hear  of  you  and  your  son  Frederick  Scward's  speedy  recovery, 
I  remain  your  most  obedient  servant. 

C.  M.  CLAY. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 
8G 


(582  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Sir  Andrew  Buchanan  to  Mr.  Clay. 

HER  BRITANNIC  MAJESTY'S  EMBASSY, 

St.  Petersburg,  April  28,  1865. 

Sir  Andrew  Buchanan,  her  Britannic  Majesty's  ambassador,  has  had  the 
honor  to  receive  the  note  by  which  his  excellency  General  C.  M.  Clay,  the 
minister  of  the  United  States,  has  acquainted  him  with  the  assassination  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  with  the  attempt  which  was 
made  at  the  same  time  to  murder  Mr.  William  H.  Seward,  the  Secretary  of 
State;  and  further  informing  him  that,  in  consequence  of  the  former  of  these 
distressing  events,  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson  has  succeeded  to  the  presidency  of  the 
Union. 

In  thanking  General  Clay  for  this  communication,  Sir  Andrew  Buchanan 
begs  leave  to  express  his  sympathy  with  his  excellency,  and  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  on  the  great  national  calamity  which  they  have  sustained,  while 
he  participates  in  the  abhorrence  of  its  authors,  which  their  atrocious  crime 
must  excite  throughout  America  and  the  civilized  world. 

Sir  Andrew  Buchanan  avails  himself  of  this  opportunity  to  offer  to  General 
Clay  the  assurance  of  his  high  consideration. 


The  Minister  of  Italy  to  Mr.  Clay. 

[Translation.] 

ST.  PETERSBURG,  Aprils,  1865. 

MY  DEAR  COLLEAGUE  :  I  had  desired  to  offer  you  in  person  my  heartfelt 
sympathy,  but  on  account  of  indisposition  I  am  obliged  to  defer  my  visit. 

In  the  meanwhile.  I  know  not  how  I  can  better  interpret  the  sentiments 
of  my  government  than  in  joining  in  the  sorrow  with  which  your  country  has 
been  so  cruelly  stricken,  by  the  loss  of  her  greatest  citizen  and  most  eminent 
statesman. 

The  blood  of  a  martyr  in  so  noble  a  cause  will  strengthen  the  American 
Union,  whose  power  and  prosperity  have  every  good  wish  of  Italy.  In  renew 
ing  to  you,  my  colleague,  my  expressions  of  sorrowful  sympathy,  and  in  thanking 
you  for  your  communication,  I  have  the  honor  to  tender  you  the  assurance  of 
my  high  consideration. 

LAUNAY. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  (',83 

The  Minister  of  Belgium  to  Mr.  Clay. 

[Translation.] 

ST.  PETERSBURG,  April  28,  1865. 

The  minister  of  Belgium  has  had  the  honor  of  receiving  the  note  which  his 
excellency  the  minister  of  the  United  States  has  had  the  kindness  to  address  to 
him,  in  order  to  inform  him  of  the  death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  who  was  assassinated  in  his  box  at  the  theatre  in  Washing 
ton,  on  the  14th  instant,  as  well  as  of  the  dangerous  wound  which  menaces  the 
life  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  William  H.  Seward. 

It  is  with  an  unmingled  feeling  of  horror  that  the  undersigned  has  heard 
of  these  cowardly  and  foul  attacks,  which  will  cause  an  outburst  of  sorrow  not 
only  in  America,  but  in  Europe,  and  the  whole  world ;  and  he  joins  in  the 
grief  which  cannot  fail  to  be  caused  by  the  loss  of  an  eminent  statesman,  called 
by  his  fellow-citizens  to  direct  the  destinies  of  his  country. 

JONGHE  D'ARDOYE. 


The  Minister  of  Sweden  and  Norway  to  Mr.  Clay. 

[Translation.] 

ST.  PETERSBURG,  April  28,  1865. 

YOUR  EXCELLENCY  :  In  hastening  to  acknowledge  the  sad  communication, 
by  which  your  excellency  has  just  informed  me  of  the  assassination  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  I  beg  you  to  accept  my 
most  profound  expressions  of  sympathy,  and  also  of  horror,  for  the  foul  deed 
which  has  deprived  your  country  and  your  government  of  their  worthy  and 
illustrious  chief. 

I  seize  the  present  occasion  to  offer  to  your  excellency  repeated  assur 
ances  of  my  high  consideration. 

WEDEL  JARLSBERG, 

Minister  of  Sweden  and  Norway. 
Mr.  C.  M.  CLAY, 

Minister  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


684  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

HOME. 


Mr.  King  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

No.  37.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AT  ROME, 

April  29,  1865. 

SIR:  The  appalling  intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN, 
and  the  attempt  upon  the  lives  of  the  Secretary  and  the  Assistant  Secretary  of 
State,  which  reached  Rome  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  instant,  excited  the 
most  profound  and  universal  sentiment  of  horror  and  indignation  among  men  of 
every  class,  condition,  and  nation.  The  first  account  represented  that  the 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State  had  also  fallen  a  victim  to  the  assassin's  knife,  and 
that  the  life  of  the  Secretary  was  despaired  of;  but  we  are  at  least  spared  this 
aggravation  of  horrors,  the  latest  despatch  reporting  that  "  Secretary  Seward  is 
out  of  danger,"  and  that  his  son,  though  in  imminent  peril,  is  still  alive.  As 
the  tidings  spread  the  Americans  in  Rome  gathered  together  at  the  rooms  of 
the  United  States  legation  and  held  a  meeting  to  give  utterance  to  the  feelings 
which  the  news  had  excited  in  every  loyal  breast.  The  resolutions  adopted 
but  feebly  express  the  intense  emotions  which  the  dastardly  crime  of  the 
southern  conspirators  has  everywhere  aroused.  Nor  is  this  confined  only  to 
our  own  countrymen.  From  the  cardinal  secretary  of  state,  the  ambassadors 
of  France,  Spain,  and  Austria,  the  representatives  of  Russia  and  Brazil,  and 
other  members  of  the  diplomatic  corps,  and  from  some  of  the  principal  Roman 
nobility  and  citizens,  I  have  received  assurances  of  the  utter  detestation  with 
which  they  regard  the  crime,  and  of  their  profound  sympathy  with  the  govern 
ment  and  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  hour  of  terrible  trial  and  affliction. 
May  Almighty  God  safely  guard  and  guide  our  country  through  the  surging 
waves  of  trouble  into  the  calm  sunshine  of  peace  and  public  order. 

In  token  of  respect  for  the  memory  of  the  great  and  good  man  who  died 
as  he  had  lived,  faithful  to  his  trust  and  at  the  post  of  duty,  I  have  caused  the 
rooms  of  the  United  States  legation  to  be  draped  in  mourning.  The  loyal 
Americans  in  Rome  have  all  assumed  the  usual  badges  of  mourning,  as  a  slight 
manifestation  of  their  sorrow  for  the  lamented  death  of  our  President  and  of 
regard  for  his  memory. 

I  need  scarcely  add  that  we  await  with  trembling  anxiety  further  news 
from  America,  and  that  it  is  the  devout  prayer  of  all  true-hearted  Americans  in 
Rome  that  the  lives  of  the  Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretary  may  be  spared  to 
their  country. 

I  am,  sir,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RUFUS  KING. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  fyc.,  Sfc.,  8$c. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       685 

Mr.  King  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

[Extract.] 

No.  38.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AT  ROME, 

May  6,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  terrible  catastrophe  of  the  1 4th  of  April  at  Washington  still 
occupies  all  thoughts  and  tongues  on  this  side  of  the  water,  and  has  called  forth 
from  the  courts  and  people  of  Europe  an  expression  of  heart-felt  sympathy  and 
sincere  sorrow  unparalleled  in  history.  Appropriate  religious  services  were 
held  in  the  United  States  legation  rooms  here,  which  were  largely  attended  by 
Americans  and  others.  Our  latest  advices  from  home, 

to  the  22d  of  April,  encourage  the  belief  that  both  the  Secretary  and  Assistant 
Secretary  of  State  have  escaped  the  fate  designed  for  them  by  their  brutal  and 
cowardly  assailant,  and  still  live  to  serve  their  country.  I  need  not  say  with 
what  unfeigned  gratitude  and  joy  this  news  has  been  received,  not  only  by  the 
Americans,  but  by  men  of  all  nations  in  Rome. 

I  had  an  official  interview  with  Cardinal  Antonelli  a  day  or  two  since.  His 
Eminence  embraced  the  opportunity  to  express  to  me,  for  himself  and  for  the 
Holy  Father,  the  horror  with  which  they  regarded  the  bloody  act  which  had 
struck  down  the  head  of  the  American  republic,  and  aimed  a  like  blow  at  the 
life  of  the  chief  counsellor,  and  of  their  earnest  sympathy  for  the  American  gov 
ernment  and  people  in  this  hour  of  trial  and  affliction.  His  Eminence  further 
begged  that  I  would  make  known  these  sentiments  to  the  authorities  at  Wash 
ington.  * 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RUFUS  KING. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Sfc.,  8$c. 


Mr.  King  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

[Extract.] 

No.  39.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AT  ROME, 

May  13,  1865. 

SIR:  I  duly  received  a  copy  of  the  circular  from  the  State  Department, 
under  date  of  April  17,  directing  all  officers  and  others  subject  to  its  orders  to 
wear  crape  upon  the  left  arm  for  the  period  of  six  months,  in  honor  to  the 
memory  of  our  late  illustrious  Chief  Magistrate.  Anticipating  in  this  respect 
the  wishes  of  the  department,  I  had  already  caused  the  United  States  legation 


686  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

rooms  here  to  be  suitably  draped,  and  in  common  with  all  loyal  Americans  now 
in  Rome,  had  assumed  the  customary  badge  of  mouming,  which  will  be  worn 
during  the  time  prescribed.  It  is  a  melancholy  satisfaction  to  know  that  the 
grief  we  feel  at  the  bereavement  the  republic  has  sustained  meets  with  general 
and  earnest  sympathy  in  all  parts  of  the  Old  World  ;  and  that  in  Europe,  as  in 
America,  enlightened  public  opinion  has  already  inscribed  among  the  most  illus 
trious  names  on  the  roll  of  fame  that  of  our  martyred  President. 

*  *  .  *  *  *  *  *  * 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

RUFUS  KING. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


Mr  Parish  to  the  American  citizens  in  Rome.     Read  at  the  American  chapel. 

ROME,  April  29,  1865. 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN,  BRETHREN  AND  SISTERS  IN  CHRIST  :  With  the 
kind  permission  of  your  excellent  representatives,  and  as  having  enjoyed  as  a 
diplomatic  guest  the  hospitality  of  the  United  States  during  four  years  more 
than  forty  years  ago,  I  hope  I  may  not  be  thought  presumptuous  in  mingling 
with  your  sacred  grief  an  expression  from  the  old  country,  the  land  of  our 
grandsires,  being  myself  wholly  unconnected  with  politics. 

If  my  fellow-countrymen  at  Rome  are  not  present  with  you  this  day  to 
manifest  their  horror  at  the  event  which  has  deprived  you  of  the  Chief  Magistrate 
of  your  choice,  of  that  conscientious  spirit  who  lived  and  toiled  and  died  that 
all  his  fellow-citizens  might  be  united  in  peace,  be  assured  that  the  motives  of 
their  absence  must  be  reluctance  to  intrude,  uninvited,  into  the  grave  of  your 
domestic  affections.  The  profound  sympathy  of  our  own  sovereign  and  of  her 
royal  family,  so  often  bursting  forth  in  the  days  of  your  heavy  trials,  must  guar 
antee  to  you  the  love  at  such  a  moment  of  the  many  millions  who,  within  so 
many  horizons,  own  her  sway.  But  while  we  are  all  here  in  spirit  to  denounce 
the  most  odious  of  crimes,  let  us  acknowledge  how  hopeful  is  the  dawn  of  your 
future  life,  when  he  who  now  rules  in  the  shrine  of  the  pious  Washington  has 
given  the  impress  of  his  power  and  of  the  happiness  of  every  transatlantic  soul 
in  his  first  inaugural  words,  "  I  am  in  the  hands  of  God."  Thus  may  we  be  all 
"  of  one  accord  "  in  every  place,  united  in  Christ,  one  in  God  and  God  in  us. 

HENRY  HEADLEY  PARISH. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       687 

SPAIN. 


[Translation.] 

DEPARTMENT  OP  STATE,  PALACE, 

April  27,  1865. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I  have  received  your  note  of  this 
date,  in  which,  unhappily,  I  find  confirmed  the  sad  news  of  the  horrible  crimes 
committed  on  the  persons  of  his  Excellency  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  of  the  distinguished  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward. 

Knowing  as  you  do  the  sentiments  of  sincere  friendship  and  good  intelli 
gence  which  animated  the  government  of  the  Queen,  my  lady,  with  respect  to 
the  United  States,  you  will  easily  comprehend  the  horror  with  which  we  have 
learned  the  treacherous  murder  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  that  great  nation 
which  you  so  worthily  represent,  and  how  much  we  deplore  also  the  villianous 
attack  upon  Mr.  Seward,  for  whose  recovery  we  make  the  most  fervent  vows. 

I  beg  you  to  be  pleased  to  make  known  to  his  Excellency  the  President 
of  the  republic  the  sentiments  of  profound  indignation  which  the  sad  events 
you  announce  have  produced  in  the  mind  of  her  Majesty  the  Queen,  and  in  that 
of  her  government ;  and  I  thus  renew  to  you  the  assurance  of  my  distinguished 
consideration. 

L.  ARRAZOLA. 

The  CHARGE  D'AFFAIRES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


[Translation.] 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,  BUREAU  OF  POLITICAL  AFFAIRS, 

Madrid,  May  9,  1865. 

MOST  EXCELLENT  SIR  :  The  president  of  the  council  of  ministers,  on  the 
5th  instant,  directed  this  department  as  follows : 

By  her  Majesty's  orders,  and  for  the  instruction  of  the  department  under 
your  charge,  I  transmit  to  your  excellency  copies  of  the  resolutions  passed  by 
the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  sympathizing  with  the  United  States, 
and  deploring  the  abominable  crime  committed  upon  the  person  of  your  worthy 
President,  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  Communicated  by  royal  order,  through 
the  minister  of  state,  I  transmit  them  to  you,  with  the  said  copies,  that  you  may 
send  them  to  your  government. 
God  grant  you  many  years. 

UNDER  SECRETARY  MIGUEL  BANUELOS. 


688  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

PALACE  OF  THE  SENATE,  May  3,  1865. 
President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers,  Senate  Chamber : 

The  Senate  in  session  this  day  has  unanimously  resolved  that  it  sympa 
thizes  with  the  United  States  in  the  profound  grief  caused  by  the  death  of  its 
worthy  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 
God  grant  you  many  years. 

JUAN  DE  SEVILLA, 

Secretary  of  the  Senate. 
HILARION  DEL  REY, 

Secretary  of  the  Senate,  President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers. 

A  signed  copy : 

M.  BANUELOS. 


[Translation.] 

PALACE  OF  CONGRESS,  May  2,  1865. 
President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers,  Chamber  of  Deputies  : 

The  House  of  Deputies  in  session  yesterday  unanimously  resolved  that  it 
sympathizes  with  the  United  States  in  the  profound  grief  caused  by  the  death 
of  its  worthy  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

This  we  communicate  to  you  for  the  information  of  her  Majesty's  govern 
ment  and  subsequent  action. 
God  grant  you  many  years. 

RAFAEL  CHACON    D.  S. 
COUNT  OF  CAMPOMANES,  D.  S., 

President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers. 

This  copy  has  a  rubric : 

M.  BANUELOS. 


The  Duke  of  Valencia  to  Mr.  Perry. 

[Translation.] 

PRESIDENCY  OF  THE  CABINET  OF  'MINISTERS, 

Madrid,  May  5,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  horrible  crimes  committed  on  the  persons  of  the  President  and 
Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States  have  caused  a  painful  and  profound 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       689 

sensation  in  the  Spanish  nation,  which  is  united  to  that  great  republic  by  the 
ties  of  a  true  friendship  and  a  cordial  sympathy. 

Although  at  the  first  moment  this  sad  news  reached  us  I  hastened  to  make 
known  to  you,  personally,  the  profound  grief  of  her  Majesty  the  Queen,  my 
august  sovereign,  and  of  her  government,  at  that  immense  misfortune,  I  have 
the  honor  to-day  to  transmit  to  you  the  annexed  copies  of  the  declarations 
made  by  the  Senate  and  the  Congress  of  Deputies,  associating  themselves  to 
the  great  sorrow  of  that  generous  nation  for  the  abominable  crime  perpetrated 
upon  the  person  of  its  illustrious  and  respected  President. 

The  affliction  which  the  death  of  that  eminent  statesman  has  produced  to 
the  government  of  her  Majesty  is  in  part  relieved  by  the  welcome  news  that 
the  life  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  foreign  affairs  is  happily  not  in  great 
danger,  but,  on  the  contrary,  that  there  are  well-founded  hopes  he  may  obtain 
a  prompt  and  complete  recovery.  Please  God  it  may  be  so,  for  the  good  and 
prosperity  of  that  noble  country,  of  which  you  are  the  most  worthy  represent 
ative  ! 

I  avail  myself  of  this  occasion  to  renew  to  }"ou  the  assurance  of  my  most 
distinguished  consideration. 

THE  DUKE  OF  VALENCIA. 

The  CHARGE  D'AFFAIRES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


[Translation.  ] 
PRESIDENCY  OF  THE  CABINET  OF  MINISTERS — SENATE. 

PALACE  OF  THE  SENATE,  May  3,  1865. 
To  the  President  of  the  Cabinet  of  Ministers: 

EXCELLENCY  :  The  Senate  in  session  of  to-day  has  unanimously  declared 
that  it  associates  itself  to  the  profound  grief  produced  in  the  United  States  by 
the  horrible  crime  committed  on  the  person  of  their  worthy  President,  ABRA 
HAM  LINCOLN. 

God  guard'your  excellency  many  years. 

JUAN  DE  SEVILLA, 

Senator  Secretary. 
HILAPJON  DEL  KEY, 

Senator  Secretary. 

It  is  a  true  copy  : 

VALENCIA. 

87 


C90  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 
PRESIDENCY  OF  THE  CABINET  OF  MINISTERS CONGRESS  OF  DEPUTIES. 

PALACE  OF  THE  DEPUTIES,  May  2,  1865. 
To  the  President  of  the  Cabinet  of  Ministers  : 

EXCELLENCY  :  The  Congress  of  Deputies  in  the  session  of  yesterday  lias 
declared  unanimously  that  it  associates  itself  to  the  profound  sorrow  of  the 
United  States  for  the  abominable  murder  of  their  worthy  President,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN. 

The  which  we  communicate  to  your  excellency  for  the  information  of  her 
Majesty's  government  and  the  consequent  effects. 

God  guard  your  excellency  many  years. 

THE  COUNT  OF  CAMPOMANES, 

Deputy  Secretary. 
RAFAEL  CHACON, 

Deputy  Secretary. 
It  is  a  true  copy  : 

VALENCIA. 


[Translated  from  the  original  as  it  stands  on  the  official  journal  of  the  Senate.] 
DEBATE  IN  THE  SPANISH  SENATE,  MAY  3,  1865. 

The  COUNT  OF  VISTAHERMOSA  said  : 

SENATORS  :  The  circumstance  that  this  body  has  not  been  in  session  till 
to-day  since  the  unwelcome  news  reached  Madrid  of  the  infamous  assassination 
committed  on  the  person  of  the  worthy  President  of  the  United  States,  Mr. 
LINCOLN,  has  prevented  me  from  addressing  the  Senate  as  I  do  at  this  moment, 
in  the  persuasion  that  it  will  know  how  to  associate  its  sentiments  of  grief  and 
indignation  to  those  produced  in  the  whole  civilized  world  by  the  crime  which 
has  snatched  from  life  a  person  so  illustrious  and  so  distinguished  for  his  eminent 
services. 

When  all  peoples  in  both  hemispheres  rise  with  one  voice  to  condemn  the 
cowardly  assassins  who  have  blackened  the  brilliant  pages  of  that  wonderful  war 
just  when  the  country  already  saw  peace  on  the  horizon,  and  when,  undoubtedly, 
that  peace  is  owing  to  the  efforts,  the  constancy,  and  the  skill  with  which  the 
lamented  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  directed  those  events,  it  seems  just  that  the  Senate 
should  manifest  expressly  and  spontaneously  its  profound  sorrow  and  regret  at 
an  event  as  terrible  as  it  has  been  unexpected — an  event  which  has  left  on  the 
minds  of  senators,  as  upon  those  of  all  the  civilized  world,  a  deep  furrow  of 
execration. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        091 

If  I  shall  not  have  interpreted  the  sentiments  of  the  Senate  in  a  manner 
worthy  of  its  elevated  character,  let  it  supply  my  shortcomings,  and  address  to 
the  government  of  that  republic  a  manifestation  such  as  our  president  considers 
fit,  informing  the  Queen's  government  of  this  manifestation,  and  making  it 
extensive  to  the  illustrious  widow  who  has  seen  snatched  away  so  prematurely 
the  companion  of  her  life,  so  that  the  world  may  know  that  if  the  Spanish 
Senate  cares  for  the  rights  and  immunities  of  people,  it  watches  no  less  care 
fully  over  the  rights  of  the  kings  and  heads  of  government  who  rule  the  des 
tinies  of  other  nations. 

I  therefore  call  upon  the  government  of  her  Majesty  to  give  the  proper 
explanation  of  what  has  been  done  in  this  important  question. 

The  President  of  the  Cabinet  of  Ministers,  the  Duke  of  VALENCIA,  said  : 
The  government  of  her  Majesty  records  with  much  pleasure  the  motion  made 
by  the  senator,  Count  of  Vistahermosa.  As  soon  as  the  government  learned 
officially  the  horrible  crime  committed  in  the  United  States,  we  went  to  her 
Majesty's  presence  to  inform  her  of  it,  so  that  she  might  give  me  such  orders 
as  she  thought  fit.  Her  Majesty  ordered  me  to  go  and  visit  the  representative 
of  the  United  States  at  Madrid,  and  to  express  to  him  the  grief  and  the  indigna 
tion  which  her  Majesty  had  felt  at  a  crime  so  horrible,  as  well  as  all  the  interest 
which  her  Majesty  felt  for  the  leaders  of  the  republic  and  for  the  people 
of  the  United  States. 

In  fulfilment  of  the  royal  precept,  I  went  to  the  house  of  the  represent 
ative  of  the  United  States,  and  made  to  him,  in  the  name  of  her  Majesty  and  of 
the  government,  that  manifestation,  which  he  gratefully  acknowledged ;  and  I 
requested  him  to  transmit  the  same  to  his  government,  so  that  the  latter — with 
which  Spain  maintains  and  seeks  to  maintain  such  good  relations,  and  he  also 
labors  to  maintain  them  for  the  good  of  both  nations — should  be  made  aware 
of  the  sentiments  which  animate  the  Queen  and  her  government. 

At  the  same  time  an. official  communication,  signed  by  the  minister  of  state- 
was  sent  to  Sefior  Tassara,  her  Majesty's  minister  plenipotentiary  at  Washing 
ton,  making  known  to  him  the  same  manifestation.  This  is  what  her  Majesty's 
government  can  say  in  reply  to  the  senator. 

The  COUNT  OF  VISTAHEHMOSA  said :  I  thought  I  was  already  aware,  from 
what  had  been  said  in  the  Congress  of  Deputies,  that  this  had  been  the  course 
of  her  Majesty's  ministers.  I  thought  it  right  to  make  this  motion,  so  that  the 
whole  Senate,  in  whose  sentiments  I  trust  I  am  not  mistaken,  might  have  an 
opportunity  to  join  in  this  profound  sorrow  for  the  unmerited  misfortune  which 
has  fallen  upon  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  I  request  the  Chair,  for 
this  purpose,  to  consult  the  opinion  of  this  House. 

The  President  of  the  Senate,  the  Marquis  of  DUERO,  then  said  from  the 
chair :  I  am  certain  that  the  Senate  authorizes  me  at  this  moment,  and,  with  the 
Senate,  all  Spaniards  of  the  provinces  beyond  seas  and  of  the  peninsula,  to 


G92  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

declare  that,  the  impression  produced  by  the  horrible  crime  committed  against 
1  he  President  of  the  republic  of  the  United  States  has  been  unanimous,  and 
that  we  join  ourselves  to  the  manifestations  which  the  civilized  world  is  now 
making  on  account  of  this  sad  event,  desiring  solemnly  to  make  known  the  sin 
cere  wishes  of  Spain  for  the  prosperity  and  peace  of  the  American  republic. 

The  question  will  now  be  put  whether  the  Senate  approves  this  declara 
tion. 

The  secretary  of  the  Senate,  SKVILLA,  having  put  the  question,  it  was 
resolved  affirmatively  by  a  unanimous  vote. 


[Translated  from  the  original  as  it  stands  on  the  official  journal  of  the  congress.] 
DEBATE    IN    THE    SPANISH    CONGRESS    OF    DEPUTIES,  MAY  1,  18G5. 

The  deputy  Sefior  LASALA  (opposition)  said :  Public  attention  has  been 
occupied  in  these  days  by  the  events  which  have  given  rise  to  inevitable  dis 
cussion  in  the  Senate  and  in  this  house,  and  by  another,  also  a  bloody  event, 
occurring  in  a  foreign  land,  to  which  I  beg  now  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
congress. 

When  other  governments  and  parliaments  are  making  manifestations  on 
account  of  this  horrible  event,  it  seems  natural  that  in  the  Spanish  Parliament, 
in  the  Parliament  of  the  nation  which,  by  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,  is  neighbor  to 
the  United  States,  something  should  be  said,  and  that  the  initiative  should  be 
taken  by  the  liberal  opposition  of  the  government  of  her  Majesty.  That  coun 
try  which  had  been  great  in  peace  has  not  been  less  great  in  war.  In  that  war, 
perhaps  the  most  gigantic  which  history  records,  it  seems  indeed  that,  in  order 
so  immense  a  pyramid  of  corpses  should  be  grandly  crowned,  it  was  necessary 
that  the  body  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  should  fall  by  the  ball  of  an 
assassin. 

The  government  of  her  Majesty — I  wish  to  do  it  justice — I  suppose,  will 
have  manifested  its  sentiments,  but  I  desire  to  know  in  what  form ;  because, 
if  it  should  not  have  been  in  some  solemn  tbrm  expressing  adequately  these 
sentiments  of  the  whole  country,  I  shall  feel  obliged  to  make  use  of  my  right 
as  a  deputy,  and  put  this  manifestation  into  some  other  form. 

The  President  of  the  Cabinet  of  Ministers,  Duke  of  VALENCIA,  said:  Her 
Majesty's  government,  some  days  since,  by  extraordinary  and  unofficial  chan 
nels,  learned  the  crime  which  had  been  committed  in  the  United  States,  but 
did  not  wish  to  take  any  official  steps  while  the  information  it  had  received 
should  not  be  confirmed  ;  but  as  soon  as  it  was  known  officially,  the  government 
made  haste  to  lay  this  intelligence  before  her  Majesty. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       093 

On  taking  the  orders  of  the  Queen,  I  received  the  charge  from  her  Majesty 
to  go  and  visit  the  charge  d'affaires  of  the  United  Slates  in  Madrid,  and  to 
express  to  him  the  profound  sorrow,  the  immense  affliction,  which  the  Qnccn 
and  the  government  had  experienced  by  the  horrible  crimes  committed  on  the 
person  of  the  President  of  that  republic,  on  that  of  the  minister  lor  foreign 
affairs,  and  on  that  of  the  son  of  the  latter. 

At  the  same  time  an  official  communication  was  sent  to  him  by  the  depart 
ment  of  state  in  similar  terms,  and  a  copy  of  the  same  was  also  sent  to  her 
Majesty's  minister  in  Washington,  so  that  he  should  communicate  the  same 
sentiments  to  the  new  President  of  the  republic. 

We  have  not  laid  these  papers  before  the  House,  because  it  was  not  cus 
tomary  to  do  so.  We  wished  that  the  initiative  .should  be  taken  by  the  deputies 
themselves,  and  it  is  immaterial  whether  this  comes  from  the  benches  of  the 
opposition  or  from  this  side,  because  in  this  case  there  can  be  but  one  general 
and  unanimous  sentiment  in  the  whole  House,  as  there  is  in  the  whole  nation ; 
for  the  whole  nation  cannot  do  otherwise  than  lament  a  horrible  crime — an 
assassination  perpetrated  in  this  way  on  the  person  of  the  chief  of  a  friendly 
nation,  united  to  Spain  in  the  best  relations,  and  which,  throughout  the  whole 
time  of  the  war,  has  been  giving  and  is  now  giving  us  the  most  positive  proofs 
of  the  good  sentiments  which  animate  it  in  respect  to  all  questions  and  all  the 
interests  of  Spain. 

The  government,  therefore,  associates  itself  to  the  motion  made  by  the 
deputy,  and  would  wish  that  the  whole  House  and  all  Spain  should  manifest 
these  same  sentiments,  not  only  because  this  is  just,  but  also  on  account  of  the 
reciprocity  of  sentiments  which  ought  to  exist  between  that  nation  and  Spain. 

The  Deputy  Scfior  CLAEOS  (ministerial)  said :  The  president  of  the  cabinet 
of  ministers  has  very  properly  undertaken  to  express,  not  only  in  the  name 
of  the  government  of  the  Queen,  but  in  that  of  the  majority  of  this  House, 
the  perfect  identity  of  sentiment  which  animates  all  of  us  with  respect  to  the 
proposition  made  by  the  honorable  deputy  who  has  just  spoken.  In  this  point, 
as  the  president  of  the  cabinet  has  well  said,  there  can  be  no  diversity  of 
opinion  whatsoever  among  any  of  the  deputies  who  sit  in  this  Chamber.  The 
abominable  crime  of  which  the  illustrious  personage  who  presided  over  the 
American  Union  has  been  the  victim,  is  a  thing  which  must  wound  painfully 
the  fibres  of  all  who  have  any  sentiments  of  morality,  and  profoundly  all  those 
who  have  any  political  instinct. 

It  is  evident  that  this  poison  which  corrodes  the  entrails  of  European 
societies  has  infiltered  itself  beyond  the  Atlantic,  and  that  it  reaches  all  peoples. 
Consequently,  if  in  the  past  we  are  afflicted  by  the  crimes  committed  in  Europe 
against  crowned  heads,  on  this  occasion  the  future  ought  to  afflict  us  still  more, 
seeing  that  we  discover  the  disease;  to  have  extended  to  all  humanity.  We 


694  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

who  glory  in  being  partisans  of  the  principle  of  authority,  we  ought  to  feel  this 
more  than  any.  In  fact,  we  believe  that  the  principle  of  authority  is  a  species 
of  reflex  of  the  divine  power — understanding  this  phrase  in  its  right  sense — in 
the  sense  in  which  it  seems  to  me  it  cannot  be  denied  by  anybody,  considering 
the  public  power  in  its  august  social  manifestations,  not  precisely  in  kings,  as  is 
vulgarly  believed,  but  in  whomsoever  represents  it  socially  and  legitimately, 
is  sacred. 

This  principle,  then,  is  for  us  incarnate  in  the  person  of  the  President  of  a 
republic,  as  it  is  in  that  of  our  own  august  sovereign,  or  iu  that  of  any  crowned 
head  of  Europe.  We,  therefore,  join  ourselves  to  this  worthy,  opportune  and 
most  fitting  manifestation,  and  I  think  in  so  saying  I  interpret  faithfully  the 
sentiments  of  the  majority — (by  many  deputies:  Yes,  yes,) — and  I  may  say  we 
are  perfectly  agreed  to  what  has  been  said  by  the  Deputy  Lasala,  and  by  the 
president  of  the  cabinet.  To  us  it  is  most  grateful,  seeing  that  we  are  divided 
on  other  questions  in  which  our  opinions  differ,  to  be  perfectly  united  on  this 
point,  which  is  of  great  interest,  for  the  question  is  the  condemnation,  present 
and  future,  of  those  sacrilcgeous  attacks  against  a  principle  alike  sacred  to  every 
member  of  this  house. 

The  President  of  the  Cabinet  of  Ministers  said :  I  omitted  to  state  to  the 
Congress  that  the  latest  information  of  the  government  is  that  the  Secretary  of 
State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  who  has  been  wounded  most  seriously,  as  well  as  his 
son,  it  is  hoped  may  both  recover  from  the  sad  condition  to  which  they  were 
reduced,  and  that  the  assassin  is  arrested. 

The  Deputy  Seiior  LASALA:  Both  times  the  president  of  the  cabinet  has 
risen  he  has  satisfied  me  completely.  This  is  what  I  hoped  for  from  the  gov 
ernment  of  her  Majesty  on  this  occasion,  and  without  entering  now  into  any 
considerations  upon  the  origin  of  power,  it  seems  to  me  that  in  point  of  fact  the 
house  is  now  ready  to  make  the  manifestation  which  the  president  of  the  cabi 
net  has  indicated.  I,  personally,  ought  not  to  propose  it.  And,  although  there 
are  here  many  persons  more  competent,  better  authorized,  and  more  conspicu 
ous  than  I  am  on  these  benches,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  house,  they  would 
not  have  authority  sufficient  to  make  this  manifestation.  But  there  is  in  this 
chamber  one  person  who  can  make  it,  (the  orator  is  interrupted  by  the  presi 
dent  of  the  congress,)  and  at  this  moment  he  is  interrupting  me  to  say  that  he 
will  make  it. 

The  President  of  the  Congress  of  Deputies,  from  his  chair,  said :  Gentlemen 
Deputies — I  consider  it  my  privilege  as  well  as  duty  to  interpret  on  this 
occasion  the  sentiments  of  you  all,  of  the  whole  congress  and  of  the  nation, 
declaring  that  this  house  associates  itself  to  the  profound  affliction  which  has 
fallen  upon  the  United  States  in  the  horrible  crime  committed  upon  the  person 
of  the  President  of  that  republic,  and  which  has  just  occupied  the  attention  of 
this  house. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       095 

The  question  being  then  put  whether  the  House  adheres  to  the  declaration 
made  by  its  president,  it  was  agreed  to  without  a  dissenting  voice;  and,  on 
motion  of  Deputy  Jove  y  Hevia,  it  was  ordered  to  be  entered  on  the  records, 
with  the  adhesion  of  the  House  by  a  unanimous  vote 


[Translation.] 

SPANISH  LEGATION  IN  WASHINGTON, 

New  Yor/f,  Jane  9,  18G5. 

The  undersigned,  minister  plenipotentiary  of  her  Catholic  Majesty,  has  the 
honor  to  address  the  honorable  Acting  Secretary  of  State,  informing  him,  in  the 
name  of  his  government,  of  the  profound  horror  and  indignation  felt  by  the 
Crown,  the  representatives,  and  the  Spanish  people,  at  the  news  of  the  assassin 
ation  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  the- 
attack  upon  the  person  of  the  honorable  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  William  II 
Seward. 

The  following  accompanying  documents  are  evidence  of  this  sentiment : 
No.  1  is  a  copy  of  a  communication,  dated  May  1,  from  her  Majesty's  first 
secretary  of  state,  transmitting  to  the  undersigned  a  note  of  the  21st  of  April, 
in  reply  to  one  from  the  United  States  charge  d'affaires  of  the  same  date 
announcing  that  sad  event;  No.  2  is  a  copy  of  another  communication  of  the 
9th  of  May,  containing  two  resolutions  on  the  same  sad  subject,  adopted  unani 
mously  by  the  Cortes. 

As  the  honorable  Acting  Secretary  will  see,  the  undersigned  presents 
himself  personally  to  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  republic  to  express  these 
sentiments. 

The  undersigned  regrets  that  indisposition  has  retained  him  in  New  York, 
and  thus  prevented  him  from  presenting  these  documents  sooner,  though  they 
might  have  been  delivered  to  the  Department  of  State  in  another  way. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  the  undersigned  sympathizes  deeply 
with  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  under  these  distressing 
circumstances,  and  hopes  the  honorable  Acting  Secretary  of  State  will  give  him 
an  opportunity  to  fulfil  the  charge  of  his  government  towards  the  President  of 
this  republic. 

The  undersigned  embraces  this  occasion  of  renewing  to  the  honorable 
Acting  Secretary  of  State  the  assurances  of  his  most  distinguished  considera 
tion. 

GABRIEL  G.  Y  TASSARA. 

lion.  ACTING  SECRETARY  OF  STATE 

of  i 'lie  United  States. 


696  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Mr.  Arrazola  to  Mr.  Tassara. 

[Translation.] 

MADRID,  May  1,  18G5. 

MOST  EXCELLENT  SIR  :  I  transmit,  by  royal  order,  to  your  excellency  a 
copy  of  the  note  I  sent  to  the  United  States  charge"  d'affaires  in  reply  to  one 
from  him,  informing  me  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S,  assassination,  who  was  President  of 
the  republic,  and  of  the  attempt  on  the  life  of  Mr.  Sevvard,  Secretary  of  State. 
Struck  with  the  greatest  indignation  at  such  atrocious  and  horrid  crimes,  her 
Majesty's  government  hastens  to  express  to  the  representative  of  the  United 
States  at  this  court  the  profound  sorrow  produced  upon  the  mind  of  the  Queen 
and  her  ministers  by  the  death  of  the  distinguished  statesman  that  has  filled 
the  whole  country  with  mourning. 

I  hope  Mr.  Perry  will  not  delay  to  communicate  the  mentioned  note  to 
his  government ;  and,  besides  this,  her  Majesty  desires  you  to  approach  Mr. 
LINCOLN'S  successor  in  person,  and  confirm  the  sentiments  expressed  in  the 
note,  assuring  him  that  the  Spanish  government  cherishes  the  hope  that  the 
sad  event,  the  subject  of  this  despatch,  may  not  produce  a  change  of  the 
friendly  relations  now  existing  between  Spain  and  your  republic. 

May  God  grant  you  many  years. 

LORENZO  ARRAZOLA. 


[Translation.] 

LEGATION  OF  SPAIN  AT  WASHINGTON, 

Washington,  May  10,  1865. 

The  undersigned,  minister  plenipotentiary  of  her  Catholic  Majesty,  has 
received  from  the  captain  general  of  Cuba  a  communication,  in  which,  referring 
to  the  horrible  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  to  the  attempt  com 
mitted  on  the  persons  of  the  honorable  Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretary  of 
State,  Mr.  William  II.  Seward  and  Mr.  Frederick  W.  Seward,  he  says  to  me 
what  follows :  "  I  ask  you  to  please  to  express  to  Mr.  Seward  my  sorrow,  as 
governor  of  this  island  and  as  an  individual,  for  these  calamities,  and  the  vows 
I  address  to  the  Almighty  for  the  prompt  recovery  of  himself  and  son,  inform 
ing  him  at.  the  same  time  of  the  general  indignation  which  has  been  caused  by 
the  outrage  on  the  President  of  the  republic  and  himself,  and  that  I  await  witli 
anxiety  news  of  his  recovery." 

The  undersigned  has  the  honor  to  bring  this  to  the  knowledge  of  the  honor- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        697 

able  Secretary  of  State  ad  interim,  asking  that  on  his  part  he  will  please  inform 
Mr.  Seward  of  it,  with  similar  expressions  on  the  part  of  the  undersigned. 

The  undersigned  avails  of  the  occasion  to  reiterate  to  the  honorable  Acting 
Secretary  of  State  the  assurances  of  his  highest  consideration. 

GABRIEL  G.  Y  TASSARA. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


Manuel  Mayol  to  Mr.  Giro. 

[Translation.] 

JEREZ,  May  9,  1865. 

CITIZEN  CONSUL  :  Identified  with  the  cause  of  your  country,  which  is  the 
cause  of  liberty  throughout  the  world,  and  at  the  same  time  impressed  with 
sadness  on  account  of  the  horrid  assassination  just  committed  upon  the  person 
of  the  illustrious  republican  LINCOLN,  various  friends  and  political  co-religionists 
of  this  city  have  decided  to  send  a  congratulation  for  the  happy  termination  of 
your  war,  in  which  we  at  the  same  time  express  our  sorrow  for  the  crime  that 
has  just  taken  place.  Wishing  it  may  quickly  arrive  at  its  address,  we  have 
concluded  to  ask  you,  (provided  there  is  no  objection,)  if  we  may  send  it  imme 
diately  to  your  consulate,  so  that  you  can  forward  it  directly  and  thus  give  us 
the  assurance  that  it  will  not  be  lost. 

Send  your  answer,  if  you  please,  to  Armas  street,  No.  2,  infants'  public 
school,  where  it  will  be  anxiously  expected  by  your  very  humble  servant, 

MANUEL  MAYOL. 


Manuel  Mayol  to  Mr.  Giro. 

[Translation.] 

JEREZ,  May  12,  18G5. 

CITIZEN  CONSUL:  Availing  ourselves  of  the  generous  offer  you  made  to  us 
in  your  letter  of  the  10th  instant,  1  take  the  liberty  to  trouble  you  with  the 
annexed  manifesto,  that  you  may  send  it,  as  you  politely  offered  to  do,  to  the 
minister  of  your  nation  in  Madrid,  who  will  send  it  with  safety  and  despatch  to 
ils  place  of  destination. 

Although  it  has  but  six  signatures,  it  is  HOIK;  the  less  certain  that  it  is  the 
88 


698  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

will  of  the  democracy  of  this  town,  whose  -signatures  we  have  not  taken  the 
trouble  to  collect,  because  it  would  make  the  document  too  large. 
With  that  intent,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c.,  &c., 

MANUEL  MAYOL. 


[Translation.  1 

SPAIN,  ANDALUSIA, 
Jerez  de  la  Frontera,  May  2,  1865. 

CITIZEN  VICE-PRESIDENT  :  As  soon  as  the  insidious  and  treacherous  hand 
of  the  southern  planters  put  an  end  to  the  existence  of  the  illustrious  republi 
can,  LINCOLN,  a  sentiment  of  horror  and  indignation  seized  our  minds,  a  senti 
ment  that  springs  from  the  bottom  of  the  hearts  of  the  freemen  of  Old  Europe, 
and,  mingling  with  that  of  our  brothers  of  Young  America,  fills  all  tyrants  with 
fear  and  dread. 

The  happy  termination  of  your  war — the  first  in  the  world  from  the  great 
ness  of  the  cause  you  were  defending — was  not  enough  to  extinguish  the  malev 
olent  and  cruel  instincts  of  the  unworthy  merchants  of  human  flesh,  in  presence 
of  the  sacred  fire  of  the  idea  you  were  sustaining — an  idea  that  fills  the  minds 
of  modern  generations,  and  is  the  banner  that  will  lead  us  on  to  victory,  amid 
the  shouts  of  justice  and  liberty. 

Remember,  Mr'.  Vice-President,  that  Providence  has  placed  the  cause  of 
humanity  in  your  hands;  that  the  fulfilment  of  sacred  duties  weighs  upon  your 
conscience;  and  do  not  forget  either  that,  as  the  emancipation  of  the  slave  is  a 
glorious  page  to  be  recorded  in  the  history  of  free  nations,  and  is  now  welcomed 
by  the  world  with  admiration  and  enthusiasm,  Europe  and  the  world  expect 
that  the  consequences  of  the  great  social  revolution,  of  which  you  are  the  repre 
sentative,  will  soon  be  felt. 

Courage,  Mr.  Vice-President,  and  remember  that  if  the  great  nation  in 
whose  font  still  burns  the  sacred  flame  of  the  Revolution  has  comprehended  the 
greatness  of  its  mission  in  choosing  you  to  direct  its  destiny,  you  have  upon 
your  conscience  the  future  of  the  people  that  have  been  intrusted  to  your  care, 
and  not  only  them,  but  the  oppressed  of  the  whole  world.  One  more  step  in 
the  way  that  your  great  nation  has  opened,  and  the  cause  of  humanity  and 
liberty  is  safe. 

Permit  us,  however,  citizen  Vice-President,  with  the  frankness  and  loyalty 
of  good  liberals,  to  reveal  a  symptom  of  pain  on  remembering  the  hesitation  of 
the  great  republic  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  the  excuses  after  victory 
was  gained.  Justice  is  tarnished  by  shadows,  though  they  be  cast  by  conve 
nience  ;  slavery  is  the  negative  of  manhood  ;  and  if  at  first  there  was  a  moment 
of  hesitation,  be  resolute,  quick,  and  firm  at  last.  Human  rights  are  worth 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       699 

more  than  riches ;  let  there  be  no  more  slaves  for  a  single  day,  although  great 
but  passing  calamities  might  be  the  result. 

Receive  our  most  loyal  congratulations  upon  the  triumph  you  have  gained, 
and  in  it  you  will  find  a  tear  of  each  one  of  the  workers  who  wish  you  well ; 
deposit  it  in  the  tomb  that  covers  the  remains  of  the  immortal  LINCOLN. 

MANUEL  MAYOL. 

MIGUEL  PARADOS. 

CARLOS  REISLE. 

RAMON  DE  GALA. 

JOSE  HUERTAS. 

PEDRO  SCHMIDT. 

SIMON  CARO. 


Mr.  Pern/  to  Mr.  Seward. 

[Extract.] 

No.  193.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,* 

Madrid,  April  29,  1865. 

SIR  :  Thank  God,  we  are  permitted  still  to  address  you.  A  telegram 
from  Queenstown  informs  me  at  this  moment  "  that  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son 
are  likely  to  recover." 

It  is  a  relief  from  the  suspense  which  has  kept  my  hand  bound  since  the 
evening  of  the  26th,  when  Mr.  Adams's  telegram  informed  me  of  the  tragedy 
in  Washington. 

Pray  accept  for  yourself,  dear  sir,  the  expression  of  my  horror  and  my 
grief  at  the  foul  crime  of  which  you  have  been  the  victim;  and  say  also  to 
the  Assistant  Secretary  of  State  that  I  associate  myself  with  him  in  sympathy 
for  all  his  sufferings. 

The  death  of  President  LINCOLN  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin  at  the  moment 
when  the  great  work  with  which  his  name  is  indissolubly  connected  for  all 
time  touched  the  term  of  success  when  the  greatest  insurrection  known  in 
history,  striking  for  human  slavery  and  at  the  life  of  the  republic,  succumbs  at 
last  to  the  valor  of  our  democratic  armies,  and  the  persistent  virtue  of  our  peo 
ple,  led  by  the  President  of  their  own  choice  twice  elected,  and  set  up  before 
friends  and  foes  as  their  executive.  The  death  of  this  Chief  Magistrate,  ele 
vated  by  force  of  great  events  to  a  place  in  history  not  less  than  that  of  every 
other  human  name  which  the  annals  of  the  race  record,  and  filling  that  broad 
place  worthily,  occurring  at  such  a  moment  and  in  such  a  way,  has  sent  a  shock 
of  horror  through  Europe. 

The  Spanish   people  have  been  thunderstruck.     I  have  heard  ordinary 


700  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

men,  ignorant  that  an  American  was  listening,  offer  to  lose  a  right  hand  if  only 
this  news  might  not  be  true.  Men  were  rushing  into  this  office  until  one 
o'clock  at  night,  unwilling  to  believe,  unable  to  control  the  emotion  this  news 
had  stirred,  and  an  unfeigned  grief  got  the  better  of  all  form  and  etiquette  in 
the  manifestation  of  the  sympathy  of  this  generous-hearted  people  for  the  loss 
of  President  LINCOLN. 

Your  name,  sir,  was  also  on  every  lip;  but  men  hoped  against  hope,  and 
God  has  permitted  this  yearning  of  the  universal  heart  of  men  to  plead  for  you. 

I  felt  it  would  be  so ;  I  cannot  tell  you  how  or  why,  but  in  spite  of  the 
desolating  sweep  of  the  first  telegrams,  something  stirred  within  me  with  the 
consciousness  that  Mr.  Seward  still  lived  and  would  live.  Heavy  as  the  pall 
of  grief  closed  over  the  loss  of  LINCOLN,  we  have  refused  to  mourn  for  you,  and 
now  we  know  that  your  work  was  not  yet-finished. 

How  should  it  be,  if  it  is  now,  precisely  when  the  military  triumph  is 
gained,  and  the  political  and  diplomatic  cpjcstions  generated  by  the  war  are  up 
for  settlement,  that  the  sage  counsel,  the  long-experienced  and  the  steady  hand 
of  William  H.  Seward  is  needed  in  America  and  relied  upon  in  Europe? 

We  mourn  for  our  President.  But  after  all  let  an  American  speak,  for 
whom  the  3,000  miles  of  distance  which  separate  him  from  the  turmoil  and 
distraction  of  that  scene  serve,  perhaps  something  as  the  lapse  of  time  will  serve 
to  his  countrymen  at  home,  to  enable  him  to  see  events  in  their  general  form 
and  purport  as  they  will  stand  in  history. 

The  triumph  of  the  American  democracy  in  saving  the  second  great 
republic  attacked  by  a  slaveholding  oligarchy  stands  parallel  in  the  world's 
record  with  the  triumph  of  the  Roman  democracy  when  they  destroyed  the 
first  great  republic,  attacking  that  slaveholding  oligarchy. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  and  Julius  Caesar  are  names  which  henceforth  personify 
the  throes  of  men  for  liberty  in  two  supreme  epochs  of  history,  which  can  be 
compared  only  the  one  with  the  other.  An  emperor  was  the  result  of  the 
efforts  of  the  Roman  democracy,  as  it  has  since  been  of  other  people. 

A  citizen  President,  equally  triumphant  over  the  slaveholding  patrician 
element,  but  himself  obedient  to  law,  is  the  result  of  our  people's  virtue  and  his 
own.  The  singular  parity  of  incident  which  closed  the  career  of  these  two 
men,  when  the  triumph  was  assured,  will  grave  eternally  on  the  memory  of  the 
generations  the  contrast  of  the  result  established,  the  immense  advance  of 
humanity  since  Caesar  fell. 

God's  instrument  in  a  work  which  makes  his  name  immortal,  LINCOLN 
died  at  a  glorious  moment ;  success  was  assured,  and  if  he  had  been  ambitious  he 
could  not  have  chosen  another  death.  His  work  was  done !  We  call  out  for 
his  tenacity  in  doing  right,  his  steady  honesty  in  executing  justice  tempered 
with  mercy ;  but  these  are  qualities  of  our  northern  people,  and  he  was  great 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       701 

only  as  he  typified  these.     The  people  remain,  and  I  doubt  not  will  find  their 
representative. 

Meantime,  what  do  we  know  of  the  divine  purposes  to  be  served  by  this 
crowning  crime,  which  sets  the  everlasting  seal  on  the  forehead  of  this  rebel 
lion  ? 

What  is  the  position  to-day  of  those  men  who  rose  against  the  republic 
for  the  perpetuation  of  human  slavery  1 

Speaking  from  Europe,  I  may  say :  already  that  assassin  blow  has  done 
more  to  finish  up  the  sympathies  of  men  for  the  defenders  of  slavery  and 
oligarchy  than  all  that  has  happened  before  or  since  the  war  began.  Though 
the  military  power  of  the  rebels  is  broken,  men  still  paid  their  tribute  of  respect 
to  the  valor  of  their  soldiery,  the  skill  of  their  generals,  and  the  political  deci 
sion  of  their  leaders ;  and  these  sentiments  have  great  sway  over  the  minds  of 
men,  and  impede  them  from  discerning  the  deformity  of  the  principles  for 
which  those  armies  and  those  leaders  fought. 

But  the  night  of  April  14,  1865,  has  dispelled  forever  the  mistaken  sym 
pathies  which  the  audacity  of  April  13, 1861,  generated,  and  has  left  the  enemies 
of  human  progress  naked  before  the  world,  with  only  such  moral  support  hence 
forth  as  those  decidedly  of  their  own  kind  can  give  them. 

This  in  Europe.  I  ought  to  forbear  from  speculating  upon  its  effects 
in  America,  but  I  will  say  that  I  do  not  suppose  the  men  who  have  made  their 
names  illustrious  in  a  bad  cause  had  any  personal  connection  with  a  deed  so 
foul ;  their  errors  have  not  clouded  the  moral  faculties  of  the  leaders  of  the 
rebellion  to  such  an  extent  as  this,  nor  are  the  southern  people  generally  to  be 
charged  with  immediate  complicity  in  this  infamy. 

It  is  precisely  because  I  do  not  believe  this  that  I  wait  to  see  a  reaction  in 
the  South  itself  against  the  cause  which  can  prepare  such  instruments,  and  give 
rise,  even  incidentally,  to  such  a  deed.  God's  hand  shall  work  in  the  hearts  of 
the  South  itself  through  the  martyrdom  of  LINCOLN  and  the  steadfast  mag 
nanimity  of  that  great  people  whose  principles  he  represented,  and  which  I  do 
not  look  to  see  belied  even  under  this  last  provocation.  Thus  I  do  not  doubt 
the  moral  death  of  the  rebellion  in  the  South  itself  will  date  from  the  day 
LINCOLN  was  murdered.  And  I  shall  be  greatly  mistaken  if  the  political  work 
of  pacification  and  reconstruction  of  the  great  democratic  republic,  homogen 
eous  and  united  as  never  before,  shall  not  be  found  to  be  notably  facilitated  by 
the  very  events  which  might  seem  at  first  to  disturb  its  course.  Such  is  my 
faith  ;  pardon  its  expression. 

I  have  not  waited  instructions  to  order  mourning  in  this  legation,  and 
recommend  the  same  in  all  our  consulates  in  this  jurisdiction  for  thirty  days. 
******** 

The  popular  newspapers  appeared  in  mourning  yestcrdfiy.     The  members 


702  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

of  the  foreign  diplomatic  corps  and  many  eminent  men  have  called  to  express 
their  sympathy. 

No  manifestation  has  yet  been  received  from  the  Queen's  government,  nor 
the  Chambers  now  in  session. 

The  interior  condition  of  affairs  in  Spain  is  at  a  point  so  critical  that  hardly 
anything  else  can  be  expected  to  be  thought  of  by  this  government. 

The  minister  of  state  is  ill,  and  retires  from  Madrid.     His  substitute  ad 
interim,  the  minister  of  grace  and  justice,  is  also  ill  and  confined  to  his  chamber. 
Once  more,  sir,  I  grasp  your  hand  in  respectful  sympathy. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

HORATIO  J.  PERRY. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWAKD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


Mr.  Perry  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  194.J  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Madrid,  May  1,  1865. 

SIR:  After  my  despatch  No.  193  was  written,  on  the  29th  ultimo,  I 
received  an  official  visit  from  the  Duke  of  Valencia,  president  of  the  cabinet  of 
ministers,  attended  by  his  aids,  who  came  to  say  to  me,  in  the  name  and  by 
special  order  of  the  Queen,  how  great  was  the  horror  and  the  grief  with  which 
her  Majesty  had  learned  the  news  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN, 
and  her  Majesty  begged  me  to  be  pleased  to  make  known  to  President  Johnson 
her  profound  and  sincere  sympathy  with  him  and  the  American  nation  for  the 
loss  we  had  sustained  in  the  person  of  our  late  most  worthy  and  illustrious 
President. 

I  thanked  the  duke,  and  begged  him  to  convey  provisionally  to  her  Majesty 
the  expression  of  my  own  gratitude  for  her  Majesty's  warm  manifestation  of 
sympathy  in  the  grief  of  my  government  and  nation,  which  I  would  not  fail  to 
transmit  immediately  to  Washington. 

Yesterday  I  received  the  official  note  from  the  minister  of  state  ad  interim, 
Sr.  Arrazola,  dated  on  the  27th  instant,  and  which  the  Duke  of  Valencia  had 
also  announced,  in  his  visit  on  the  29th  instant,  was  being  prepared  to  be  sent 
to  me.  Sr.  Arrazola  is  ill  and  confined  to  his  chamber,  and  Sr.  Banuclos,  assist 
ant  secretary  of  state,  informed  me  this  was  the  only  paper  he  had  signed  for  a 
number  of  days  past. 

The  duke  also  informed  me  that  Mr.  Tassara,  Spanish  minister  at  Wash 
ington,  would  be  instructed  to  make  a  similar  manifestation  to  you  personally 
in  Washington. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        703 

To-day  the  congress  of  deputies,  now  in  session,  has  also  taken  action 
upon  the  same  subject.  The  Deputy  Lasala,  of  the  opposition,  inquired  of  the 
government  if  anything  had  been  done  to  manifest  the  sentiment  of  this  nation 
at  the  horrible  events  in  Washington. 

The  Dnkc  of  Valencia,  in  the  name  of  the  government,  recited  to  the  Cham 
ber  the  steps  taken  by  the  Queen  and  by  the  ministers. 

The  Deputy  Claros,  ministerial,  also  made  a  remarkable  speech,  which 
was  saluted  by  the  whole  house  with  marks  of  applause. 

Then  the  president  of  the  congress,  from  his  chair,  said : 

"  SENORES  DEPUTIES  :  I  consider  it  my  privilege  as  well  as  duty  to  inter 
pret  on  this  occasion  the  sentiments  of  you  all,  of  the  whole  congress,  and  of 
the  nation,  declaring  that  this  house  associates  itself  to  the  profound  affliction 
which  has  fallen  upon  the  United  States,  in  the  horrible  crime  committed  upon 
the  person  of  the  President  of  that  republic,  and  which  lias  occupied  the  atten 
tion  of  the  house  at  this  moment." 

The  question  being  then  put,  whether  the  house  adheres  to  the  declara 
tion  just  made  by  the  president,  it  was  voted  without  a  dissenting  voice,  and,  on 
motion  of  Deputy  Jove  y  Hevia,  it  was  ordered  to  be  entered  on  the  record  with 
the  adhesion  of  the  house  by  a  unanimous  vote. 

This  debate  is  worthy  to  be  transmitted  to  you  entire,  and  I  shall  send 
it,  translated  from  the  official  journal  of  the  Chamber,  as  soon  as  it  can  be  pre 
pared. 

With  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

HORATIO  J.  PERRY. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


[Translation.  ] 

MADRID,  May  31,  1865. 

HONORED  SIR  :  Our  personal  experience  has  taught  us  that  true  grief  is  a 
friend  of  silence,  and  we  feel  that  which  overwhelms  you  and  us  is  to  be  more 
poignant  because  we  have  been  silent. 

For  that  reason  we  have  restrained  the  impulses  of  our  souls  till  now,  and 
have  suppressed  the  expression  of  the  strong  emotions  that  have  agitated  our 
lives.  But  now  that  our  sincere  sorrow  has  become  calm,  and  reason  has 
resumed  her  sway,  we  are  going  to  fulfil  a  sacred  duty — sacred  to  every  gener 
ous  mind,  and  most  sacred  to  us  because  we  are  young  men  and  Americans. 

Sons  of  the  two  islands,  only  separated  from  you  by  a  narrow  sea,  strictly 
connected  with  the  great  republic  by  the  interchange  of  produce  and  of  ideas, 
whatever  relates  to  her  is  of  interest  to  us,  inasmuch  as  we  have  silently  sym- 


704  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

pathizcd  with  her  in  her  recent  days  of  glory,  and  now  condole  with  her  in  her 
hour  of  mourning. 

As  men  we  weep  for  LINCOLN  ;  the  perfidy  that  deprived  him  of  his  earthly 
existence  is  repugnant  to  the  heart  of  every  man;  enemies  to  that  social  infamy 
which,  under  the  name  of  slavery,  is  a  disgrace  (o  the  land  of  liberty,  as  it  is  a 
reproach  to  the  beloved  country  of  our  birth,  we  felt,  with  LINCOLN,  the  holy 
emotions  that  he  felt  when  he  saw  his  great  task  done ;  we  Cubans  and  Porto- 
ricans,  borne  by  providential  destiny  towards  the  future  of  America,  shuddered 
with  the  last  convulsion  of  the  great  man ;  we  spirits,  lovers  of  goodness  and 
of  liberty,  which  is  its  political  expression,  would  have  lamented  the  eternal 
absence  of  that  strong  mind  that  gave  us  the  consolation  of  seeing  liberty 
guaranteed,  at  least  in  the  land  he  made  greater  by  his  greatness,  if  we  did  not 
know  that  death  kills  the  body  and  not  the  soul;  that  LINCOLN'S  body  was 
killed,  but  his  spirit  was  the  soul  of  the  giant  nation  that  he  knew  how  to 
govern. 

After  Washington  there  came  other  Washingtons ;  after  LINCOLN  there 
will  come,  there  has  already  come,  another  Lincoln.  This  hope,  this  assurance, 
calms  our  grief,  and  it  is  scarcely  a  condolence  that  we  send  you,  but  a  prayer 
that  you  may  be  worthy  of  America. 

NARCISO  URDANEBIO. 

JOSE  FERNANDEZ. 

TRISTAN  MEDINA. 

CALISTO  R.  LOIRA. 

FEDERICO  FERNANDEZ  DE  LA  REGUERA. 

ANTONIO  GONZALES  Y  HERRERA. 

RAMON  P.  TRUJILLO. 

ALBERTO  ABRISQUETA  Y  EBRENTZ. 

FRANCISCO  JAVIER  CASERO. 

FRANCO.  PUENTO. 

AND   TWENTY-THREE  OTHER  NAMES. 

His  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


[Translation.  ] 

SINEU,  May  14,  1865. 
To  the  President  of  the  United  States : 

The  Committee  of  Progress  of  the  town  of  Sineu,  in  Majorca,  regarding 
with  the  deepest  feeling  of  indignation  the  horrible  crime  which  the  liberator 
from  slavery — the  man  of  high  principle,  the  great  patriot,  LINCOLN,  lias  been 
the  victim — LINCOLN,  the  man  whose  vigorous  soul  never  wavered  in  view  of 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       705 

the  terrible  trials  reserved  for  his  government,  and  for  whom  history,  gathering 
the  last  testimonial  of  his  lofty  wisdom,  valor,  and  patriotism,  will  reserve  the 
highest  place  among  the  most  illustrious  citizens  of  the  earth — sympathizes 
heartily  with  you  in  the  deep  regret  which  pervades  the  great  republic  of  which 
you  are  the  worthy  President;  congratulating  you  at  the  same  time  that,  if 
Providence,  in  its  inscrutable  designs,  has  permitted  that  he  should  be  stricken 
down  in  order  to  finish  the  immense  work  of  the  reorganization  of  the  Union, 
peace  has  crowned  his  colossal  efforts,  and  that  from  this  moment  the  fratricidal 
war  which,  for  a  time,  desolated  a  country  so  beautiful  and  prosperous,  may  be 
considered  as  at  an  end. 

God  preserve  your  valuable  life 

DOMINGO  PUNTORT,  President. 
ANTO.  BAVEOLO. 
SEBASTIAN  FERRA. 
MIGUEL  OLIVEZ. 
PEDRO  RAY'DA  REAL. 
FRANCISCO  GUECAS,  Secretary. 


SWEDEN  AND  NOKWAY, 


Count  Manderstrum  to  Mr.  Campbell. 

[Translation.  J 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  It  is  with  the  utmost  dismay  I  find  in  the  evening  papers 
a  telegram  from  New  York  of  the  15th  instant,  to  the  following  purport: 

"  President  LINCOLN  has  been  shot  by  an  assassin.  He  died  to-day.  A 
murderous  attempt  has  been  directed  against  Mr.  Seward.  His  recovery  is 
doubtful." 

This  news  is  from  Hamburg.  I  have  received  nothing  to  confirm  it  up  to 
this  hour.  I  hope  it  is  an  untrue,  or  at  least  exaggerated  report;  of  course  I 
will  communicate  to  you  what  I  receive. 

You  cannot  doubt,  my  dear  sir,  the  general  sentiments  of  horror  and  indig 
nation  by  which  this  awful  news  will  be  received  in  my  country,  and  I  beg  to 
express  to  you  the  feelings  of  my  most  cordial  sympathy. 

I  remain,  my  dear  sir,  with  great  truth  and  regard,  yours,  very  truly, 

MANDERSTROM.. 

WEDNESDAY  EVENING. 

89 


700  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Count  Mandcrstrum  to  Mr.  Campbell. 

[Translation.] 

APRIL  27,  1865. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  I  hasten  to  communicate  to  you  the  following  details,  trans 
mitted  from  London  yesterday  evening,  but  which  reached  me  only  this  morning: 

It  appears  that  President  LINCOLN  was  murdered  in  his  box  at  the  theatre; 
the  assassin,  whose  name  is  Booth,  jumped  down  from  the  box  on  the  scene  and 
effectually  escaped.  Pie  went  directly  to  Baltimore,  and  was  apprehended 
there.  It  was  an  accomplice  of  Booth  who  made  the  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward, 
in  his  sick-room,  and  wounded  him  dangerously.  His  son,  Mr.  Frederick 
Seward,  hastening  to  help  his  father,  was  murdered  on  the  spot. 

General  Grant  was  to  have  been  present  at  the  play,  but  was  prevented 
by  official  business ;  this  being  mentioned,  I  suppose  there  was  some  plan  laid 
against  him. 

Such  a  shocking  series  of  atrocious  crimes,  up  to  this  date  never  witnessed 
in  your  country,  cannot  fail  to  impress  the  minds  of  all  good  citizens  and  make 
them  rally  round  the  banner  of  order. 

I  reserve  myself  to  answer  officially  to  your  note,  but  thought  it  my  duty 
not  to  lose  time  in  giving  you  all  the  details  I  have  received. 
I  am,  my  dear  sir,  your  very  obedient  servant, 

MANDERSTROM. 


Count  Manderstrom  to  Mr.  Campbell. 

[Translation.] 

STOCKHOLM,  April  27,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  received  the  official  communication  by  which  you  have  con 
firmed  this  morning  the  melancholy  intelligence,  already  in  circulation  yesterday 
evening,  of  the  odious  outrage  to  which  the  President  of  the  United  States  fell 
a  victim  on  the  evening  of  the  14th  of  this  month. 

I  have  thought  it  my  duty  to  bring  this  overwhelming  news  immediately 
to  the  knowledge  of  my  august  sovereign,  and  it  is  by  his  express  order  that  I 
hasten  to  convey  to  you,  sir,  all  the  horror  and  profound  regret  with  which  it 
has  inspired  him.  Not  only  the  old  and  excellent  relations  which  existed  be 
tween  the  two  governments,  but  the  high  esteem  and  the  sincere  consideration 
professed  by  the  King  for  the  noble  character  and  eminent  qualities  of  the 
illustrious  President,  who  has  been  torn  from  a  country  to  the  welfare  of  which 
he  was  devoted,  by  the  most  atrocious  crime,  may  easily  explain  the  sentiments 
of  just  grief  and  sad  sympathy  with  which  the  King  is  penetrated,  and  the 
reprobation  with  which  his  Majesty  stamps  a  shameful  assassination,  directed 
by  a  parricidal  hand  against  that  good  man, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        707 

The  crime  is  aggravated  by  the  infamous  attack  made  upon  the  distin 
guished  statesman  confined  to  his  bed  of  suffering,  and  who,  wounded  also  in 
his  most  cherished  affections,  seems  to  leave  us  little  hope  of  seeing  him  recover 
from  his  physical  and  mental  anguish. 

The  King  has  charged  me  to  beg  you,  sir,  to  testify  to  your  government  the 
sentiments  entertained  by  him,  and  which,  be  assured,  are  shared  by  the  two 
peoples  united  under  his  sceptre. 

In  giving  utterance  to  the  most  sincere  wishes  that  this  frightful  misfortune 
does  not  injure  the  United  States  of  America,  the  government  of  the  King 
expresses  the  hope  of  continuing  with  President  Johnson  the  same  relations 
of  confidence  and  amity  which  have  been  maintained  under  the  government 
of  the  illustrious  President  whose  loss  we  so  bitterly  deplore. 

In  begging  you,  sir,  to  accept  the  expression  of  my  most  profound  personal 
regret,  I  permit  myself  to  add  the  assurances  of  my  most  distinguished  consid 
eration.  MANDERSTROM. 

Mr.  CAMPBELL, 

Minister  resident  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


Baron  de  Wetter stedt  to  Mr.  Hunter. 
[Translation.] 

LEGATION  OF  SWEDEN  AND  NORWAY, 

Washington,  April  1G,  18G5. 

SIR  :  The  lamentable  events  of  which  you  did  me  the  honor  to  inform  me 
by  your  note  of  yesterday  had  already  come  to  my  knowledge  through  the 
public  reports,  and  filled  my  heart  with  feelings  of  gloom  and  indignation.  His 
Majesty's  government  takes  too  sincere  an  interest  in  the  welfare  of  this  com 
monwealth  not  to  learn  with  profound  regret  the  sudden  and  violent  death  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  a  moment  when  his  wisdom  and  expe 
rience  were  so  well  needed,  and  when  the  turn  of  events  seemed  to  promise  to 
himself  some  reward  for  the  trials  of  the  past. 

May  the  lives  of  those  noble  victims  who  have  not  yet  succumbed  under  the 
blows  of  the  assassin  be  spared,  by  God's  mercy,  to  their  country  and  their 
sorrow-stricken  families. 

I  thank  you  for  bringing  to  my  notice  that  the  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States  has  assumed  the  functions  of  President,  and  that  you  have  been  author 
ized,  sir,  to  perform  the  duties  of  Secretary  of  State  until  otherwise  ordered. 

I  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  offer  to  you  the  assurance  of  my  high 
consideration. 

N.  W.  DE  AVETTERSTEDT. 

Hon.  W.  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


708  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[  Extract.  — Translation .  ] 

NEW  YORK,  May  11,  1865. 

DEAR  SIR:  Allow  me  to  transmit  to  you,  unofficially,  a  copy  of  a  despatch 
which  I  have  just  received  from  Count  Manderstrom,  his  Majesty's  minister  for 
foreign  affairs,  giving  account  of  the  deep  impression  produced  on  the  Swedish 
government  by  the  news  of  the  horrible  murder  of  the  late  President,  of  which 
despatch  I  would  have  taken  the  liberty  to  make  lecture  to  you  had  I  been 
present  in  Washington.  I  enclose  likewise  a  copy  of  the  accompanying  note 
from  Count  Manderstrom  to  your  minister  at  Stockholm,  for  the  possible  event 
that  you  should  not  yet  have  received  the  same  from  Mr.  Campbell.  You  will 
easily  perceive  that  these  letters  were  written  down  on  the  first  incorrect  inform 
ation  of  the  deed  transmitted  by  the  telegraph. 

The  Swedish'newspapers  that  have  reached  me  give  ample  evidence  of  the 
horror  and  indignation  provoked  in  the  whole  country  by  the  news  of  the  mur 
der.  They  are  filled  with  articles  speaking  in  the  warmest  terms  of  the  event. 
In  no  country  in  Europe,  I  venture  to  say — and  it  has  certainly  not  escaped 
your  attention — has  the  sympathy  for  the  cause  of  the  Union  been  more  deep 
and  unanimous,  and  the  eminent  qualities  of  the  late  President  been  better 
appreciated  than  in  my  native  land.  Immediately  on  the  receipt  of  the  painful 
tidings,  the  flags  on  the  public  buildings  in  Stockholm  and  Grothemburg  and 
on  the  vessels  in  the  harbors  of  these  cities  were  hoisted  on  half-mast;  a  public 
feast  which  was  to  take  place  at  Gothemburg  in  honor  of  the  fall  of  Richmond 
was  inhibited,  as  a  token  of  respect  for  the  memory  of  the  lamented  victim. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  -v- 

I  am,  sir,  with  high  consideration,  your  obedient  servant, 

N.  W.  DE  WETTERSTEDT. 
lion.  W.  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


[Translation.] 

STOCKHOLM,  April  27,  1865. 

MONSIEUR  LE  BARON  :  We  are  astonished  by  the  horrible  news  that  has 
just  reached  us  from  Washington.  A  telegram  from  Hamburg  yesterday  gave 
us  the  intelligence  of  the  attacks  on  the  President  and  Mr.  Seward.  I  wrote 
immediately  to  Mr.  Campbell,  asking  him  if  the  report  was  confirmed,  hoping  it 
might  be  untrue  or  exaggerated.  A  telegram  from  London  that  night  gave  the 
particulars,  with  the  names  of  the  assassins,  and  reported  the  death  of  Mr. 
Seward,  junior.  Early  this  morning  Mr.  Campbell  showed  me  a  despatch  from 
Mr.  Adams,  in  London,  in  which  the  report  is  officially  confirmed.  Thereupon 
1  sent  the  enclosed  note  to  Mr.  Campbell,  expressing  the  sentiments  of  the 
King  and  his  subjects  in  regard  to  the  affair. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       709 

The  odious  crime,  unheard  of  till  now  in  the  annals  of  the  United  States, 
inspires  general  horror  and  evokes  universal  condemnation,  but  it  is  the  great 
and  irreparable  loss  to  the  country  that  causes  the  greatest  regret. 

Mr.  LINCOLN'S  firm  and  resolute  character,  his  good  common  sense,  and 
his  associations,  acquired  general  esteem  for  him  in  Europe,  and  I  fear  it  will 
be  hard  to  find  his  equal  at  the  time  of  a  crisis  like  that  which  prevailed  at  the 
moment  of  his  death.  And  it  is  still  more  distressing  to  the  United  States  to 
lose  at  the  same  time  the  eminent  statesman  at  the  head  of  its  foreign  affairs, 
and  whose  demise  I  am  sure  will  be  most  earnestly  felt.  We  wait  impatiently 
to  hear  from  you,  though  we  cannot  hope  for  an  authentic  report  tinder  a  week. 

We  hear  that  the  murderer  Booth  has  been  arrested,  but  the  report  is 
hardly  correct,  as  it  comes  on  the  same  day  with  the  other  rumors. 

No  words  can  express  the  horror  felt  here  at  the  announcement  of  the 
execrable  crime. 

Accept  my  regards,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 

MANDERSTROM. 


Mr.  Campbell  to  Mr.  Seward. 

[Extract.] 

No.  17.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Stockholm,  April  30,  18G5. 

SIR:  On  the  evening  of  the  26th  of  April  a  telegram  from  the  embassy 
of  the  United  States  in  London  was  received  at  this  legation,  announcing  the 
death,  by  assassination,  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States ; 
also  an  attack  upon  the  life  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  resulting  in  injuries  so 
severe  as  to  render  his  recovery  doubtful. 

Overwhelmed  with  horror  by  these  woeful  news,  which  were  already  in 
circulation  in  Stockholm,  inspiring  grave  misgivings  and  vague  fears  in  the 
minds  of  many  friends  of  the  republic  who  but  imperfectly  understood  her 
organization,  I  deemed  proper  on  the  following  morning  to  announce  to  the 
department  of  state  and  of  foreign  affairs  of  Sweden  and  Norway  the  facts  of 
the  death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  the  installa 
tion  of  his  constitutional  successor  in  executive  office.  At  the  same  time  I  com 
municated  to  Count  Mandcrstrom  the  afflicting  intelligence  of  the  condition  to 
which  you,  sir,  had  been  reduced  by  a  murderous  attack. 

The  prompt  and  sympathetic  response  of  his  excellency  displays  a  warmth 
of  emotion  unusual  in  official  papers,  and  is  in  harmony  with  the  reprobation 
and  horror  felt  by  all  classes  of  Swedish  people. 

These  sentiments  have  sought,  expression  at  this  legation  in  such  varied 
forms  as  have  deeply  touched  my  heart,  and  caused  me  to  feel  that  the  blow 
dealt  my  beloved  country  by  an  assassin's  hand  is  resented  by  all  Christendom. 


710  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

I  have  the  honor  to  report  the  direct  and  marked  action  of  the  King,  who 
commissioned  the  Count  Axel  Cronheihn,  an  officer  of  the  royal  staff,  to  visit 
the  legation  of  the  United  States  with  messages  of  condolence,  coupled  with 
the  strongest  possible  terms  of  detestation  for  the  parricide,  and  assurances 
of  the  admiration  entertained  by  him  for  the  personal  character  and  attributes 
of  our  lamented  Chief  Magistrate.  These  sentiments  of  sympathy  for  a  mourn 
ing  people,  and  reprobation  for  the  crime  by  which  they  have  been  bereaved, 
were  expressed  in  such  feeling  and  earnest  words  as  were  worthy  of  the  noble 
heart  of  his  Majesty,  and  must  prove  acceptable  to  the  nation  in  whose  behalf 
they  were  uttered.  It  was  also  the  desire  of  the  King  that  I  would  convey  to 
him  the  earliest  intelligence  of  your  health,  sir,  as  his  Majesty  felt  the  deepest 
interest  in  the  preservation  of  a  life  so  eminent  and  valuable. 

In  addition  to  the  official  communication  from  the  department  of  state  of 
Sweden  and  Norway,  that  most  excellent  gentleman,  Count  Manderstrom,  in  a 
personal  visit  and  private  notes,  evinced  such  feelings  as  commands  my  gratitude. 

In  some  of  the  ports  the  flags  were  at  half-mast  for  the  death  of  the  Presi 
dent;  the  public  journals  spoke  with  appreciation  of  his  life  and  death;  while 
one  paper,  in  the  deepest  mourning,  contained  an  article  very  acceptable  to  the 
American  heart.  The  Swedish  court  has  worn  mourning  for  several  members 
of  royal  houses  in  Europe  during  the  past  winter,  but  in  no  instance  have  I 
observed  a  popular  tribute  comparable  witli  this.  The  members  of  the  diplo 
matic  corps  in  Stockholm  have  been  instant  in  their  tokens  of  sympathy,  and 
the  American  residents  here  have  sought  at  the  legation  such  comfort  and  inform 
ation  as  might  soothe  their  grief  and  allay  their  fears.  The  Baron  Fey  sack 
and  Lieutenant  Anderson,  gallant  officers  of  Sweden,  whose  swords  have  been 
drawn  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  came  to  offer  their  condolences  to 
the  country  they  had  defended,  as  did  also  the  Count  Piper,  formerly  minister 
resident  at  Washington,  and  other  distinguished  Swedes.  If  the  transmission 
of  these  details  appear  unnecessary,  I  find  my  excuse  in  the  conviction  that 
such  tokens  of  sympathy  in  a  remote  land  for  their  national  grief  must  be  as 
acceptable  to  the  American  people  as  they  have  been  to  their  representatives. 

I  may  be  suffered  here  to  give  utterance  to  my  own  emotions  upon  the 
dire  calamity  which  has  visited  my  country.  The  hand  raised  against  the  life 
of  the  President  has  inflicted  a  grievous  wound  upon  every  American  heart ; 
and  in  common  with  millions  bereaved  of  their  chief,  I  deeply  feel  the  outrage 
perpetrated  upon  sacred  national  rights.  With  regard  to  ABRAHAM  LIXCOLN, 
whom  I  knew,  and  loved  as  a  personal  friend,  I  recognize  with  awe  that  God's 
instrument  has  been  laid  away  in  heaven's  armory.  Remembering  how,  in  the 
raging  of  political  tornadoes,  he  bore  himself  with  the  passionless  calm  of  some 
grand  abstraction,  and,  divested  of  prejudice  or  favor,  devoted  himself  to  the 
large  ends  of  human  freedom  and  national  life,  I  feel  that  his  death  was  the 
seal  to  the  deeds  of  his  life,  and  he  closed  his  eyes  on  great  purposes  achieved 


EXPRESSIONS  OP  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       711 

to  open  them  upon  the  immortal  crown.  To  his  country  he  leaves  the  rich  legacy 
of  a  beneficent  government  preserved;  the  American  idea  of  liberty  attained; 
and  the  noble  record  of  the  Christian  life  he  lived,  the  patriot's  end  he  wrought, 
and  the  martyr's  death  he  died,  to  embellish  her  story. 

Allow  me  to  tender  you;  sir,  my  respectful  sympathy  for  the  mental  and 
physical  suffering  you  have  sustained,  and  express  most  fervid  thanksgiving  to 
God,  who  in  His  mercy  has  spared  a  life  so  valuable  to  our  country. 
Praying  for  your  speedy  restoration  to  health,  and  usefulness, 
1  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  H.  CAMPBELL. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  SfC.,  Sfc.,  S(c. 


letter  of  FiedriJui  Bremer. 

[  Translation.  ] 

THURSDAY,  April  27,  1865. 

DEAR  *  *  *  :  Can  it  be  true,  what  a  telegram  from  New  York  reported 
last  night?  Mr.  LINCOLN  murdered!  dead!  I  hope  it  is  not  true;  I  cannot, 
will  not  believe  it.  Can  you  tell  me  how  it  is  ?  If  it  should  be  so  it  is  not  for 
him  or  the  cause  I  grieve  His  work  is  done,  the  cause  is  gained,  the  war  at 
an  end,  but  woe  to  the  South  !  It  has  killed  its  best  protector  during  this 
awful  moment.  Oh,  if  Mr.  Campbell  and  you  could  tell  me  that  it  is  not  true. 
Yours,  faithfully, 

FR.  BREMER. 


[Translation  from  n  Stockholm  paper  of  April  27,  1865.] 
ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

During  the  whole  time  civil  war  was  raging  in  the  United  States  we  had 
been  accustomed  to  receive  information  of  the  most  varied  and  changeable 
description.  It  was  seldom  the  friends  of  liberty  here  received  any  good  tidings 
without  having  them  followed  by  others  most  painful  in  their  character;  but 
surely,  after  the  last  week's  glorious  bulletins,  bringing  news  of  victory  upon 
victory,  nobody  expected  to  receive  a  message  so  painful  and  full  of  grief  as  the 
telegram  brought  us  last  evening.  In  the  moment  of  his  triumph,  when  the 
rebellion  was  nearly  crushed  and  everybody  again  was  thinking  sincerely  of  the 
regeneration  of  the  Union,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  struck  by  the  assassin's 
bullet — lie  to  whom,  during  the  war,  the  whole  world  was  looking  up  as  the  true 
symbol  of  that  great  idea,  the  abolition  of  slavery,  the  established  fact  of  universal 
freedom,  and  that  free  labor  is  honorable;  he  should  be  sacrificed  when  these 


712  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

sublime  thoughts  were  almost  realized.  It  is  a  beautiful  death ;  the  martyr's 
wreath  of  freedom  has  to  engrave  on  its  leaves  the  name  of  a  new  victim  for  its 
holy  cause,  and  LINCOLN  will  be  forever  surrounded  by  an  imperishable  glory 
of  honor.  But  the  victim  has  in  this  instance,  as  has  happened  many  times 
before,  when  the  blood  of  heroes  for  liberty  was  spilt,  fallen  by  the  assassin's 
hand,  which  will  brand  with  eternal  infamy  all  those  protectors  of  slavery  who, 
rising  under  the  plea  of  defending  the  rights  of  the  single  state,  properly  only 
fought  for  the  preservation  of  their  feodal  institutions,  thereby  being  able  to  live 
by  the  sweat  of  the  brow  of  slavery.  It  may  seem  hard  and  strange  to  throw 
the  blame  on  those  persons  before  knowing  something  more  particular  about 
this  most  painful  event;  but  it  has  too  much  of  probability  in  itself  not  to  sup 
pose  at  once  that  the  whole  plan  had  its  origin  from  that  very  source. 

We  remember  still  quite  distinctly  how  LINCOLN,  on  his  way  to  Washing 
ton  to  be  inaugurated  as  President  of  the  United  States  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1861,  was  compelled  against  his  own  will,  but  by  the  pressing  entreaties  of  all 
his  friends,  to  make  his  journey  through  Maryland  on  by-roads  and  during  the 
darkness  of  night  to  avoid  these  protectors  of  slavery  who  there  laid  in  ambus 
cade  for  him.  Already  then  did  those  wretches  aspire  after  his  life,  believing 
in  their  shortsightedness  that  their  cause  could  be  saved  by  the  death  of  one  of 
Iheir  fellow-beings.  Rumors  have  afterwards  been  busy  about  conspiracy  against 
his  life.  No  one  would  believe  it  at  the  time;  but  now,  when  we  have  seen 
that  the  parties  never  tired  before  they  gained  the  end  they  sought  for,  it  looks 
very  probable.  Yes ;  they  have  gained  it,  but  their  cause  shall  not  gain  any 
thing  by  it  A  party  which  uses  such  miserable  means  has  pronounced  its  own 
sentence,  and  even  their  friends  in  Europe  must  surely  take  part  in  the  general 
outcry  of  indignation  which  now  sounds  through  the  whole  civilized  world,  and 
perhaps  be  compelled  to  turn  their  backs  on  their  cause,  if  they  do  not  desire 
to  be  counted  as  accomplices  in  the  deed.  In  the  North  this  outcry  will  have 
serious  consequences  for  those  who  have  been  the  cause  of  it.  Immediately 
after  the  last  great  victory  of  Grant,  several  of  the  most  prominent  men,  and 
almost  all  the  principal  papers  in  the  United  States,  advised  LINCOLN  and  his 
cabinet  to  issue  a  general  amnesty  for  the  rebels,  only  on  the  condition  that  the 
seceded  States  should  submit  and  again  join  the  Union,  Slavery  was  already 
considered  abolished.  Does  any  one  now  believe  that  the  same  spirit  of  recon 
ciliation  will  exist  1  Does  any  one  doubt  that  this  crime  will  not  cry  out  for 
vengeance  1  If  so,  we  must  acknowledge  we  have  been  entirely  mistaken  in 
the  Yankees.  The  original  good-natured  humor  in  these  men  makes  it  very 
easy  for  them  to  offer  the  hand  of  reconciliation,  knowing  themselves  to  be  the 
victors.  But  should  their  passions  be  roused  once  more  before  they  hardly  have 
had  time  to  be  calmed,  they  will,  of  course,  be  furious  against  all  who  stand 
behind  this  infamous  deed  and  are  its  nearest  accomplices.  We  observed 
already,  a  few  days  ago,  that  this  war,  as  far  as  the  North  is  concerned,  does  not 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND   SYMPATHY.  713 

show  a  single  death-sentence  for  political  offences,  which,  at  least,  if  we  make 
any  comparison  with  what  we  have  been  used  to  see  under  similar  circumstances 
in  our  old  Europe,  will  grant  them  an  everlasting  honor.  The  war  has  been  one 
of  the  most  spirited  and  hottest-fought  party  wars,  and  in  the  north  treachery 
has  often  raised  its  head  so  high  that  the  most  severe  punishment  could  with 
justice  have  been  applied.  Shall  we  still  be  so  fortunate  as  to  see  that  same, 
moderation  continued  I  We  do  wish  it  for  the  sake  of  liberty;  but  who  would 
dare  to  reproach  those  republicans  now,  if  at  the  height  of  this  excitement  they 
should  exercise  retaliation  ?  What  we  at  least  no\v  are  sure  in  saying  is,  that 
peace  now  will  cost  the  southern  States  a  great  deal  more  than  otherwise  would 
have  been  the  case.  (Here  follows  a  sketch  of  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  life.) 

To  write  the  history  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  during  the  time  he  was  Presi 
dent,  even  as  brief  as  possible,  would  be  the  same  as  to  write  the  history  of  the 
Union  during  the  whole  important  period  from  1860  to  1865,  when  the  future 
of  the  republic  was  in  the  balance.  Room  for  that  is  not  in  a  short  sketch  like 
this,  and  the  time  to  do  it  in  with  impartiality  will  not  be  reached  for  many 
years.  Many  have  reproached  LINCOLN  for  irresolution  as  a  statesman,  and 
accused  him  of  being  without  determination  to  meet  the  issue  of  the  day.  This 
is  said  more  specially  with  regard  to  his  position  on  the  slavery  question  when 
the  rebellion  first  commenced.  Nothing  was  more  natural  than  an  accusation 
of  this  kind  upon  a  time  when  the  different  political  parties  were  arraigned 
against  each  other  in  fierce  combat ;  but  the  future  will  give  him  credit  for  his 
strength  and  determination — that,  surrounded  as  he  was  by  that  turmoil  of  wild 
passions,  he  was  yet  able  to  control  himself  arid  preserve  that  firmness  of  pur 
pose  which  the  leader  of  the  destinies  of  a  great  people  so  much  needs,  but 
which  we  do  not  always  find  in  them. 

lie  often  resisted  the  impetuous  patience  of  his  own  party,  which,  without 
consideration  or  forethought,  declared  slavery  abolished  without  paying  the 
slightest  attention  to  the  words  of  the  Constitution.  Being  cognizant  of  that 
fact,  he  tried  in  the  beginning  a  conciliatory  mode,  and  would  accede  to  the 
rebellious  States  the  right  to  govern  themselves.  He  appointed  afterwards  a 
certain  time  at  the  expiration  of  which  they  had  to  submit  or  to  lose  their 
privileges.  He  also  procured  a  consent  of  Congress  to  recompense  those  States 
who  by  their  own  consent  abolished  slavery,  and  to  give  them  a  limited  com 
pensation  for  their  ''living"  property.  First,  when  every  effort  failed,  and  not 
only  a  party,  but  the  whole  people  of  the  North — of  course  we  do  not  include 
that  party  called  "peace  democrats" — had  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  nothing 
could  be  done  in  that  way ;  first  then  took  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  the  reins  in  his 
own  hands  and  procured  the  consent  of  Congress  to  abolish  slavery  uncon 
ditionally.  If  we  can  judge  from  his  actions  and  by  their  eifects,  docs  it  not 
seem  as  if  it  had  been  his  plan  from  the  beginning  to  make  that  the  opinion  of 
the  whole  people  which  had  hitherto  only  been  the  opinion  of  a  few,  and  under 

90 


714  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

these  circumstances  can  he  not  with  justice  be  called  a  far-seeing  statesman  1 
He  was,  besides  all  this,  the  type  of  the  so-called  Yankee  people,  of  that  pure 
northern  Anglo-Saxon  race,  persevering  and  determined  to  obtain  the  object  he 
had  in  view.  In  this  way  he  had  gradually  become  a  man  of  the  people,  who 
knew  how  to  select  the  very  moment  when  to  speak,  and  also  to  choose  the 
best  practical  way  fit  for  the  occasion.  He  was  a  good  citizen,  and  to  every 
American  and  to  every  friend  of  the  progress  of  liberty  his  name  will  through 
centuries  shine  beside  that  of  Washington.  Peace  to  his  ashes,  and  may  they 
bring  forth  blessed  fruit  to  the  cause  of  everything  that  is  good.  The  telegram 
informs  us  that  the  assassins  have  not  been  contented  with  one  victim.  Grant 
seems  only  to  have  an  accident  to  thank  for  the  preservation  of  his  life,  and  the 
Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Scward — the  right  hand  of  the  President — though  on  his 
sick-bed  at  the  time,  was  not  spared  by  the  hands  of  the  murderer.  His  fate 
is  not  decided,  but  his  brave  son  has  fallen,  trying  to  defend  the  life  of  a  father. 


[Translation.] 

MOST  HONORABLE  MR.  CONSUL  :  His  Highness  the  Duke,  my  most  gra 
cious  liege,  has  received  with  pain  the  news  of  the  great  loss  which  the  United 
States  of  North  America  have  suffered  by  the  death  of  President  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN. 

Sincerely  admiring  the  noble  qualities  of  his  heart  and  intellect,  and  the 
greatness  of  mind  with  which  he  achieved  the  grand  object  of  restoring  the 
Union,  his  Highness  has  been  most  deeply  moved  by  the  atrocious  crime  to 
which  the  illustrious  representative  of  the  United  States  has  been  sacrificed, 
and  the  Duke  cannot  omit  to  express  his  most  mournful  sympathy,  and  through 
me  to  request  your  honor  to  convey  to  the  government  of  the  United  States 
these  expressions  of  his  sentiments ;  expressing  at  the  same  time  the  wish  of 
the  Duke,  that  the  peril  in  which  the  life  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward  has  been 
pending  may,  by  the  favorable  improvement  of  his  condition,  be  considered  as 
passed,  and  that  he  may  very  soon  be  restored  to  health. 
I  embrace  the  occasion  to  express,  &c.,  &c. 

VON  UTTENHOVEN, 
Provisional  President  of  the  Ducal  Council  of  State. 

S.    HlRSIIBACH, 

United  States  Consul,  Sonneberg. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  715 

SWITZERLAND. 


[Translation.] 

BERNE,  April  28,  1865. 

The  Federal  Council  have  been  apprised  by  the  public  papers  of  the  hor 
rible  crime,  the  victims  of  which  are  two  of  the  most  worthy  and  most  noble 
citizens  and  statesmen  of  the  United  States. 

One  cry  of  horror  and  indignation  at  this  act,  inspired  by  the  most  brutal 
passion  and  the  most  heinous  fanaticism,  has  resounded  through  the  whole  civil 
ized  world,  and  particularly  through  Switzerland,  a  country  whose  analogous 
institutions  unite  it  so  closely  with  its  great  sister  republic. 

The  Federal  Council  hasten  to  address  their  most  sincere  condolence  to 
the  honorable  minister  resident  of  the  United  States  in  Switzerland,  by  express 
ing  to  him  their  profound  grief  over  this  shocking  event  and  the  strong  sympa 
thy  which  they  feel  at  this  great  calamity. 

Free  Switzerland,  with  similar  institutions,  will  not  cease  to  devote  all  her 
sympathies  to  free  America  and  to  her  tendencies  inspired  by  truth  and 
humanity — sympathies  deriving  new  strength  from  this  catastrophe. 

The  Federal  Council  cannot  conclude  without  expressing  the  consoling 
hope  that  the  new  Union,  reconstituted  under  the  auspices  of  fraternity  and 
reconciliation,  will  follow  with  increased  energy  the  path  which  Providence  has 
traced  out  for  her,  and  erect  before  the  eyes  of  the  world  the  most  sublime 
monument  to  the  glory  of  the  illustrious  victim. 

With  these  sentiments  the  Federal  Council  have  the  honor  to  renew  to 
Mr.  Fogg  the  assurances  of  their  high  consideration. 

In  the  name  of  the  Federal  Council : 

SCHENK, 
President  of  the  Confederation. 

SCIIIESS, 
Chancellor  of  the  Confederation. 


[Translation.] 

No.  57.] 

The  Swiss  Federal  Council  to  the  Swiss  Consulate.  General  in  Washington. 


- 


Mu.  CONSUL  GENERAL  :  Through  the  public  journals  the  but  too  certain 
intelligence  reaches  us  of  the  terrible  deed  which  deprives  the  Union  of  two  of 
her  noblest  and  purest  citizens  and  statesmen. 

A  thrill  of  horror  and  deep  indignation  over  this  consummation  of  infuriated 
passion  and  fanaticism  pervades  the  entire  civilized  world,  and  more  particularly 


716  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Switzerland,  considering  herself  united  by  the  most  cordial  and  nearest  tics  to 
her  great  sister  republic. 

We  invite  you,  therefore,  to  express  to  the  present  President  of  the  United 
States,  in  the  name  of  the  Swiss  Federal  Council,  our  most  sincere  and  heartfelt 
condolence.  You  will  please  assure  the  President  of  the  renewed  and  sincere 
sympathies  which  free  Switzerland,  with  kindred  institutions,  entertains  for  the 
efforts  of  the  American  government  in  the  cause  of  truth  and  humanity.  These 
sympathies  have  received  new  impulse  by  the  last  terrible  calamity  which  has 
befallen  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

You  will,  finally,  not  fail  to  express  our  sincere  hope  that  the  American 
Union,  reunited  in  love  and  conciliation,  now  mightier  than  ever,  will,  with 
renewed  energy,  strive  to  accomplish  the  great  destiny  which  Providence  has 
assigned  her,  and  thus  present  to  the  world  herself  as  the  grandest  monument 
reared  in  commemoration  of  the  great  dead. 

Accept  the  assurances  of  our  distinguished  consideration,  in  the  name  of 

the  Swiss  Federal  Council. 

SCHENK,  President. 

SCHIESS, 
Chancellor  of  the  Confederation. 


Mr.  Hitz  to  Mr.  Seicard. 

CONSULATE  GENERAL  OF  SWITZERLAND, 

Washington,  'April  15,  18G5. 

SIR  :  The  national  calamity  which  has  just  befallen  the  United  States  is, 
in  all  its  bearings,  one  of  such  stupendous  magnitude  that  Switzerland,  in  the 
person  of  her  representatives,  stands  appalled  at  the  enormity  of  the  deed 
which  deprived  a  republic  of  a  Chief  Magistrate  who  not  only  was  first  in 
establishing  universal  freedom  throughout  the  land,  foremost  in  offering  the 
hand  of  conciliation  to  a  misguided  enemy  of  traitors,  devotedly  beloved  by  his 
countrymen,  but  was  also  respected  abroad,  and  looked  up  to  with  confidence 
in  every  clime  where  freemen  draw  breath.  When,  therefore,  the  representa 
tive  of  the  time-honored  republic  of  Switzerland  expresses,  in  her  behalf,  sincere 
sympathy  for  the  irreparable  loss  sustained,  just  in  an  hour  of  triumph,  by  her 
great  sister  republic  the  United  States,  I  pray  it  may  be  accepted  as  the  heart 
felt  emotion  of  a  national  heart  which  has  ever  beat  in  unison  with  that  of  the 
United  States,  and  with  those  great  principles  of  free  government  whereof  his 
excellency,  your  late  esteemed '  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  appeared  to  be 
the  embodiment. 

Switzerland  joins  in  the  universal  bereavement  of  freemen,  and  while 
tendering  her  humble  offering  of  sympathy  at  the  shrine  of  an  afflicted  nation, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       717 

seeks  to  convey  consolation  in  the  assurance  given,  that  "  He  whom  the  Lord 
loveth  he  chasteneth;"  wherefore  these  trials  which  Almighty  God  has,  in  the 
province  of  divine  wisdom,  seen  proper  to  visit  upon  a  free  people  are  but  an 
evidence  of  His  love,  and,  it  is  prayed,  harbingers  of  blessings  evermore. 

And  now,  sir,  with  feelings  of  inmost  sympathy  for  your  own  personal  and 
family  afflictions,  and  gratitude  to  the  Lord  for  the  preservation  of  your  invalua 
ble  life  and  services  to  a  mighty  yet  sorely  stricken  nation  in  a  most  momentous 
epoch  of  its  history, 

I  remain,  with  sentiments  sincere,  though  unspoken, 

JOHN  HITZ, 

The  Consul  General  of  Switzerland. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation.] 

To  tlie  Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne : 

The  Mutual  Aid  Society  of  the  north  part  of  the  Canton  of  Aargau,  at  a 
meeting  held  on  the  21st  instant,  (seventy-six  members  being  present,)  unani 
mously  resolved  to  approve  of  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  of  the 
Swiss  Confederation  to  the  North  American  sister  republic  beyond  the  ocean. 

While  making  this  communication,  we  ask  you  to  accept  the  sincere 
expression  of  our  high  esteem. 

FERD.  AFFOLSTER,  President. 

N.  DINKELMANN,  Secretary. 


[Translation.]     . 

Council  of  the  Canton  of  Uri  to  the  Bundesrath,  in  Berne. 

ALTORF,  May  8,  1865. 

GENTLEMEN  :  Willingly  following  the  example  of  other  cantons,  we  have 
the  honor  to  inform  you  that  in  our  session  of  this  day  we  have  unanimously 
resolved  to  assent  to  the  general  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  of  the 
Swiss  Confederation  to  the  North  American  Union,  on  account  of  the  assassina 
tion  of  its  excellent  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  We  have  no  doubt  but  this 
sympathy  is  universal,  and  we  send  you  this  declaration  that  you  may  take  due 
notice  of  it  and  forward  it  to  its  place  of  destination.  In  the  mean  time,  we 
give  our  best  wishes  for  your  prosperity,  and  recommend  you  to  the  protection 
of  Divine  Providence. 

In  the  name  of  the  council : 

K.  E.  MULLER,  President. 

GISLER,  Secretary. 


718  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.  ] 

AARATJ,  April  28,  18G5. 

HONORED  SIR  :  The  government  counsellor  of  the  canton  of  Aargau  has 
just  heard  of  the  great  misfortune  that  has  overtaken  our  sister  republic  beyond 
the  ocean,  on  the  14th  of  April,  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin,  and  feels  the  great 
est  sympathy  and  indignation  the  event  can  impart.  The  general  sorrow  is  the 
more  intense,  as  it  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  upon  the  joy  and  hope  with  which 
the  civilized  world  was  congratulating  the  victorious  star-spangled  banner  upon 
the  heroic  days  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg.  We  have  therefore  unanimously 
resolved,  in  our  session  of  this  day,  to  express  our  deepest  sympathy  for  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  upon  the  hot-rid  death  of  their  great  President 
LINCOLN,  and  we  request  the  honorable  minister  resident  of  that  country  to 
communicate  it  to  his  government. 

May  God  preserve  the  United  States,  bestow  more  great  and  unblemished 
victories  upon  their  flag  in  contests  for  freedom  and  the  holy  rights  of  man,  and 
soon  crown  the  sublime  sacrifice  and  heroic  deeds  of  their  arms  with  all  the 
blessings  of  a  glorious  peace. 

Accept,  dear  sir,  with  the  above  sympathy,  the  expression  of  our  most  dis 
tinguished  consideration. 

In  the  name  of  the  government  counsellor  of  the  canton  of  Aargau  : 

The  Landammann  President, 

A.  TELLER. 
The  Secretary  of  State, 

K1NGIER. 
Hon.  Mr.  FOGG, 

Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  in  Berne. 


[Translation.  ] 

AARAU,  April  28,  1865. 

DEAR  SIR  :  It  is  my  desire  to  contribute  to  the  great  address  of  sympathy 
to  the  American  nation,  and  I  therefore  request  you  to  add  the  enclosed  sheet 
to  it.  Be  kind  enough  also  to  have  a  copy  of  it  sent  to  the  federal  committee 
in  Berne,  and  oblige  your  very  humble  servant, 

Professor  DR.  TROXLER. 

The  undersigned,  as  a  free  citizen  of  a  free  country,  considers  himself 
supremely  happy  in  having  this  opportunity  to  express  his  grateful  feelings  for 
a  country  that  has  at  last  succeeded  in  the  emancipation  of  all  its  people  of 
every  race  and  color.  So  many  years  have  passed  since  we  had  the  struggle 
for  our  liberties  that  we  have  almost  forgotten  our  troubles  at  that  time,  and  our 
reasons  for  contentment  would  not  be  appreciated  now  were  it  not  for  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       719 

existence  of  some  oppressed  and  suffering  people  in  Europe  not  very  far  from 
our  own  borders,  on  either  side  of  us. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  of  North  America  can  now  congratulate 
themselves  that  they  are  one,  that  all  cause  of  dissension  is  removed,  and  that 
they  have  no  Russia  or  Austria  near  them  to  disturb  their  peace.  Let  all  ani 
mosities  be  buried;  let  the  pe'ople  of  the  same  flesh  and  blood,  though  dwelling 
in  different  sections  of  the  land,  forget  that  they  were  ever  mortal  enemies,  and 
all  may  yet  be  well.  They  have  the  Bible  and  religion  among  them,  and  let 
them  rejoice  that  it  is  so.  Religion  and  morality  are  the  indispensable  props 
of  public  welfare.  Let  them  cultivate  these  and  do  unto  their  neighbors  as 
they  would  be  done  by,  and  they  will  never  come  to  harm. 

TROXLER. 

AARMADT,  April  28,  18G5. 


[Translation.] 

Chief  justice  and  council  of  the  canton  of  Appenzett,  of  t lie  Inner  Rhodes,  to  Dr. 
John  Wyttenbach,  of  the  grand  council  in  Berne. 

APPENZELL,  May  5,  1865. 

SIR:  In  a  letter  of  the  1st  instant,  the  committee  for  the  address  of  sym 
pathy  and  condolence  to  the  American  Union  invited  us  to  participate  with  him 
in  it,  as  many  of  the  Swiss  cantons  have  already  done. 

The  sympathy  of  the  people  of  the  Inner  Rhodes  for  the  Americans  in 
their  four  years  of  civil  war  for  freedom  and  Union,  and  their  sorrow  for  the 
sad  misfortune  of  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  the  noblest  citizen  of  that 
glorious  land,  induce  us,  in  the  name  of  the  inhabitants  of  our  canton,  to  join  in 
the  address  to  our  fellow-citizens  of  that  bereaved  country. 

With  great  respect,  in  the  name  of  the  chief  justice  and  council, 

BROGER,  Justice. 

SOXDEREGGER,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

ARWANGEN,  April  30,  18G5. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne  : 

I  hereby  empower  and  request  you  to  add  my  name  as  a  signer  to  the  gen 
eral  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  from  the  Swiss  Confederation  to  the 
government  in  Washington.  You  will  also  have  the  kindness  to  communicate 
the  following  resolution  of  a  public  meeting  held  in  this  place  yesterday  on  the 
same  occasion. 

With  much  regard, 

DP,  FRIEDRICH  CAMPE. 


7i!0  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

THE    RESOLUTION. 

The  citizens  of  Arwangen  rejoice  at  the  great  victories  of  the  North,  while 
they  sincerely  deplore  the  loss  of  the  great  man  who  perished  by  the  assassin's 
hand.  They  assembled  to  the  number  of  three  hundred  and  two,  and  unani 
mously  give  this  expression  of  their  feelings,  hoping  the  document  may  be 
conveyed  to  its  proper  destination. 

In  the  name  of  the  meeting,  the  special  committee  : 

J.  II.  EGGER,  President. 

J.  MORGENTHALER,  Secretary. 

S.  L.  ERNST,  Treasurer. 

Hundreds  of  signatures  might  have  been  obtained  in  this  neighborhood  for 
the  address,  had  our  time  not  been  so  limited. 


[Translation.  J 

AARMUHLE,  May  27,  1865. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  At  a  public  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Aarmuhle,  district 
of  Intcrlachen,  it  was  unanimously  resolved  to  ratify  the  Swiss  address  of  gratu- 
lation  and  sympathy  to  the  people  of  the  North  American  Union. 
Respectfully, 

M.  WYDER,  President. 
P.  VORTER,  Secretary. 
The  Hon.  BUNBESRATII 

of  the  Swiss  Confederation  in  Berne. 


[Translation.  ] 

AARBERG,  June  2,  1865. 
To  the  Bund,  in  Berne  : 

The  teachers  in  the  district  of  Aarberg  have  watched  the  events  of  the 
American  war  with  much  interest,  and  were  exceedingly  rejoiced  when  the 
news  of  Union  victories  resounded  in  our  land.  As  our  joy  was  profound,  so 
was  our  grief,  when,  a  few  days  later,  news  saddened  us  with  the  sombre  fact 
that  the  great  republican  citizen,  LINCOLN,  had  fallen  by  the  hand  of  an 
assassin. 

Thirty  members  of  the  district  synod  of  Aarberg,  in  their  session  of  the 
29th  of  May,  unanimously  resolved  to  approve  of  the  address  of  sympathy  and 
condolence  to  the  American  Union. 

Requesting  you  to  give  notice  of  this  fact,  we  remain,  &c., 

MATTI,  Secretary. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       721 

Mr.  Fogg  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

No.  87.]  UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

Berne,  May  3,  1865. 

SIR:  Your  despatch  of  April  17,  apprising  me  of  the  assassination  of 
President  LINCOLN,  is  just  received.  The  shocking  intelligence  had  already 
been  flashed  by  telegraph  all  over  Europe,  several  days  earlier,  as  had  also  the 
scarcely  less  astounding  news  of  the  probable  fatal  attempt  upon  the  lives  of 
Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretary  Seward. 

No  words  can  convey  any  sort  of  idea  of  the  excitement  produced  among 
all  classes,  rulers  and  people,  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  At  first  no  one  was 
willing  to  believe  it.  The  news  was  too  terrible  for  belief.  But  soon  a 
despatch  from  Mr.  Adams  in  London  put  an  end  to  all  doubts.  The  deed, 
terrible  as  it  was,  had  been  clone,  and  the  "  foremost  man  of  all  the  world  "  in 
the  hearts  of  millions  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  lay  stretched  in  death  by 
the  dastardly  hand  of  an  assassin. 

The  millions  in  America  who  loved  Mr.  LINCOLN  as  a  father  and  revered 
him  as  the  purest  and  greatest  of  patriotic  statesmen,  could  scarcely  have  mourned 
him  more  profoundly  than  did  the  masses  in  Europe.  Especially  dear  was  he 
to  the  citizens  of  this  little  republic  of  Switzerland,  where,  from  the  beginning 
of  our  great  struggle,  his  firm,  true  hand  has  ever  been  upheld  by  the  warm 
sympathies  and  prayers  of  a  free  and  gallant  people,  who  had  themselves  not 
long  since  been  called  to  strangle  a  somewhat  similar  though  far  less  iniquitous 
and  sanguinary  conspiracy  against  their  nation's  life. 

You  will  have  seen  how  all  Europe  is  moved.  I  am  able  to  do  nothing 
but  receive  visits  and  letters  of  condolence  from  citizens,  foreign  ministers,  and 
members  of  the  government.  These  last — some  of  them  at  least — I  will  send 
you  with  my  next  despatch. 

Of  my  own  personal  grief  over  this  great  calamity  this  is,  perhaps,  not  the 
place  to  speak,  but  I  cannot  forbear.  Few  men,  out  of  his  own  family  and 
neighborhood,  were  so  circumstanced  as  to  know  Mr.  LINCOLN  better  than  my 
self,  up  to  the  time  of  my  leaving  for  my  present  post.  He  was  kind  to  me, 
and  I  loved  him  as  a  father.  I  mourn  him  now  as  my  dearest  earthly  friend. 

I  pray  God  that  the  blow  of  the  assassin  may  not  have  proved  fatal  to  Mr. 
Seward  and  his  son. 

Asking  you  to  express  to  them,  if  living,  my  most  profound  and  heartfelt 
sympathy  in  their  and  our  country's  great  suffering,  I  have  the  honor  to  be 
your  obedient  servant, 

GEORGE  G.  FOGG. 

lion.  W.  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  Sfates  of  America. 
91 


722  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Mr.  Fogg  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

[Extract.] 

No.  88.]  UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

Berne,  May  4,  1 865. 

SIR  :       *  *      Letters  of  condolence  are  being  pre 

pared  and  forwarded  to  me  from  nearly  all  the  cantonal  governments  and  from 
the  citizens  of  every  portion  of  Switzerland.  The  mourning  and  regret  for  the 
death  of  our  President  are  universal  from  the  old  men  to  the  boys  in  the  schools. 
I  am  convinced  that  no  other  man  in  any  part  of  the  world  held  such  a  place 
in  so  many  millions  of  hearts. 

Later  I  will  forward  to  the  State  Department  copies  of  the  originals  of 
the  addresses  now  coming  into  the  legations  from  the  cantons,  cities,  and  com 
munes,  near  and  remote,  of  Swizerland. 

I  herewith  append  also  a  copy  of  my  note  to  the  Federal  Council  in 
acknowledgment  of  theirs. 

With  the  highest  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

GEORGE  G.  FOGG. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


Mr.  Fogg  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  93.]  UNITED  STATES  LEGATION, 

Berne,  June  20,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  forward  herewith  to  the  State  Department,  by 
the  hand  of  Henry  A.  Smythe,  esquire,  of  New  York,  appointed  bearer  of 
despatches  to  Washington,  two  bound  volumes*  containing  over  300  original 
addresses  of  congratulation,  sympathy,  and  condolence  from  the  various  cantonal 
governments,  municipalities,  communes,  associations,  schools,  and  leading  citi 
zens  of  Switzerland,  expressive  of  the  universal  joy  occasioned  by  the  trium 
phant  suppression  of  the  rebellion  in  the  United  States,  the  destruction  of 
slavery,  and  the  re-establishment  of  the  American  Union,  and  of  the  quite  as 
universal  sorrow  over  the  assassination  of  the  late  President  LINCOLN,  the  events 
of  whose  life,  and  the  moment  and  manner  of  whose  death,  will  enshrine  him 
in  the  pantheon  of  history  as  the  most  illustrious  character  of  modern  times. 

The  volumes  contain  official  addresses  from  the  governments  of  twenty- 
one  cantons,  (all  save  one,  Fribourg,)  something  more  than  20,000  original 

*  The  addresses  referred  to  in  this  despatch  are  published  in  an  alphabetical  arrangement 
based  upon  the  names  of  the  towns  from  which  they  emanated. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       723 

autographs,  comprising  all  the  members  of  the  Federal  Council,  members  of 
the  cantonal  governments,  magistrates,  clergymen,  and  military  officers.  In 
truth,  they  comprise  the  aggregate  and  congregate  voice  of  all  Switzerland, 
whose  heart,  hopes,  and  prayers  have  been  with  our  government  in  all  the  long, 
bloody,  and  sometimes  apparently  doubtful  struggle  through  which  we  have 
passed. 

As  these  various  addresses  have  been  sent  or  brought  to  me  by  delegations 
or  committees,  I  have  been  obliged  to  make  many  brief  speeches  and  write 
many  letters,  returning  thanks,  in  behalf  of  the  government  and  people  of  the 
United  States,  for  a  sympathy  as  sincere  and  deep  as  it  was  universal. 

Trusting  that  these  addresses  and  memorials  will  be  sacredly  preserved 
in  the  archives  of  the  State  Department,  as  evidence  of  the  solidarity  of  senti 
ments  and  aspirations  between  the  people  of  Switzerland  and  those  of  the  United 
States. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

GEORGE  G.  FOGG. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


[Translation.] 
Council  of  the  canton  of  Berne  to  the  Bundesratfi 

BERNE,  May  8, 1865. 

GENTLEMEN:  We  respectfully  request  you  on  our  part,  by  diplomatic  means, 
to  communicate  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  of  North  America  our 
congratulations  on  the  recent  Union  victories,  together  with  the  expression 
of  our  sympathies  for  their  misfortunes,  and  our  horror  at  the  assassination 
of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the  attempt  on  the  life  of  Secretary  Seward. 

These  Union  victories  will  serve  to  realize  and  strengthen  the  principles 
of  the  free  republic,  will  fix  its  fate,  and  form  the  most  remarkable  epoch  in 
the  pages  of  modern  history.  For  these  principles  the  great  citizen  and 
renowned  statesman  offered  himself  as  a  sacrifice,  and  was  immolated  as  a 
martyr ! 

But  we  are  firmly  persuaded  that  the  cowardly  assassination  of  its  great 
leader  will  not  impede  the  progress  of  the  republic  in  the  way  of  liberty,  virtue, 
and  intelligence,  and  his  successor  may  be  urged  on  to  coinplete  the  task  begun 
in  the  good  cause  by  his  predecessor. 

Accept  the  assurance  of  our  distinguished  consideration. 

F.  SCIIEKZ,  President. 

DR.  TRACHSEL,  Secretan/. 


724  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translutiou.  ] 

To  the  honorable  George  G.  Fogg,  Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States,  Berne: 

To  the  hands  of  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSOX, 

President  of  the  United  States,  at  Washington  : 

BERNE,  May  12,  1865. 

The  undersigned  has  the  honor  herewith  to  transmit  to  you  the  address 
of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American  Union  voted  by  a  meeting  of 
Swiss  citizens  at  Berne,  and  accompanied  by  the  declarations  of  accession  sent 
in  from  all  parts  of  the  whole  Swiss  Confederation. 

It  required  but  the  slight  impulsion  of  this  address  to  arouse  in  Switzer 
land  a  lively  and  most  universal  movement  of  sympathy  for  the  American  sister 
republic.  After  the  members  of  the  high  Federal  Council  and  of  the  grand 
council  of  the  canton  of  Berne  had  opened  the  list  of  signatures,  the  govern 
ments  of  Argovy  and  Soleure  gave  the  signal  for  the  accession  also  of  the  can 
tonal  governments,  most  of  whom  have,  upon  the  immediate  invitation  of  the 
address  committee,  not  hesitated  to  comply  either  by  letters  to  the  Federal 
Council,  or  by  direct  individual  signature,  and  in  the  names  of  their  cantons. 

In  Geneva  a  meeting  of  4,000,  and  in  Chaux-de-fond  one  of  2,000  persons 
was  held  in  order  to  vote  a  separate  address.  The  grand  councils  of  Vaud  and 
Picino  also  have  voted  separate  manifestations  of  sympathy.  Besides  a  number 
of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  the  country,  a  great  many  communal  author 
ities  and  private  citizens,  particularly  from  the  cantons  of  Berne,  Basle-Town, 
Neufchatel,  Aargan,  Zurich,  (town  of  Winterthur,)  Fribourg,  (town  of  Mur- 
ten,)  Basle,  Campagne,  &c.,  have  acceded  to  our  address.  The  aggregate 
number  of  signatures,  which  at  this  moment  cannot  be  given  quite  accurately, 
may  be  estimated  for  the  accompanying  address  alone  at  about  10,000,  if  the 
number  can  add  anything  to  the  value  of  the  testimonials  of  sympathy  from 
all  classes  and  professions,  authorities,  and  private  individuals. 

The  greatest  act  of  sympathy,  however,  was  the  resolution  of  the  Lands- 
gememde  of  Glaris,  an  assembly  of  from  5,000  to  6,000  voters  of  a  Swiss  canton 
of  30,000  inhabitants,  who  in  the  open  air  make  the  laws  of  their  country,  and 
of  which  occasion  they  availed  themselves,  at  the  suggestion  of  their  Landam- 
mann,  unanimously  to  rise,  and  with  uncovered  heads  to  manifest  their  sym 
pathy  with  the  American  Union. 

In  accordance  with  this  manifestation,  the  government  of  another  demo 
cratic  canton,  namely,  Grisons,  has  submitted  the  question  of  a  demonstration 
of  sympathy  and  condolence  by  the  people  of  Grisons,  to  all  the  thirty-nine 
district  assemblies,  which  in  that  canton  are  equal  to  the  Landsgememde ;  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  on  Sunday,  the  14th  May,  the  voters  of  a  canton  of 
90,000  inhabitants  will  also  unanimously  proclaim  their  sympathy  for  the  United 
States. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       725 

111  view  of  those  tokens  it  may  well  be  asserted  that  it  is  the  whole  Swiss 
people  who,  in  this  moment,  offer  to  the  American  people  their  greeting  of 
brotherly  sentiment.  Our  sole  wish  is,  that  it  may  be  received  in  the  same 
spirit  by  the  citizens  of  the  American  Union.  • 

With  the  lu'ghest  consideration,  in  the  name  of  the  address  committee, 

F.  GENGEL, 

Editor  of  the  Bund. 

P.  S. — It  will  hardly  be  necessary  to  explain  that  the  term  "  democracy  " 
in  the  address  is  not  synonymous  with  the  party  denomination  in  America. 
The  address  of  condolence  also  is  directed  to  Mr.  Vice-Presidcnt  Johnson, 
because  it  was  drawn  up  before  his  (known)  inauguration  as  President.  And 
in  regard  finally  to  the  external  appearance  of  the  signatures,  the  apology  may 
be  given  that  though  much  may  be  left  to  be  desired,  they  are  not  the  less 
sincere. 


[Translation.] 

To  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

HONORED  SIR  :  We,  the  undersigned  citizens  of  Switzerland,  avail  our 
selves  of  the  occasion  of  the  news  of  the  termination  of  the  American  war  to 
congratulate  you  from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts  upon  the  reconstruction  of  the 
Union. 

One  hundred  years  have  not  yet  elapsed  since  the  American  nation,  by  her 
first  war  of  independence,  laid  the  foundation  of  her  democratic  and  republican 
liberty.  The  fruit  of  her  victory  was  the  winning  of  a  whole  continent  for  the 
republic,  and  the  proclamation  of  the  great  sentiment  of  human  rights,  which 
soon  spread  itself  over  all  Europe.  By  the  victorious  termination  of  her  sec 
ond  war  the  people  of  America  have  also  practically  restored  to  life  the  rights 
of  man,  and  established  by  their  acts  that  man  shall  be  neither  lord  nor  slave, 
but  that  all  men  are  born  to  be  free. 

But  not  only  this :  while  destroying  slavery  and  restoring  to  the  oppressed 
black  race  their  rights,  the  American  people  have  also  saved  the  white  race. 
They  have  destroyed  the  fundamental  elements  of  a  rising  aristocracy,  which 
attempted  to  propagate  tlic  principle  of  oppression  upon  both  sides  of  the  ocean, 
and  which  would  have  substituted  privilege  for  popular  self-government,  and 
despotism  for  democracy.  The  triumph  of  the  Union  has  shown  that  democ 
racy  is  not  a  vain  idea,  but  a  real  truth,  and  that  the  nations  also  are  born  to  bf 
free. 

Of  all  the  nations  of  the  globe  none  is  more  entitled  or  more  qualified  to 


726  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

recognize  this  than  the  Swiss.  Switzerland  is  the  oldest  existing  republic  in 
the  civilized  world,  and  liberty  and  equality  of  all  her  citizens  her  vital  air. 
Well  might  the  monarchists  and  aristocrats  of  Europe,  even  those  professing 
to  be  liberal,  have  doubted  the  triumph  of  the  North,  and  even  secretly  wished 
its  defeat.  Free  Switzerland  was  aware  that  the  struggle  there  going  on  was 
for  the  cause  of  free  labor  and  of  the  democratic  republic,  and  that  their  cham 
pion,  the  North,  must  finally  triumph. 

Of  all  the  nations,  also,  none  has  more  occasion  for  rejoicing  at  the  triumph 
of  the  North.  Surrounded  from  all  sides  by  great  monarchies,  where  liberal 
ideas  are  undergoing  a  doubtful  struggle,  Switzerland  is  like  an  oasis,  and 
without  friendly  sympathizers  in  Europe.  She  is  strong  enough,  it  is  true,  to 
defend  herself,  and  by  her  example  to  encourage  others ;  but  she  is  too  weak 
to  guide  the  fortunes  of  Europe  upon  the  republican  track. 

Across  the  ocean,  however,  now  stands,  new-born,  a  powerful,  great  republic, 
superior  to  any  enemies.  By  their  own  inherent  power  the  American  people 
have  themselves  overcome  the  evil  of  which  all  the  glorious  republics  of  old 
have  perished,  and  which  threatened  her  also  with  destruction.  Recovered, 
there  she  now  stands  forever  an  example  and  a  rock  of  liberty.  The  republic 
has  established  herself  forever  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Who  will  now 
deny  that  a  republic  can  maintain  herself  with  great  nations  ? 

This  triumph  is  a  historical  fact — a  fact  for  all  mankind ;  for  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  this  truth  will  not  fail  to  send  its  lustre  over  to  us.  As  the  deliv 
erance  of  the  Union  from  a  foreign  yoke  has  driven  its  waves  towards  our 
continent  with  irresistible  sway,  so  will  also  the  surge  of  her  regeneration  reach 
the  European  shores. 

All  those  who  are  in  favor  of  despotism  and  slavery  have  received  the  news 
of  the  fall  of  Richmond  with  a  secret  feeling  of  alarm ;  while  all  free  hearts  beat 
stronger  in  the  heightened  hope  that  the  cause  of  liberty  must  triumph  also  in 
Europe.  Of  all,  however,  Switzerland  rejoices  the  most;  for  to  her  the  triumph 
of  the  North  is  a  pledge  that  the  republic  will  never  perish,  but  take  deeper 
root. 

This  is  the  reason  for  our  lending  a  most  emphatic  expression  to  the  sym 
pathy  which  we  have  invariably  cherished  for  the  feeling.  No  feeling  of  hatred 
towards  the  succumbed  tarnishes  our  congratulation ;  while  we  are  convinced 
that  the  government  will  follow  up  its  triumph  by  firmness  in  matters  of  prin 
ciple  and  magnanimity  towards  the  subdued,  to  the  complete  political  recon 
struction  of  the  Union.  We  declare  our  full,  emphatic  sympathy  with  the 
principles  of  democratic  self-government  and  free  labor,  which  have  gained  new 
ground  in  the  Union;  with  the  men  who  have,  in  the  true  spirit  of  these  prin 
ciples,  led  her  stars ;  with  the  genuine  democratic  statesman,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
so  dear  to  Switzerland ;  with  the  brave  federal  army  and  her  excellent  leaders, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       727 

and,  finally,  with  the  noble  American  people,  who  have  triumphed  over  their 
enemies  and  over  themselves. 

The  motto  between  the  two  sister  republics  shall  be,  forever :  "  The  cause 
of  democracy  and  of  the  republic  must  triumph  !" 


[Translation.] 

To  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

Vice- President  of  the  United  States,  Washington: 

HONORED  SIR:  We  just  receive  the  appalling  news  of  the  assassination  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  We  are  also  aware 
that  our  address  cannot  reach  the  excellent  man  who  has  now  fallen,  as  it  were, 
a  victor  on  the  field  of  battle,  a  victim  of  his  republican  honesty,  uprightness, 
and  conciliatory  mind. 

Permit  us  to  express  our  most  profound  sympathy  and  grief  over  this 
event.  The  S<wiss  people  abhor  from  the  bottom  of  their  hearts  such  a  mode 
of  warfare  determined  on — but,  we  would  gladly  believe,  not  with  the  consent 
of  the  people — by  the  partisans  of  the  South.  Switzerland,  however,  is  fully 
confident  that  even  if  this  new  vicissitude  should  again  disturb  the  hopes  of  a 
speedy  peace,  the  triumph  of  the  cause  of  the  North,  and  of  the  democratic 
republic,  will  be  the  more  complete. 


[Translation.  ] 

BERNE,  May  5,  1865. 
To  fJtc  Editor  of  the  Bund: 

HONORED  SIR:  As  an  opponent  to  the  old  and  new  Sonderbund,!  respect 
fully  request  you  to  add  my  name  to  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence 
of  the  Swiss  people  to  the  government  and  people  of  the  North  American 

Union. 

JUSTUS  SCHALLER. 


[Translation.] 

BERNE,  May  5,  1865. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne: 

SIR  :  We  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  local  section  of  the  Com 
mercial  and  Manufacturing  Association  in  Berne  has  unanimously  resolved  (o 
join  you  in  the  general  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American 
Union. 


728  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

We  hereby  transmit  a  list  of  the  signatures  of  our  members,  (88  in  num 
ber,)  and  remain  your  obedient  servants. 
In  the  name  of  the  committee: 

C.  WILHELMUS  GRAFFENRIED,  President. 
ALBERT  YERSIN,  Secretary. 
[Then  come  the  88  names  of  the  members.] 


[Translation.] 

Signatures  of  the  members  of  the  Helvetia  Student's  Union  to  the  address 
of  sympathy  for  the  United  States  of  America. 

GOTTFRIED  FLENTISSEN,  JR.,  President. 
ADOLPHE  FRENE,  Law  Student. 
JOHANN  RITSCHARD,  Juris  Student. 
FRIEDRICH  MATHYS,  Theological  Student. 
ALEX.  IMMER,  Theological  Student. 

AND  FIFTEEN  OTHER  NAMES. 


[Translation.] 

BERNE,  May  3,  1865. 

The  students  of  the  Concordia  Society,  nineteen  members,  have  this  day 
resolved  to  unite  in  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American 
Union. 

In  the  name  of  the  Concordia : 

A.  SCHEURER,  President,  Law  Student. 
BERGER,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

BERNE,  May  7,  1865. 

Mr.  EDITOR  :  The  Berne  Typographia  hereby  announce  their  assent  to  the 
address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  government  of  the  North  American 
free  States. 

For  the  society : 

KARL  KONIG,  President. 
S.  MAYER,  Secretary. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        729 

[Translation.] 

BERNE,  May  6,  1865. 

The  undersigned  society,  at  a  full  meeting  this  day,  unanimously  passed 
the  following  resolutions : 

1.  We  cordially  approve  of  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the 
American  Union  now  circulating  in  this  city. 

2.  We  order  that  every  member  of  the  society  sign  his  name  to  this  paper, 
and  that  it  be  properly  executed. 

In  the  name  of  the  Frohsinn  Mannerchor,  of  Berne : 

J.  HUBER,  President. 
T.  BUCIIERT,  Secretary. 
[Eighty-four  signatures  follow.] 


[Translation.] 
THE  MKXNEll  TURNVEREIN  (>IEN',S  GYMNASTIC    UNION)    OF  THE  CITY  OF  UERNE. 

Resolved,  At  a  meeting  on  the  5th  of  May,  18G5,  to  approve  of  the  address 
of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  United  States  of  America,  on  account  of 
the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  and  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  in  the 
name  of  all  their  members,  forty-four  in  number. 
For  the  Turnverein : 

GO.  STRELIN,  President. 
A.  FRANTOCHI,  Secretan/. 


[Translation.] 

BURGDORF,  May  6,  1865. 

DEAR  SIR  :  In  honor  to  the  memory  of  the  great  man  beyond  the  sea,  who, 
with  so  much  courage,  strength  and  patience,  wisdom  and  moderation,  directed 
the  destinies  ot  his  country  through  a  long  and  bloody  war,  and  was  at  last 
struck  down  by  the  merciless  hand  of  a  cruel  assassin,  I  desire  that  my  name 
be  added  to  the  address  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  to  the  American  nation. 
I  made  inquiries  about  a  meeting  to  be  held  in  this  place;  but  I  find  there  is 
no  one  here  who  takes  sufficient  interest  in  such  things  to  get  it  up  ;  I  therefore 
take  this  means  of  making  my  wishes  known  to  you. 
Yours,  with  great  esteem, 

F.  WELCHLI. 

Mr.  TSCHARNER, 

Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne. 
92 


730  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

BLEIENBAII,  NEAR  SOLEURE, 

May  7,  1865. 

SIR  :  Since  our  government  seems  to  have  forgotten  the  address  of  sympa 
thy  and  condolence  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  nobody  here 
thinks  any  more  about  it  since  it  was  first  presented,  and  as  I  had  not  the  good 
fortune  to  see  it,  being  absent  at  the  time,  I  respectfully  request  you  to  add  my 
name  to  the  list  of  signers  to  the  expression  of  joy  and  sorrow  for  our  republi 
can  brethren  beyond  the  ocean. 
With  great  esteem, 

.    N.  T.  MOLLET, 

Supreme  Judge. 


[Translation.  ] 

BOLLINGEN,  May  7,  1865. 

Mr.  EDITOR  :  The  Bollingen  Reading  Society,  consisting  of  twenty  mem 
bers,  at  an  ordinary  meeting  last  evening,  resolved  to  join  in  the  address  of 
sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  United  States  of  North  America  on  account  of 
the  assassination  of  their  excellent  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  to  rejoice 
with  them  in  their  victories  for  the  triumph  of  humanity  by  the  abolition  of 
slavery. 

Respectfully,  in  the  name  of  the  society, 

SOLOMON  FLUKIGER, 

President. 
JOHN  MUHLETHALER, 

Actuary. 


[Translation.] 

BREMGARTEN,  NEAR  BERNE, 

June  9,  1865. 

The  common  council  and  Choral  Union  of  Bremgarten  declare  that  they 
cordially  join  in  the  Swiss  address  of  sympathy  to  the  American  Union,  which 
originated  in  Berne. 

We  hereby  most  sincerely  wish  the  greatest  prosperity  to  the  American 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       731 

Union  in  its  restoration  after  great  victories,  and  express  our  most  cordial  sym 
pathy  for  its  bereavement  by  the  death  of  its  excellent  President,  LINCOLN. 

''The  star-spangled  banner, 
O  long  may  it  wave 
O'er  tlie  land  of  the  free 
And  the  home  of  the  brave  !" 

SCHELLENBERG  GONDRATH. 

President  of  the  Council. 

FRIEDRICII  AESCIIER,  Secretary. 

In  the  name  of  the  Choral  Union: 

FRIEDRICH  AESCHER,  Director. 

JOHANNES  WUETHRICHT,  Secretary. 

[Twelve  members  of  the  council,  and  fourteen  members  of  the  Choral 
Union.] 


[Translation.  ] 

BIENNE,  May  1,  1865. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  hereby  enclose  you  the  signatures  of  the  members  of  various 
societies,  assembled  by  order  of  the  district  authorities,  to  express  their  appro 
bation  of  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  of  the  inhabitants  of  little 
Switzerland  to  the  great  sister  republic  of  the  United  States. 

What  man,  what  true  Swiss,  did  not  feel  the  warm  blood  run  swifter  in 
his  veins  and  his  heart  pulsate  audibly  at  the  news  of  the  great  events  in 
America,  the  perpetual  abolition  of  slavery  ! 

I  remain,  with  much  esteem,  the  old  interventioner,    • 

ALEX.  SCHONI. 

BIEL,  (Bienne.) 

In  the  name  of  about  800  persons  assembled,  on  the  25th  of  April,  to  cele 
brate  the  victories  and  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  United  States. 

ALEX.  SCHONI, 

For  the  Standing  Committee. 
JOHN  SESSLEK,  Secretary 

Dr.  JOHN  WITTENBACH, 

of  the  Grand  Council  in  Berne. 


732  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

BIENNB,  May  21,  1865. 

SIR:  Deign  to  accept  the  most  profound  condolence  for  the  cruel  death  of 
the  man  most  dear  to  all  republican  hearts,  from  a  true  Swiss  republican,  whose 
son  fought  against  the  southern  rebels  as  chief  of  a  company  of  light  artillery, 
in  the  first  Virginia  regiment. 

The  delay  of  this  expression  of  sympathy  from  me  is  owing  to  my  removal 
from  Morat  to  this  place.  When  I  left  Morat  the  address  had  not  been  circu 
lated  there,  arid  when  I  got  here  it  had  been  sent  to  Berne. 

Yet  I  hope  it  is  not  too  late  to  join  a  friend  in  sending  congratulations  to 
our  friends  beyond  the  sea,  with  wishes  for  their  prosperity  and  that  of  their 
new  noble  representative. 

Accept,  our  sympathy  and  our  most  sincere  wishes  for  the  future  pros 
perity  of  the  Union. 

Respectfully, 

JEAN  JENK,  SB., 

at  Bonjean,  near  Bienne. 

I  take  pleasure  in  joining  in  the  above  condolence  and  good  wishes. 

R.  MULLER, 
Brother  of  a  surgeon  in  tli,e  army  of  the  Union. 

His  Excellency  the  MINISTER  RESIDENT 

of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Switzerland. 


[Translation.] 

BRUNNEN,  May  6,  1865. 
To  tli".  Bund: 

As  the  pious  hearts  of  Switzerland  have  always  throbbed  in  sympathy  with 
the  good  people  of  America,  now  grieving  for  their  noble  President  LINCOLN, 
we  cordially  join  in  the  address  of  condolence  prepared  for  them  by  the  people 
of  the  Swiss  Confederation. 

We  hope  you  will  convey  this  expression  to  its  proper  address. 

A.  NIDERAST. 
P.  BENL. 


[Translation.] 
Mayor  and  council  of  the  canton  of  Baxel-Stadt  to  the  Bundesrath,  in  Berne. 

BASEL,  May  6,  1865. 

GENTLEMEN  :  We  learn  from  the  public  papers  that  your  supremo  authori 
ties  have  voted  an  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  United  States,  on 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       733 

account  of  the  death  of  their  wt>rthy  President,  at  a  time  when  long-desired 
peace  was  just  taking  the  place  of  a  terrible  war. 

We  presume  the  address  is  in  the  name  of  all  the  cantons,  and  we  are 
thankful  tor  the  opportunity  of  adding  our  names  to  it.  But  if  we  are  mistaken, 
we  suggest  that  a  circular  be  promulged  for  the  purpose  that  each  canton  may 
know  what  to  do. 

We  commend  you  to  the  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  and  subscribe 
ourselves, 

C.  STCHLIN,  Mayor. 

DR.  BISCONOFF,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

At  a  public  meeting  held  in  the  Lutheran  church,  in  Balgach,  at  half-past 
Icn  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  the  7th  of  May,  1805,  on  a  motion  made  by  C. 
Vulker,  after  the  close  of  the  polls  for  the  district  election,  the  following  reso 
lution  was  unanimously  adopted : 

"The  citizens  of  Balgach,  at  a  meeting  held  on  the  7th  of  May,  18G5, 
unanimously  resolved  to  ratify  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  from 
the  Swiss  Confederation  to  the  American  Union,  and  requested  the  authorities 
of  the  canton  of  St.  Gall  to  make  it  known  to  the  proper  persons." 
Adopted  unanimously.     The  above  abstract  is  correct. 

S.  OESCH,  President. 
NUNSCH,  Notary. 
T.  U.  SONDEREGGER, 
EDWARD  WALTZLER, 

Vote  Counters. 


[Translation.] 

BULLE,  CANTON  OF  FRIBOURG, 

May  12,  18G5. 
To  the  Bund,  Berne  : 

As  no  one  seems  to  have  courage  to  get  up  a  particular  demonstration  of 
sympathy  for  the  cause  of  the  northern  States  of  America,  in  this  place,  we 
resident  Germans,  have  thought  proper  to  call  a  meeting  and  declare  our 
approval  of  the  general  Swiss  address,  and  to  express  our  pleasure  at  the 
northern  victories,  and  our  grief  for  the  murder  of  President  LINCOLN. 


734  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

In  thanking  the  Berne  committee  for  hitving  taken  the  initiative  in  this 
affair,  the  undersigned  beg  leave  to  express  their  high  esteem  for  the  promoters 
"of  the  good  cause. 

CARL  BOCHNER, 

Druggist,  of  Darmstadt. 
ADAM  HENRICH, 

Gardener,  of  Hesse-Darmstadt. 
CLEMENT  NARGELE, 
Apothecary,  from  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden. 
VALENTIN  ROTHGEB, 
Knife-maker,  from  R/tcnish  Bavaria. 
JOHN  MAYER, 

Grand  Duchy  of  Baden. 
REINHARD  MEYER, 

Weaver,  of  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden. 
H.  ZECH,  Merchant,  same  place. 
GUSTAV  KAMMER, 

Wood-seller,  Hesse-Darmstadt. 
MAURICE  ANDREW, 

Gardener,  Saxony. 
JOHN  HENRY  GARTNER, 

Grand  Duchy  of  Hesse-Darmstadt. 
CARL  MEYER, 

Blacksmith,  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden. 
PETER  KRANTZ, 
Shoemaker,  from  MaeJienheim,  Hesse- Darmstadt. 


[Translation.] 

Meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Brittnau,  in  church,  Sunday  afternoon,  May  14, 

1865. 

The  number  of  qualified  voters  over  twenty  years  of  age,  385. 

On  motion  of  Parson  Bauman,  seconded  by  other  persons  present,  it  was 
unanimously  resolved  to  approve  of  the  Swiss  national  address  to  the  people 
of  the  United  States  of  North  America : 

1st.  In  view  of  congratulations  on  the  happy  conclusion  of  the  four  years' 
war,  which  has  produced  the  greatest  of  blessings  to  the  country,  namely,  the 
institution  of  the  rights  of  man,  the  enjoyment  of  personal  liberty  and  freedom, 
without  regard  to  the  accidental  differences  of  complexion,  corporeal  circum 
stances  or  descent,  in  opposition  to  the  execrable  evil  of  negro  slavery  in  the 
southern  States;  and 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       735 

2d.  In  consideration  of  the  expression  of  condolence  for  the  death  of  that 
most  excellent  man,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States. 
The  above  is  a  true  copy  of  the  original : 

MAT.  WALCHLI,  President. 
A.  WALCHLI,  Clerk. 
JACOB  BRAK, 
J.  ZIMMERLIK, 

Vote  Counters. 


[Translation,  j 

The  Agricultural  Society  of  the  district  of  Baden  to  President  Johnson. 

BADEN,  IN  AAUGAU,  May  21,  1865. 

As  members  of  an  agricultural  society,  and  as  citizens  of  a  free  country, 
we  feel  bound  to  join  in  the  chorus  that  solemnly  swells  in  the  praise  of  the 
holy  cause  of  humanity,  freedom,  and  equality  to  all  men  as  brothers,  and  that 
precious  blessing  of  a  republic,  unbroken  unity.  Therefore  have  we  followed 
with  intense  interest  the  banner  of  our  sister  republic  beyond  the  ocean,  which 
waved  for  the  holy  blessing,  and  watched  the  changes  of  events  as  closely  as 
if  they  had  been  in  our  own  land — now  with  joy,  and  then  with  fear  and  trem 
bling.  Great  was  our  exultation  when  the  good  cause  triumphed;  but  a  terrible 
blow  struck  down  our  joy.  Close  upon  the  news  of  victory  came  the  tidings 
of  the  death  of  LINCOLN,  the  noble,  unmoved  champion  of  freedom  and  the 
Union. 

Permit  us,  therefore,  to  express  to  you  our  most  sincere  congratulation  on 
the  triumph  of  the  good  cause,  and  to  tell  our  deep  sorrow  for  the  death  of 
President  LINCOLN,  the  noble  martyr  of  liberty. 

Permit  us,  as  kindred  people,  to  extend  the  friendly  hand  of  brotherhood, 
and  crown  his  head  with  laurel  in  his  last  sleep,  and  plant  the  mourning  cypress 
over  his  untimely  grave. 

May  his  martyrdom  produce  the  rich  fruit  that  the  true  martyrs  of  hu 
manity  have  always  yielded. 

In  the  name  of  the  society  : 

KETTIGER,  President. 

JOHN  MULLEK,  Secretary. 


[Translation.  ] 

BUREN,  June  4,  1865. 

SIR  :  We  learn  through  the  central  state  functionary  here  that  you  are 
authorized  to  receive  the  addresses  of  sympathy  which  societies  and  Swiss 


736  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

people  desire  to  make  to  the  government  of  the  United  States.  We  therefore 
send  you  the  address  of  the  teachers  of  Biiren,  that  you  may  attend  to  the 
proper  disposal  of  it. 

With  esteem, 

J.  PFISTER,  Assistant    Teacher. 
The  COMMANDER  OF  THE  HUNTER  CORPS  of  the  Canton  of  Berne. 


[Translation.  ] 

Expression  of  adhesion  to  the  address  of  sympathy  to  the  North  American  Union 

by  the  people  of  Switzerland. 

BiJREN,  IN  THE  CANTON  OF  BERNE,  June  5,  1865. 

The  great  rejoicing  on  account  of  the  recent  great  victories  of  the  Ameri 
can  Union  has  found  an  echo  in  our  hearts,  as  that  country  has  always  been 
friendly  to  us,  and  friendly  to  freedom  throughout  the  world. 

"  Freedom  to  man,  though  he  be  born  in  chains,"  says  our  great  poet, 
Schiller,  in  his  ideal  enthusiasm  for  freedom  and  the  dignity  of  manhood. 
Whoever  considers  these  words,  and  understands  them  properly,  cannot  help 
feeling  how  superior  a  man  who  believes  in  and  practices  them  is  to  one  who 
is  governed  by  the  demon  of  servitude  and  oppression.  Whoever  has  a  heart 
that  beats  warm  for  the  greatest  blessings  of  humanity,  must  join  the  general 
gratulation  of  the  friends  of  freedom  everywhere  on  the  triumph  of  the  glori 
ous  cause  for  human  rights  on  American  soil. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  mighty  leader  of  these  great  events,  the  manly 
model  of  civic  virtue,  of  pure  and  noble  humanity,  will  be  held  holy  in  the 
memory  of  the  inhabitants  of  his  native  land,  and  be  worshipped  by  the  world. 
May  this  idea  console  the  country  that  is  destined  to  live  on  in  prosperity  for 
his  cruel  death.  May  this  view  in  the  history  of  nations,  and  of  our  country 
in  particular,  teach  us  that  it  is  the  will  of  Providence  for  all  religious,  social, 
or  political  reforms  to  be  accomplished  by  a  baptism  of  blood. 

May  God  keep  the  people  of  the  North  American  Union  ever  hereafter 
in  freedom,  peace,  and  unity. 

In  the  name  of  the  synod  : 

JOHANN  PFISTER,  Assistant  Teacher 


[Translation.  ] 

CHAUX  DE  FOND,  SWITZERLAND,  May  7,  1865. 

The  radical  electors  of  Chaux  de  Fond,  republic  and  canton  of  Neufchatel, 
in  Switzerland,  assembled  this  day,  to  the  number  of  two  thousand,  for  the  pur- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       737 

pose  of  exercising  their  civil  rights,  and  adopted  unanimously  the  following 
address  to  the  government  of  the  United  States: 

The  news  of  the  triumph  of  the  northern  cause  has  filled  the  hearts  of  all  the 
radicals  of  Neufchatel  with  joy,  and  has  delighted  their  brothers  of  all  the  Swiss 
cantons.  Yours  is  the  cause  of  true  republicans  in  every  country.  Like  you, 
the  Swiss  radicals  desire  the  emancipation  of  all  men  ;  the  triumph  of  the  cause 
of  progress,  with  its  happy  consequences,  the  reign  of  order. 

That  abominable  crime,  the  murder  of  President  LINCOLN  has  received  no 
greater  reprobation  in  any  part  of  the  world  than  with  us.  We  will  ever  keep 
his  illustrious  name  in  our  memories  ;  but  we  comfort  ourselves  with  the 
thought  that  the  cause  of  the  North  did  not  die  with  one  of  its  best  citizens, 
but  will  live  to  triumph  in  the  hands  of  his  successor  and  his  able  generals. 

It  was  also  voted  to  have  this  resolution  sent  to  the  United  States  minister 
at  Berne. 

This  is  a  certified  copy  : 

[SEAL.]  A.  RIBAUX,  Justice  of  the  Peace, 

President  of  the  Radical  Committee. 


[Translation.] 

CHAUX  DE  FOND,  May  4,  1865. 

The  undersigned  give  their  most  perfect  adhesion  to  the  address  sent  by 
the  Federal  Council  of  Switzerland  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  both  as  regards  the  triumph  of  the  northern  cause  and  the  memory 
of  the  eminent  and  lamented  President  LINCOLN. 

A.  RIBAUX.  LEON  INREY. 

PAUL  VUILLE.  JULES  LAMBERCIER. 

E.  ROUILEN.  JULES  DUBOIS. 

ALEXANDRE  HESS.  J.  A.  WILEIMRIER. 

H.  F.  GERRIT.  AUG.  BARBEY. 

ARNOLD  NICOND.  L.  C.  DELLENBACII. 

EDOUARD  ROBERT.  PAUL  CALAME. 

DUBOIS  CALAME.  T'S  ARMAND  TISSOT. 

ALB.  DUCOMMUN.  LUCIEN  HUMBERT. 

ED.  BEGUELIN.  ENG.  JUNOD. 

ROBERT  BORNAND  NUMA  DIOZ. 

GUSTAVE  LUPOLD.  H.  GRANJEAN  PERRENON. 

ULYSSE  PERRETT.  ZINGO  BERTON. 

LOUIS  BORNET. 
AND  ABOUT  2,300  NAMES  FROM  CHAUX  DE  FOND. 

93 


738  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

CHUR,  May  24,  1865. 

The  undersigned  most  cordially  approves  of  the  Swiss  address  of  sympathy 
to  the  United  States,  and  requests  to  contribute  his  signature  to  its  columns 
of  subscribers  in  our  native  land. 

DR.  CARL  HILTON, 

Lawyer  in  Chur. 


[Translation.] 

The  minor  council  of  the  canton  of  the  Orisons  (Graubiinden)  to  Mr.  Florian 
Gengee,  editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne. 

CHUR,  May  8,  1865. 

SIR  :  Thanking  you  for  your  estimable  letter  of  the  29th  instant,  we  assure 
you  that  our  chief  authorities,  as  well  as  the  people  in  general,  feel  the  most 
profound  sympathy  for  the  American  Union  ;  and  we  are  confident  that  similar 
sentiments  prevail  throughout  all  Switzerland,  on  account  of  the  calamitous 
event  that  has  overwhelmed  that  country. 

Now  as  to  the  best  manner  of  expressing  this  sympathy,  it  seems  to  us 
that  an  official  publication  of  the  state  council,  as  representatives,  and  in  the 
name  of  the  whole  confederation,  and  in  the  proper  form,  should  be  addressed 
to  the  government  of  the  United  States. 

However,  in  case  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  is  sent  to  us, 
we  are  ready  to  assent  to  it  with  our  signatures. 
With  much  esteem, 

H.  P.  BELLI,  President. 
hi  the  name  of  the  state  council,  the  chancery  director, 

J.  B.  TSCHARNER. 


[Translation.] 

The  minor  council  of  the  canton  of  Orisons  to  the  honorable  state  council 

CHUR,  May  10,  1865. 

LOYAL  FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  The  recent  important  news  from  America,  the 
glorious  Union  victories  over  the  seceded  States,  the  horrid  murder  of  the  well- 
deserving  President  LINCOLN,  have  called  up  feelings  of  the  deepest  sympathy 
in  all  Switzerland. 

The  minor  council,  convinced  that  the  people  participate  in  this  sentiment, 
have  not  hesitated  so  to  express  it ;  but  as  they  intend  to  call  a  meeting  for 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  739 

that  purpose  on  the  14th  instant,  we  will  leave  the  more  perfect  expression 
of  their  feelings  to  the  promised  official  report  of  the  popular  assembly. 

We  therefore  invite  the  presidents  of  the  different  circles  to  meet  here  on 
Sunday,  the  14th  instant,  to  consider  whether  it  accords  with  the  feelings  and 
wishes  of  the  authorities  of  the  canton  of  Orisons  to  congratulate  the  United 
States  on  their  victories,  and  offer  condolence  for  the  death  of  their  excellent 
President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Not  doubting  but  the  people  of  Grisons  will  joyously  accept  the  opportu 
nity  to  express  their  republican  sentiments  and  cordial  sympathy  for  the  Amer 
ican  Union,  we  respectfully  request  the  different  presidents  to  answer  the  above 
question  without  delay. 

We  commend  you,  brethren,  to  the  protection  of  Divine  Providence. 

H.  P.  BEELI,  President. 
J.  P.  TSCHARNER,  Secretary. 


[Translation.  ] 

The  minor  council  of  the  canton  of  Grisons  to  the  Hon.  Swiss  Bundesrath,  in 

Berne. 

CHUR,  June  1,  1865. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  latest  important  news  from  our  sister  republic  beyond 
the  ocean — the  great  conflict  between  the  States  of  the  North  American  Union, , 
the  signal  victories  of  the  loyal  citizens  and  all  their  liberty-loving  friends  over 
those  who  would  have  severed  the  bonds  of  Union,  and  the  death  of  the  Union 
President  LINCOLN,  the  worthy,  estimable,  unmoved  representative  of  the  good 
cause,  who  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  desire  of  accomplishing  his  holy  commission — 
all  these  events  are  felt  and  appreciated  or  deplored,  not  only  in  the  valleys 
of  our  canton,  but  over  all  Switzerland. 

The  information  that  reaches  us  through  the  public  papers  of  the  glorious 
victories  of  the  nation  and  the  tragic  death  of  its  President  has  awakened  t  In 
most  lively  feelings  of  gratulation  on  the  one  part,  and  the  deepest  sentiments 
of  sorrow  in  our  bosoms  on  the  other,  towards  a  country  that  has  always  been 
our  friend. 

The  sincerity  of  this  sympathy  is  the  less  doubtful,  as  many  of  our  peo 
ple's  kindred  were  the  warriors  in  that  holy  crusade  for  freedom  and  right,  and 
many  more  are  still  living  free  and  happy  under  that  star-spangled  banner  for 
which  they  have  victoriously  fought. 

With  this  intention,  we  thought  proper  to  make  out  an  address  and  send 
it  to  the  thirty-nine  districts  of  this  canton  on  the  14th  ultimo,  when  the  district 
elections  were  to  take  place,  to  have  the  vote  taken  upon  it.  On  the  10th  a 


740  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

special  proclamation  was  issued,  a  copy  of  which  has  been  sent  you  for  your 
consideration,  and  circulated  throughout  the  canton,  putting  this  interroga 
tory  to  the  voters :  Whether  it  accords  with  the  feelings  and  wishes  of  the 
authorities  of  the  canton  of  Grisons  to  congratulate  the  United  States  on 
their  victories,  and  offer  condolence  for  the  death  of  their  excellent  Presi 
dent,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  The  result  of  the  votes  in  the  thirty-nine  districts 
has  reached  us,  after  much  delay,  and  we  are  happy  to  report  it  as  unanimous 
in  favor  of  the  interrogatory,  and  at  every  precinct  especial  expressions  of  sym 
pathy  were  made  by  many  of  the  voters.  It  is  now  our  wish  and  desire  that 
this  perfect  expression  of  the  sympathy  of  our  people  be  sent  to  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  through  the  proper  channel.  In  the  mean  time  we 
embrace  the  opportunity  to  send  our  respects  and  feelings  of  distinguished 
consideration. 

H.  P.  BEELI,  President. 
J.  B.  TSCHARNER,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

The  Chancery  of  Grisons  to  the  Bund. 

CHUR,  May  19,  1865. 

Mr.  EDITOR:  As  the  report  of  the  votes  of  this  canton  was  late  coming  to 
hand,  we  have  not  been  able  hitherto  to  inform  you  of  the  result  In  answer  to 
yours  of  the  15th  instant,  we  have  the  honor  to  say  that  the  address  of  sympa 
thy  and  condolence  from  the  citizens  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  to  the  American 
Union  is  fully  approved  of,  as  far  as  we  can  learn.  Official  reports  from  several 
places  have  not  yet  been  received,  but  we  have  no  doubt  they  will  accord  with 
the  sentiments  expressed  in  the  Berne  address. 
Respectfully, 

G.  MARCHION,  Chancellor. 


THE  MANNERCHOR  AND  MUSICAL  UNION  OF  DIEGTEN,  CANTON  OF  BASELLAND. 

Fifty-four  signatures  and  this  motto: 

Es  blinken  dor  Sterne  so  viele 

In's  dunkel  des  Lebens  hinein; 
Es  dringen  die  Voelker  zum  Ziele, 

Bei  ilirem  helleuclitenden  Schein. 

[Translation.  ] 

Many  stars  twinkle 

In  life's  weary  way, 
Leading  us  onward 

To  heavenly  day. 


EXPRESSIONS  OP  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       741 

[Translation.] 

To  the  President  of  the  Central  Union  of  Glorus. 

EINSIEDELN,  May  10,  18G5. 

By  order  of  the  Workingmen's  Union  of  Einsiedeln,  I  herewith  send  you 
a  list  of  signatures  to  the  address  of  sympathy  to  the  American  people.  Other 
lists  from  this  canton  must  have  been  sent  you  already.  Hoping  you  will  have 
the  kindness  to  comply  with  the  request,  I  remain,  in  the  name  of  the  Working- 
men's  Union  of  Einsiedeln, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

MARTIN  FUCHS,  Actuary. 


[Translation.] 

To  the  government  and  free  people  of  the  United  States  of  North  America. 

The  Swiss  laborers  and  Workingmen's  Union  have  hereby  resolved  to 
approve  of  the  address  of  sympathy  and  devotion  to  the  free  people  of  the  United 
States  of  North  America,  on  account  of  their  recent  great  victories  and  advan 
tages,  both  in  a  political  and  social  regard,  and  the  undersigned  citizens  of  Ein 
siedeln,  in  the  canton  of  Schwyz,  and  the  members  of  the  Workingmen's  Union 
of  the  same  place,  send  their  cordial  congratulations  for  triumphs,  and  their 
heartfelt  sorrows  for  the  atrocious  murder  of  the  noblest  and  greatest  citizen 
of  the  Union,  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

CARL  HENSLER, 
President  of  the  Workin  gmen\\  Union. 
E.  SCHADER, 

Vice-President. 

AND  NINETY-SEVEN  NAMES. 


[Translation.  ] 

The  Democratic  Circle  of  Estavayer,  animated  by  similar  sentiments  to 
those  announced  at  the  Fribourg  popular  meeting  of  the  14th  of  May  instant, 
and  anxious  to  show  their  brothers  beyond  the  sea  their  sympathy  for  the 
victories  over  the  South,  thus  restoring  peace  to  the  American  Union  by  the 
triumph  of  the  liberal  cause,  and  also  to  express  their  indignation  and  sorrow  at 
the  ruthless  and  savage  act  of  the  monster  Booth,  who  deprived  them  of  the 
most  worthy  ami  pure  of  republicans,  their  illustrious  President  LINCOLN,  declare 


742  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

that  they  approve  of  the  resolntion  passed  at  the  public  meeting  at  Fribourg, 
and  join  in  the  address  to  the  republicans  of  the  United  States. 

A.  MOURET,  Attorney  at  Law. 

JOSEPH  BRUNO  VOLLERY. 

A.  BUCKS  PROUVREUX. 

NICHOLAS  SANSONNENS. 

P.  N.  COLLAND. 

ANTOINE  MARMY. 

JAQUES  SANSONNENS,  Teacher. 

C.  A.  L.  DAFFLON. 

AND  THIRTY-ONE  OTHER  NAMES. 


[Translation.] 
DISTRICT  OP  TRANCHES   MONTAGNES. 

Signatures  to  the  Berne  address  of  sympathy  to  the  people  of  the  American 
Union,  congratulating  them  on  the  victorious  restoration  of  their  government, 
and  condoling  with  them  on  the  loss  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  their  savior. 

KATMANN,  Prefect. 

E.  BROSSARD,  Judge. 

GENERAL  QUELAIN. 

LIEUTENANT  HUSSBAUMER. 

CAPTAIN  HENNIN. 

CAPTAIN  GIRARD. 

AND  FORTY-TWO   OTHERS. 


[Translation.  ] 

FRIBOURG,  May  24,  1865. 
SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  you  the  following  documents  : 

1.  An  address,  voted  by  a  popular  assembly  at  Fribourg,  on  Saturday,  the 
13th  of  May,  with  411  signatures. 

2.  A  supplementary  address,  signed  by  106  citizens  of  Gruyere,*  most  of 
them  from  the  industrious  and  liberal  little  city  of  Bulle. 

3.  A  second  declaration  of  assent  to  the  address  voted  by  the  Democratic 
Circle  of  the  city  of  Estavaycr,f  with  39  signatures,  556    signatures   in  all, 
which  the  people  of  Fribourg  beg  you  to  accept  and  transmit  to  your  American 

*  For  this  enclosure  see  Gruyere. 
t  For  this  enclosure  see  Estavayer. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        743 

countrymen,  as  a  token  of  friendship,  republican  confraternity  and  very  sincere 
sympathy. 

Receive  the  assurance  of  our  very  distinguished  consideration. 

AUG.  MAJEUX. 
Mr.  G.  G.  FOGG,- 

Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States,  at  Berne. 


[Translation.] 

FEIBOURG,  May  13,  18G5. 
To  the  Republicans  of  the  United  States : 

All  free  nations,  and  those  waiting  for  their  freedom,  hail  the  final  triumph 
of  your  arms  with  sentiments  of  happiness  and  hope,  as  the  cause  of  justice, 
liberty,  humanity,  and  civilization  were  sheltered  by  your  banners. 

Without  hate  for  your  wayward  brothers,  the  Swiss  people  shout  with  joy 
at  the  news  of  your  success,  for  it  assures  the  immortal  principles  of  democracy, 
and  restores  peace,  concord,  and  prosperity  to  your  great  and  wonderful  republic, 
which  we  are  proud  to  call  our  sister  and  to  love  as  such. 

How  great  was  our  consternation,  how  sincere  our  lamentations,  when  we 
heard  of  the  tragic  death  of  your  great  citizen  LINCOLN,  a  victim  of  the  most 
atrocious  crime  known  to  the  world,  at  the  moment  when  we  expected  to  see 
him  crowned  with  the  purest  glory,  and  worshipped  with  veneration  by  all  good 
people,  as  the  fruits  of  four  years  of  perseverance  and  gigantic  struggles. 

Why  was  not  the  assassin's  hand  disarmed  at  the  last  moment  by  so  much 
republican  virtue,  so  much  nobility  and  magnanimity"? 

Republicans  of  the  United  States,  who  are  weeping  over  the  tomb  of  the 
most  illustrious  of  your  children,  allow  your  brethren  of  Helvetia's  hills  and 
dales  to  join  in  your  mourning,  and  lay  upon  the  tomb  in  their  turn  the  wreaths 
of  regret  and  fraternal  sympathy. 

Republicans  of  America,  republicans  of  Switzerland  and  old  Europe,  let  us 
remain  ever  united,  in  days  of  misfortune  as  in  times  of  prosperity. 

May   God  give  you   consolation   and  courage,   and  always  protect  your 
beautiful  country  and  free  institutions. 
AUG.  MAJEUX,  CHARLES  FONDLEY. 

Editor  of  the  Fribourg  Journal.          JOSEPH  GENDRE. 
Z.  CASTKLLA.  PHILIPPE  TECHTERMANN. 

DB.  C.  HUYDUC.  CHRISTIAN  BLANC. 

T.  THACSEN.  PIERRE  WIGHT. 

DK.  JOSEPH  SCHNYDER,  SB.         AUG.  MOHR  PFULGER. 
CHARLES  SCHWAB.  LUCIEN  BIELMANN. 

AND  THREE  HCXDUED  AND  NINETY-EIGHT  OTHER  SIGNATURES. 


744  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

The  president  and  council  of  the  canton  of  Thurgau  to  the  Bundesrath,  in  Berne. 

FKAUENFELD,  May  3,  1865. 

GENTLEMEN:  By  a  circular  from  the  Berne  committee  for  the  address  of 
sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American  Union,  we  are  invited  to  join  in  its 
approval,  together  with  the  governments  of  Aargau,  Ticino,  and  Soleure. 

We  have  thought  it  would  be  better  for  each  canton  to  draw  up  an  address, 
through  its  chief  authorities,  and  have  it  presented  at  meetings  of  the  inhabit 
ants  for  their  approval,  and  then  send  it  to  the  general  government  to  be  for 
warded  through  the  minister  to  the  foreign  government. 

But  if  our  views  of  the  subject  are  not  correct,  we  willingly  indorse  your 
address,  in  the  name  of  the  inhabitants  of  Thurgau,  as  our  people  rejoice  at  the 
victories  for  the  holy  rights  of  man,  and  highly  condemn  the  atrocious  crime 
that  attempted  to  destroy  their  effect,  wishing  the  greatest  prosperity  and  peace 
to  our  sister  republic  beyond  the  ocean. 

llequesting  you  to  report  this  declaration  to  the  proper  authorities,  we 
remain  your  attentive  and  serving  fellow-countrymen, 

EILOFF,  President. 
RUKSTUHT,   Chancellor. 


[Translation.] 

Telegram  from  Fraueiifeld  to  Berne,  (received  May  8,  1865. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne : 

The  Thurgan  Mutual  Aid  Society,  at  a  special  meeting  this  day,  has  unani 
mously  declared  its  adhesion  to  the  Swiss  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence 
to  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

MANN,  Actuary. 

STRAHEN,  Telegraph  Agent. 


[Translation.] 

• 

T/ie  district  synod  of  teachers  in  ttie  civil  district  of  Fraubrunn,  canton  of  Berne, 
to  the  American  legation  in  Berne. 

The  synod  of  teachers  in  the  civil  district  of  Fraubrunn  hereby  unani 
mously  declare  its  full  approval  of  and  solemn  adhesion  to  the  address  of  sym 
pathy  from  the  honorable  Union  Council  of  Switzerland  to  the  government  of 
the  American  Union  for  the  glorious  preservation  of  its  integrity,  and  offers"  its 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  745 

sincere  sympathy  for  the  decease  of  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  horror 
at  the  misdeed  that  deprived  him  of  existence. 

Accept  this  act  as  a  sincere,  though  feeble,  demonstration  of  its  good  wishes 
for  the  prosperity  of  our  glorious  sister  republic  of  America. 

With  devotion  and  esteem, 

K.  LAUENBERGER,  President. 

ULKICH  CHRISTENEN,  Secretary. 


[Translation.  ] 
GRUTLI  SOCIETY  OF  GENEVA. 

GENEVA,  May  13,  1865. 
To  /he  Bund,  in  Berne. : 

Mr.  EDITOR  :  I  respectfully  request  you,  by  these  few  lines,  to  hand  the 
enclosed  paper  to  the  central  address  committee  in  Berne. 

Accept  my  thanks  for  the  invitation  to  join  in  the  expression  of  sympathy 
for  our  sister  republic  beyond  the  ocean,  and  believe  me  your  humble  and 
obedient  servant, 

C.  ROTH.  President. 


[Translation.] 

The  Geneva  Grutli  Union   Society  to  the  committee  on  the  address  of  sympathy 
and  condolence,  to  the  American  Union,  in  Berne. 

GENEVA,  May  13,  1865. 

DEAR  SIR:  Our  society,  in  its  session  of  to-day,  unanimously  voted  to 
approve  of  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  of  the  Swiss  Confederation 
to  the  government  of  the  North  American  Union.  The  number  of  members 
voting  is  235. 

Accept  the  assurance  of  our  high  esteem  and  consideration. 

C.  ROTH,  President. 


[Translation.] 

The  state  council  of  the  republic  and  canton  of  Geneva  to  the  honorable  minister 
resident  of  the  United  States  at  Bertie. 

GENEVA,  May  5,  1865. 

SIR:  Impressed  with  the  sentiments  that  animated  the  people  of  Geneva 
on  hearing  of  the  crime  committed  upon  the  person  of  the  honorable  AHRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  the  state  council  of  the  canton  of  Geneva  wish  to  express,  through 

94 


746  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

your  mediation,  to  the  great  American  republic  the  sorrow  it  feels  at  that 
deplorable  event. 

Our  country  participates  in  the  mourning  that  is  spread  among  your  people, 
and  if  words  of  sympathy  can  afford  any  consolation  to  them  in  their  deep  sor 
row,  we  beg  you  to  be  our  interpreter  in  presenting  to  the  government  of  your 
country  the  expression  of  the  profound  regret  of  the  people  of  Geneva,  and 
their  wishes  for  the  future  prosperity  of  the  American  Union. 
The  state  council : 

MOISE  VAUTIER,  President. 

CIIAS.  RICHARD,  Vice- President. 

T.  FLOT. 

S.  VENAY. 

S.  MOISE  PIQUET. 

ELIE  DUCOMMUN,  State  Clmncellor. 
[Post  tenebras  lux.] 


[Translation.  ] 

The  state  council  of  the  republic  and  canton  of  Geneva  to  the  minister  resident 
of  the  United  States  of  America  near  the  Siviss  Confederation,  in  Berne. 

GENEVA,  May  15,  18G5. 

SIR  :  We  have  the  honor  to  enclose  you  herewith  an  extract  of  the 
deliberations  of  the  grand  council  of  our  canton,  which  you  will  please  remit  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States  of  America,  as  a  new  evidence  of  the 
sentiments  that  animate  the  republic  of  Geneva  towards  her  sister  of  the  New 
World. 

Accept  the  assurance  of  our  most  distinguished  consideration. 
In  the  name  of  the  state  council: 

ELIE  DUCOMMUN,  Chancellor. 


[Translation.  ] 

Extract  from  the  records  of  the  grand  council  of  the  republic  and  canton  of 

Geneva,  of  the  15th  of  May,  1865. 


DECREE  OF  THE  GRAND  COUNCIL. 


The  grand  council,  on  motion  of  one  of  its  members,  unanimously  resolved 
to  join  in  the  pledge  of  sympathy  sent  by  the  state  council,  in  the  name  of  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       747 

people  of  Geneva,  to  the  United  States  minister  on  the  occasion  of  the  crime 
committed  upon  the  person  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  to  thank  the  state  council 
for  offering  its  medium  for  the  sentiments  of  sorrow  the  deplorable  event  has 
excited  in  the  bosoms  of  the  entire  population  of  Geneva. 

Made  and  given  in  Geneva  on  the  15th  of  May,  1865,  under  the  seal  of  the 
republic,  and  with  the  signatures  of  the  president  and  secretary  of  the  grand 
council. 

ED.  AUBERT, 

President  of  the  Council. 
HENRI  SUBIT,  Secretary. 

Examined  for  authentication  of  the  signatures  of  Mr.  Edward  Aubert, 
president  of  the  grand  council  of  the  canton  of  Geneva,  and  of  Mr.  Henri  Subit, 
secretary  of  the  same  corps. 

[SEAL.]  ELIE  DUCOMMUN, 

State  Chancellor. 

GENEVA,  May  15,  1865. 


[Translation.] 

The  people  of  Geneva  to  the,  people  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

GENEVA,  May  <5,  1865. 
Jjrofher.s  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean  : 

The  energetic  defender  of  the  integrity  of  his  country,  the  valorous  cham 
pion  of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  the  great  citizen,  LINCOLN,  has  fallen  a  victim 
of  the  most  cowardly  crime.  His  death  is  a  loss  for  humanity  and  for  liberty 
in  both  hemispheres.  It  is  not  the  people  of  the  United  States  alone,  but  all 
free  peoples  with  them,  who>have  to  mourn  for  this  upright  patriot.  LINCOLN 
was  the  type  of  those  disinterested  characters,  of  those  valiant  and  humble 
hearts  which  democracies  must  count  in  great  numbers  to  maintain  their  rights 
inviolate,  and  to  assure  their  continual  march  towards  progress.  In  the  midst 
of  the  terrible  trials  which  the  American  Union  has  encountered,  in  all  the 
exigencies  of  civil  war,  this  upright  patriot  had  but  one  purpose  in  view,  to 
respect  his  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  Constitution,  to  prevent  the  dismemberment 
of  the  great  republic,  to  efface  the  only  stain  upon  its  flag,  slavery.  This  is 
what  President  LINCOLN  has  realized ;  he  has  accomplished  this  gigantic  task 
without  harm  to  the  liberty  of  the  people,  with  probity  and  energy  in  the  choice 
of  means,  with  moderation  and  generosity  towards  the  vanquished;  and  for  these 
eminent  qualities,  for  this  disinterestedness,  he  has  been  basely  assassinated. 


748  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

This  was  more  than  a  crime  against  the  inviolability  of  human  life.  It  was  a 
crime  of  treason  to  republics.  In  a  country  where  the  people  alone  is  sov 
ereign  ;  in  democracies,  where  laws,  freely  discussed  and  agreed  to,  are  the  basis 
of  society,  magistrates  have  a  sacred  character ;  to  strike  them  down  is  to  insult 
the  whole  people— is  to  commit  the  most  abominable  of  high  crimes. 

Geneva  comes  solemnly  to  associate  her  sorrow  and  regret  with  the  great 
grief  which  this  terrible  blow  has  caused  the  United  States.  In  the  darkest 
days,  when  the  starry  flag  was  held  in  check  by  a  rebellion  whose  real  purpose 
was  to  consolidate  the  institution  of  slavery,  and  to  extend  it  to  territories 
destined  to  form  new  States,  the  people  of  Geneva  met  to  send  a  testimony  of 
sympathy  and  words  of  encouragement  to  the  American  Union.  Her  wishes 
have  been  realized.  The  United  States  emerge  from  civil  war  free  and  more 
powerful  than  ever.  The  little  republic  of  Europe  sees  with  profound  satisfac 
tion  the  result  of  the  trials  which  the  American  people  have  undergone  for 
four  years ;  she  breathes  a  prayer  that  this  power  may  never  be  employed  to 
weaken  popular  liberty  and  sovereignty,  to  violate  oaths,  and  satisfy  ambitious 
projects  of  conquest. 

The  civil  war  of  the  United  States  will  have  the  same  effect  for  them,  we 
trust,  as  the  Sundenbund,  which  in  1847  drenched  Switzerland  with  blood.  It 
is  from  this  period  that  Helvetia  dates  the  closest  union  between  all  the  cantons, 
without  distinction  of  language,  without  consideration  of  local  interests.  Let  the 
conduct  of  President  LINCOLN  serve  as  an  example,  and  the  same  homogeneity 
will  be  realized  in  the  United  States.  The  only  cause  of  division  is  slavery ;  may 
this  be  scattered  forever,  even  .to  its  smallest  roots,  and  the  great  republic  wil] 
have  no  more  internal  dangers.  The  maintenance  of  its  inlcgrity  is  of  the  last 
importance  for  the  future  of  the  republics  of  the  New  World.  Events  have 
shown  this :  like  a  train  of  powder,  no  sooner  did  civil  war  break  out  in  the 
Union,  than  American  democracies  were  in  danger.  St.  Domingo,  Paraguay, 
Mexico,  are  the  plain  proofs  of  this.  These  facts  speak — they  speak  loudly, 
and  need  no  commentary.  If  any  one  could  still  doubt  the  necessity  of  main 
taining  the  great  republic  in  its  integrity,  such  facts  should  dispel  all  uncer 
tainty. 

Liberty  and  power  compel,  says  liberal  Europe,  while  fixing  her  eyes  upon 
the  American  Union.  It  is  for  you,  strong  and  free  people,  to  give  an  example 
for  other  people  ;  you  have  done  it  nobly  up  to  this  time ;  you  will  do  it  still — 
you  will  do  it  even  to  the  end ;  you  will  utterly  abolish  slavery,  and  you  will 
stretch  a  tutelar  hand  to  the  liberties  of  all  peoples.  We  earnestly  desire  this, 
and  have  confidence  that  it  will  be ;  for  you  have  numerous  citizens  whose  only 
nmbition  is  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Washingtons,  Franklins,  and 
LINCOLNS.  It  is  with  this  conviction  that  the  people  of  Geneva,  assembled  in 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       749 

meeting,  say  to  you,  brothers  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean :   Long  live  the 
republic  of  the  United  States  of  America  !     Long  live  liberty  ! 

Done  in  meeting,  the  3d  day  of  May,  at  the  Electoral  building,  and  unani 
mously  adopted  by  the  four  thousand  persons  present. 

MOISE  VANTIER, 

President  du  Consul  d'Etat. 
AD.  CATALAN, 
LOMBARD,  M., 
CHS.  PFEFFER, 
A.  CARTERET,  Deputif, 
AMBERY,  Avocat. 
H.  FAZY, 

G.  KLAPHA,  General. 
FEHR.  OTH, 
•    CH.  VOGT, 
J.  DIDAY, 
G.  ZARLINDEN, 

T/ic  Committee. 


[Translation.] 

The  Polish  refugees  in  Switzerland  to  the  great  nation  the  republic  of  the  United 

States. 

Fraternal  greeting  and  profound  sympathy  ! 

Republican  Citizens : 

After  a  fatal  struggle  of  twenty  months  for  the  independence  and  liberty 
of  our  country,  after  countless  losses,  we,  exiles  from  our  homes,  under  the  uegis 
of  the  free  Swiss  nation,  the  only  oasis  of  liberty  in  Europe,  contemplate  with 
hearts  palpitating  with  emotion  your  gigantic  struggle,  supported  by  rights  the 
most  sacred  to  humanity.  The  news  of  your  heroic  and  glorious  exploits  filled 
us  with  admiration,  and  your  triumphs  made  us  poor  Poles  forget  our  own 
misfortunes  on  beholding  the  great  champions  of  liberty. 

Republican  citizens :  Now,  when  the  most  despotic  governments  of  old 
Europe  are  hastening  to  send  you  expressions  of  their  sympathy,  on  the  occa 
sion  of  the  horrible  crime  that  has  deprived  you  and  all  friends  of  liberty  of  its 
greatest  defender,  your  President  elect,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  we  beg  you  to 
accept  the  feeWe  vote  of  sincere  sympathy  and  profound  sorrow  from  a  few 
people — a  handful  of  exiles. 


750  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Our  whole  nation  cannot  express  its  sentiments  for  you,  because  its  people 
are  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  earth ;  but  you  can  accept  our  good  wishes  as 
the  feeble  echo  of  a  friendly  people. 
Fraternal  greeting  and  sympathy  ? 

In  the  name  of  the  Polish  Mutual  Aid  Society  of  Geneva: 

8TRYIENSKI. 
J.  STELLA. 

.      ANTOINE  SZCZESNOWICZ. 
JOSEPH  CWIERORALUKWICZ. 
FRANZ  KASPERO. 

In  the  name  of  the  Polish  Mutual  Aid  Society  of  St.  Gallon  : 

The  Polish  abbot,  E.  SZCZENIOWSKI. 

JOSAPHAT  OKNIOSKI. 
TOMAS  RUSZLEJKO. 
JAN  BORACZYNSKI. 
LUDWIH  FRJHICII. 


[Translation.] 

The  undersigned,  citizens  of  Grueyere,  join   their  fellow-countrymen  of 
Fribourg  in  the  address  to  the  republicans  of  the  United  States. 

J.  GIENOZ. 
JULES  GLASSON. 
CHAS.  BRASCHAUD. 
F.  DE1RONE. 
TH.  BAYS. 
F.  DEEROUX. 
F.  DALER. 

GIETENHOFF  TOBIE. 
JOSEPH  DUBOIS. 
FREDERIC  LAMDRY. 

AND  NINETY-SIX  OTHER  NAMES. 


[Translation.  ] 

The  state  committee  of  the  canton  of  Glarus  to  the  honorable  union  council  in 

Berne. 

GLARUS,  May  7,  1865. 
Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Council : 

In  its  meeting  of  this  day  the  common  council,  through  its  presiding 
officer,  proposed  an  expression  of  its  sentiments  on  account  of  recent  events  in 
America 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        751 

The  oldest  and  smallest  republic  in  Europe  will  not  let  this  favored 
opportunity  pass  to  call  a  meeting  of  its  citizens  under  the  free  azure  of  God's 
heaven,  and  express  to  the  youngest  and  largest  republic  in  the  world  its  warm 
est  sympathy  for  its  sufferings — its  sorrow  for  the  assassination  of  the  good 
citizen  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  its  best  wishes  for  the  restoration  of  the  Ameri 
can  Union  and  its  continued  prosperity. 

We  beg  you  to  make  this  known  to  the  American  legation,  and  receive  our 
commendations  of  you  to  Providence  for  our  mutual  welfare. 

In  the  name  of  the  land  committee  : 

DR.  T.  HEER,  Chief  Justice. 
T.  CHAM,  Council  Clerk. 


[Translation.] 

GLARUS,  June  4,  1865. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne  : 

The  undersigned  has  the  honor  to  enclose  you  herewith  lists  of  the  auto 
graph  signatures  of  the  Swiss  work-unions,  in  the  different  sections  of  this 
canton,  to  be  appended  to  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  be  sent 
to  the  people  of  North  America,  with  the  request  that  you  deliver  it  to  the 
proper  authorities  for  that  purpose.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  there  arc  515 
signatures  in  all.  I  am  very  sorry  I  could  not  send  it  sooner;  but  it  is  not 
my  fault.  I  also  have  to  regret  that  the  lists  are  in  no  better  order. 

In  the  name  of  the  Swiss  Central  Union  : 

L.  GRIST,  President. 

[Here  follow  515  names.] 


[Translation.] 

HEKZOGENBUSCHSEE,  May  20,  1865. 
To  the  Bund,  Berne: 

SIR  :  I  herewith  enclose  you  the  address  of  the  Mannerchor  of  this  place, 
together  with  the  declaration  of  assent  of  the  Waugen  Trade  Union,  with  many 
signatures. 

Circumstances  prevented  me  from  sending  it  sooner,  but  I  hope  it  is  not 
too  late  to  reach  its  destination  through  your  kindness. 

Accept  the  assurance  of  my  perfect  esteem  and  devotion. 
By  order : 

JOHN  SPAI1R. 


752  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

Assenting  declaration  of  the,  Herzogenbuschsee  Mannerchor  to  the  Siviss  address 
of  sympathy  to  the  American  Union. 

The  members  of  the  Herzogenbuschsee  Mannerchor  declare  their  assent 
to  the  address  of  sympathy  to  the  American  Union  as  follows,  inviting  all  neigh 
boring  unions  and  citizens  partial  to  the  cause  to  join  them  in  it. 

The  feeling  of  cordial  friendship  and  warm  sympathy  which  the  Swiss 
express  in  every  rank  for  the  American  people,  in  their  varied  fortunes,  has 
also  penetrated  our  circle  and  awakened  the  deepest  sentiments  among  us. 

We  join  in  the  general  jubilee  of  all  persons  who  are  friendly  to  freedom 
at  the  great  victory  of  the  North  American  Union  over  Richmond.  We  hail 
with  joy  the  end  of  the  four  years'  civil  war,  the  end  of  frightful  sacrifices  and 
untold  sufferings ;  and  we  rejoice  at  the  triumph  of  freedom  and  humanity  over 
the  infamous  system  of  oppression  that  ruled  the  nation  so  long. 

We  join  our  American  brethren  in  their  jubilation  that  the  great  and  holy 
principles  of  our  constitutions  show  that  the  democratic  republic  depends  upon 
the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  and  the  future  is  in  their  hands. 

We  feel  that,  by  this  victory,  not  only  Americans,  but  all  who  have  been 
aroused  to  consciousness  must  see  the  great  advances  made  towards  the  time 
when  the  rights  of  man  must  prevail,  when  no  other  crown  than  that  of  merit 
can  be  worn,  and  no  title  of  nobility  but  that  of  virtue  and  fitness. 

We  turn  again  with  wonder  and  affection  to  the  starry  banner  of  our  sister 
republic  that  has  blotted  out  its  only  stain  in  this  baptism  of  blood,  and  around 
which  so  many  heroes  have  assembled,  to  show  the  world  how  powerful  is 
Divine  Providence  in  the  choice  of  its  instruments  to  prove  the  simple  majesty 
of  manhood. 

The  beautiful  personification  of  all  these  virtues,  in  our  opinion,  was 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  "  the  man  with  the  brow  of  iron  and  the  heart  of  gold." 

As  we  joined  in  the  song  of  victory,  the  reward  of  the  great  citizen's  labor, 
so  did  the  news  of  his  assassination  strike  our  hearts  with  terror. 

As  we  shudder  at  such  events  of  history,  we  must  remember,  "that  it  is 
man's  destiny  to  make  the  greatest  sacrifices  for  the  greatest  good,  buy  the  best 
blessings  with  the  dearest  gifts,  and  remember  that  he  must  labor  not  only  for 
the  passing  comforts  of  to-day,  but  for  the  lasting  blessings  of  hereafter." 

In  this  belief,  we  can  understand  why  Providence  often  uses  means,  incom 
prehensible  to  us,  to  heal  the  wounds  of  humanity,  by  offering  its  champions  as 
victims  to  martyrdom. 

The  angel  of  peace  and  freedom  will  now  come  from  the  vault  of  Spring 
field  to  breathe  the  breath  of  resurrection  and  regeneration  over  the  land ;  and 
when  men  in  after  years  shall  commemorate  Good  Friday  as  the  death-day  of 
their  holy  Redeemer,  they  will  remember  it  as  the  day  of  martyrdom  for  his 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       753 

truest  disciple,  the  liberator  of  millions  of  slaves,  the  noble  paragon  of  virtue 
and  humanity,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

In  conclusion,  we  express  our  steadfast  hope  in  the  future  fate  of  our  great 
sister  republic,  and  our  confidence  in  its  manly  rulers ;  and  cordially  join  in  the 
address  of  sympathy  of  our  countrymen,  wishing  the  welfare  of  the  Union  in 
the  words  of  the  great  Franklin,  "  May  it  live  forever." 
Members  of  the  Mannerchor : 

A.  FRIEDRICH  BORN,  President. 

J.  G.  WEGST,  Director 

G.  F.  EBERBACH,  Secretary. 

AND  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FORTY  NAMES. 


[Translation.] 

The  state  council  of  the  canton  of  Lucerne  to  the  honorable  Siuiss  Union  Council 

in  Berne. 

LUCERNE.  May  4,  1865. 
Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Council: 

You  have  resolved  to  send  the  expression  of  your  sympathies  for  the  loss 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  by  assassination,  to 
the  legation  of  that  country  near  the  Swiss  Confederation. 

We  participate  in  your  feelings  of  detestation  and  horror  at  that  awful 
deed,  but  as  your  officers  are  the  constitutional  organs  of  communicating  with 
foreign  powers,  we  have  refrained  from  sending  our  letter  of  condolence  to  that 
legation,  and  we  now  thank  you  for  proposing  the  signing  of  the  circular  sent 
to  us  in  the  name  of  the  Confederation,  to  which  we  most  cordially  assent. 

At  the  same  time  we  embrace  the  occasion  to  express  our  distinguished 
consideration. 

In  the  name  of  the  government  council : 

T.  WEISS,  Chief  Justice. 
DR.  WILLI,  State  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

LUCERNE,  Maij  6,  1865. 

DEAR  SIR  :  The  sad  news  lately  come  across  the  ocean  that  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  President  of  the  Nortli  American  Union,  and  now  regarded  as  one 
of  the  greatest  men  who  ever  lived  upon  this  earth,  was  ruthlessly  struck  down 
by  the  bloody  hand  of  an  assassin,  has  filled  the  whole  world  with  indignation 
and  grief. 

England's  proud  Queen  condescended  to  give  her  cordial  sympathy,  in  a 
95 


754  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

writing  of  her  own  hand,  to  the  afflicted  widow  of  the  worthy  republican ;  and 
the  governments  of  the  highest  monarchs  of  the  world  sent  their  sympathies 
and  solemn  well-wishes  to  the  democratic  land.  It  is  very  natural,  then,  that 
the  message  of  sad  news  from  America  should  have  been  felt  in  free  Switzer 
land,  and  caused  our  patriotic  hearts  to  beat  in  sympathy  with  those  of  a  sister 
republic,  bound  to  us  by  the  closest  ties  of  warmest  friendship  and  similarity 
of  institutions.  America  and  Helvetia,  may  they  ever  bear  the  same  relations 
to  each  other  as  now.  We  have  seen  the  glorious  American  colors  floating  at 
a  glorious  festival  in  our  land,  (the  feast  of  Freeshooters  at  Luzerne,  the  7th 
day  of  July,  1853  ;)  we  know  the  beauty  of  the  stars  and  stripes,  and  let  us 
wish  them  success  wherever  they  may  wave,  in  whatever  battle  they  may  be 
tried. 

When  the  first  news  of  the  horrible  assassination  of  the  greatest  man  in 
America  reached  us,  we  were  overwhelmed,  and  felt  as  if  the  country  was 
ruined ;  but  when  we  reflected  it  might  be  the  inscrutable  orders  of  Divine 
Providence  to  give  us  a  lasting  monument  of  a  free  country,  we  felt  resigned  to 
late. 

I  have  not  thought  proper  to  wait  till  a  public  meeting  should  be  called 
in  Lucerne,  but  I  have  given  expression  to  my  feelings  now,  and  send  you  the 
sheet  that  you  may  insert  it  in  the  Bund,  and  add  my  name  to  the  address 
when  it  is  brought  up. 

Accept  the  assurances  of  my  distinguished  consideration. 

JOHN  KILCHMAN. 
Mr.  F.  GENGEL, 

Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne. 


[Translation.] 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne : 

HONORED  SIR  :  As  the  undersigned  had  not  the  good  fortune  to  see  the 
address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American  Union,  being  absent  from 
his  place  of  residence  while  it  was  circulating,  he  respectfully  requests  you  to 
add  his  name  to  the  list  of  signers  to  that  patriotic  document. 
I  remain  yours,  with  much  esteem, 

KASIMIR  PFYFFER. 


[Translation.  J 

Council  of  the  canton  of  Basel-Landschaft  to  the  Swiss  Bundesrath,  in  Berne. 

LIESTHAL,  June  5,  1865. 

We  hereby  communicate  to  you,  for  the  information  of  the  authorities 
of  the  American  Union,  that  a  vote  was  taken  in  this  canton,  on  the  28th  of 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       755 

May  last,  when  6,040  legal  voters  approved  of  the  address  of  sympathy  and 
condolence,  which  was  drawn  up  at  the  Cassino,  in  Berne,  the  25th  of  April, 
congratulating  the  people  of  the  North  on  the  happy  delivery  of  the  country 
from  rebel  rule,  and  condoling  with  them  on  the  loss  of  their  excellent  and 
worthy  President  by  a  murderer's  hand. 

Some  few  precincts  of  our  canton  remain  to  be  heard  from,  and  we  thought 
it  well  to  wait  for  the  entire  vote ;  but  as  we  are  confident  that  ours  are  the 
sentiments  of  all  the  Swiss  people,  we  conclude  to  send  this  as  it  is. 

Commending  you  to  the  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  we  accept  the 
occasion  to  express  the  assurance  of  our  distinguished  consideration. 

F.  BRODBEETZ,  President. 

B.  BANGA,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 
SWISS   CONFEDERATION. 

State  council  of  the  canton  of  Ticino  to  Dr.  John  Wyttenbach,  member  of  the 

grand  council  in  Berne. 

LUGANO,  May  4,  1865. 

SIR  :  We  have  received  Mr.  F.  Gengel's  letter  of  the  1st,  inviting  us  to 
join  in  the  address  of  sympathy  an  condolence  of  the  central  committee  of  the 
capital  to  the  American  Union,  on  account  of  the  assassination  of  President 
LINCOLN. 

This  is  the  text  of  the  resolutions  passed  by  our  state  government :  The 
grand  council  of  the  republic  and  canton  of  Ticino — 

1.  In  the  name  of  the  people,  expresses  its  profound  sorrow  for  the  horrid 
assassination  of  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN,  the  illustrious  President  of  the  United 
States. 

2.  The  flag  of  the  Ticino  parliament  shall  be  draped  in  mourning  for  three 
days. 

The  council  of  this  state  fully  accedes  to  the  above  resolution  of  the  grand 
council  of  state  and  the  republic. 

We  hereby  communicate  it  to  the  federal  council,  and  also  to  you,  accord 
ing  to  Mr.  Gengel's  directions,  and  avail  ourselves  of  the  occasion  to  express 
our  greatest  esteem  and  consideration. 

By  the  state  council : 

C.  MOROFIN1,  President. 

L.  PRIODA,  Secretary  of  State. 


756  ASSASSINATION   OP   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

LAUSANNE,  May  6,  1865. 

SIR:  In  reply  to  your  circular  of  the  1st  instant,  we  are  instructed   to 
inform  you  that  the  grand  council  of  this  canton,  on  the  proposal  of  the  state 
council,  had  voted  an  address  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America,  to  express  the  sentiments  of  profound  regret  it  feels  at  the  news  of 
the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
give  to  the  Congress  and  people  of  the  United  States  a  public  pledge  of  sym 
pathy  for  the  cause  of  liberty,  defended  with  so  much  patriotism,  courage 
perseverance  and  moderation  by  the  noble  victim  whose  loss  we  now  deplore.' 
Accept  the  assurance  of  our  distinguished  consideration. 
In  the  name  of  the  chancery  of  the  state  and  canton  of  Vaud : 

THE  CHANCELLOR,  CAREY. 
Mr.  F.  G-ENGEL, 

President  of  the  Committee  for  the  Address 

to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  at  Berne. 


[Translation.] 

State  council  of  the  canton  of  Vaud  to  the  Swiss  Federal  Council  in  Berne. 

LAUSANNE,  May  8,  1865. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  AND  COLLEAGUES  :  We  have  the  honor  to  transmit  you  a 
resolution  passed  by  the  grand  council  of  the  canton  of  Vaud,  at  its  session  of 
the  3d  instant,  enclosing  an  address  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN. 

The  resolution  is  accompanied  by  a  letter  addressed  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States. 

We  respectfully  request  you,  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen  of  the  council, 
to  have  these  documents  sent  to  their  place  of  destination  through  the  United 
States  minister  resident  in  Berne. 

We  accept  this  opportunity  to  repeat  the  assurance  of  our  high  considera 
tion,  and  to  recommend  you  to  Divine  protection. 

In  the  name  of  the  state  council : 

JOLY;  President. 

CAREY,  Chancellor. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       757 

[Translation.] 

The  state  council  of  the  canton  of  Vaud  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  of 

North  America. 

LAUSANNE,  May  8,  1865. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  On  hearing  of  the  atrocious  crime  under  which  President 
LINCOLN  fell,  the  grand  council  of  the  canton  of  Vaud  voted  an  address  to  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  and  to  the  citizens  of  the  republic,  in  expression 
of  its  grief  at  the  sad  event,  and  its  sentiments  of  sympathy  for  the  noble  cause 
upheld  by  the  illustrious  victim. 

in  performing  the  duty  of  transmitting  the  resolution  of  the  grand  council 
of  this  canton,  and  the  address  it  includes,  we  fully  agree  with  the  sentiments 
therein  expressed. 

Accept,  Mr.  President,  the  assurance  of  our  high  consideration. 

In  the  name  of  the  state  council : 

JOLY,  President. 

CAREY,  Chancellor 


[Translation.] 
THE    RESOLUTION. 

The  grand  council  of  the  canton  of  Vaud  adopts  the  following  resolution : 
ARTICLE  1.  The  following  address  shall  be  sent  to  the  President  of  the  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States  of  North  America : 

The  grand  council  of  the  canton  of  Vaud  to  the  President  of  the  Congress  of 
representatives  of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  in  Washington. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  The  double  crime  that  took  the  life  of  the  illustrious 
President  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  threatened  the 
days  of  Secretary  Seward,  caused  and  instantaneous  movement  of  horror  and 
indignation  among  our  people  and  in  the  midst  of  our  assembly. 

We  hasten  to  express  to  you  our  sentiments  of  profound  sorrow  on  account 
of  the  event,  and  to  give  the  Congress  and  people  of  the  United  States  a  public 
token  of  our  sympathy  for  the  cause  of  liberty,  defended  with  so  much  patriot 
ism,  courage,  perseverance,  and  moderation  by  the  noble  victim  whose  loss  we 
deplore  with  you. 

In  addressing  our  republican  greetings  to  you,  Mr.  President,  we  avail 
ourselves  of  the  opportunity  to  recommend  you  to  the  protection  of  Divine 
Providence. 


758  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABKAHAM   LINCOLN. 

ARTICLE  2.  The  state  council  is  charged  to  transmit  this  address  to  its 
destination. 

Given  under  the  grand  seal  of  state,  at  Lausanne,  the  3d  of  May,  1865. 
[SEAL.]  CHS.  VAUD, 

President  of  the  Grand  Council. 
Ls.  IACCAED,  Secretary. 


[Translation.  ] 

The  Miinnerchor  of  Langnau  to  the  editor  of  the  Bund. 

LANGNAU,  May  7,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  above-named  society,  composed  of  five-and-twenty  members, 
have  this  day  resolved  to  unite  in  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to 
the  North  American  Union. 

In  the  name  of  the  society  : 

FRITZ  IIOFER,  President. 
SCHAFFER,  Secretary. 


[Translation.  ] 

Expression  of  approval. 

The  undersigned,  citizens  of  the  Swiss  Confederation,  unite  in  the  Berne 
address  to  the  President  of  the  North  American  Union  with  all  their  hearts, 
and  approve  of  it  in  every  particular. 

GEISEN  STAP,  of  Langcnthal.  F.  H.  IIUDI. 

JOHANNES  PFISTER.  J.  GUT. 

THEOD.  GEISER.  LIEUT.  A.  MARTI. 

FRIED.  WITSCH.  F.  KRONAUER. 

AND  SEVERAL  OTHERS. 


[Translation.] 

Declaration  of  adhesion  of  the  Israelite  citizens  of  Langnau  to  the  Swiss  address 
of  sympathy  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

LANGNAU,  May  3,  1865. 

The  sad  news  of  the  death  of  the  noble  President  LINCOLN,  by  the  hand 
of  an  assassin,  has  troubled  our  hearts  deeply,  and  so  great  was  our  consterna- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       759 

tion  that  at  first  we  could  hardly  credit  the  horrid  news.  But,  alas,  the  public 
papers  soon  confirmed  the  horrid  report  and  cast  a  gloom  of  sadness  over  our 
spirits. 

As  an  expression  of  our  sentiments  we  willingly  add  our  names  to  the 
address  of  sympathy  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States. 

JACOB  BRAUNSCHWEIG,  Notary. 

MORIZ  MA1ER,  Clerk. 

AND  THIRTY-NINE   OT1IEK  SIGNATURES. 


[Translation.] 

Manifesto. 

LOCLE,  May  3,  1865. 

At  a  public  meeting  of  350  Swiss  citizens,  held  in  Locle  on  the  3d  of 
May  for  the  purpose  of  elections,  the  following  resolution  was  spontaneously 
adopted : 

In  presence  of  the  universal  mourning  that  now  covers  the  American 
people,  the  citizens  present  at  this  meeting  declare  their  profound  sorrow  and 
deej)  indignation  at  the  monstrous  act  of  assassination  committed  upon  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States. 

This  manifest  shall  be  transmitted  to  the  Federal  Council  for  communica 
tion  to  its  proper  address. 

In  the  name  of  the  public  meeting : 

ALFRED  DUBOIS, 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  President. 
J.  GAVEREL-HUGUENIN,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

LOCLE,  May  2,  18G5. 
To  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

Vice-P  resident  of  the  United  States,  in  Washington: 

On  hearing  of  the  conclusion  of  the  American  war,  the  undersigned 
inhabitants  of  Locle,  a  mountain  village  of  Neufchatel,  in  Switzerland,  were 
preparing  to  express  their  joy  for  the  signal  triumph  of  the  cause  of  liberty,  in 
an  address  to  their  brothers  of  America,  and  especially  to  President  LINCOLN, 
the  true  democratic  statesman,  and  to  manifest  their  full  and  perfect  sympathy 
for  the  principles  of  republican  rule  and  free  labor  that  now  prevail  throughout 


760  ASSASSINATION   OP   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

the  entire  Union;  but  at  that  moment  the  terrible  news  of  the  assassination  of 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  reached  them.  Permit 
them  now  to  express  their  saddest  regrets  and  most  profound  sorrow  for  that 
horrid  crime,  and  be  assured  they  detest  from  the  bottom  of  their  hearts  that 
kind  of  combat  now  used  by  southern  partisans. 

Although  the  new  accident  may  tend  to  disturb  the  hope  of  a  speedy 
pacification,  the  undersigned  have  a  perfect  conviction  that  the  cause  of  the 
North  and  the  democratic  republic  will  triumph  more  completely  and  glori 
ously. 

In  the  name  of  the  Swiss  society  of  Locle,  composed  of  one  hundred  and 
five  members,  assembled  this  second  day  of  May,  1865  : 

VANKONEL,  President. 

J.  GAVEREL-HUGUENIN,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

LOCLE,  May  19, 1865. 
To  the  Bund  : 

DEAR  SIR  :  Excuse  the  liberty  I  take  of  requesting  you  to  have  the  kind 
ness  to  hand  the  enclosed  address  to  the  American  people  to  the  United  States 
minister  resident  in  Berne,  and  oblige  your  obedient  servant, 

SEBASTIAN  GYGER,  Secretary. 


[Translation.  J 

LOCLE,  CANTON  OF  NEUFCIIATEL,  SWITZERLAND, 

May  19,  1865. 

HONORABLE  SIR  :  Through  the  kind  mediation  of  the  editors  of  the  Bund, 
we  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  German  society  entitled  Harmony, 
consisting  of  ninety  members,  unanimously  resolved  at  its  last  meeting  to 
approve  of  the  general  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  of  the  Swiss  Con 
federation  to  the  American  people.  Be  pleased,  Mr.  Minister,  to  forward  this 
address,  with  the  many  others,  to  your  government,  and  accept  the  assurance 
of  our  perfect  consideration. 

In  the  name  of  the  Hamonie  : 

JEAN  DIETRICH,  President. 
SEBASTIAN  G-YGER,  Secretary. 
His  Excellency  Mr.  GEORGE  G.  FOGG, 

United  States  Minister  Resident  in  Seme. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        761 

[Translation.] 

LOCLE,  May,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  take  the  liberty  of  sending  you  an  address  in  the  name  of  the  Swiss 
gymnasts. 

Have  the  kindness  to  be  the  interpreter  to  the  American  government  of  our 
sincere  regrets  for  the  loss  of  the  great  citizen,  LINCOLN,  and  of  our  wishes  for 
the  happy  accomplishment  of  his  work. 

Receive  the  assurance  of  our  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  the  cause  of 
the  great  nation  you  represent. 

In  the  name  of  the  Swiss  gymnasts : 

HENRY  GRAND  JEAN, 
President  of  the  Central  Committee. 
His  Excellency  Mr.  GEORGE  G.  FOGG, 

Minister  Resident  in  Berne. 


[Translation.] 
THE    FEDERAL    GYMNASTIC    SOCIETY,    CENTRAL    COMMITTEE. 

LOCLE,  May  5,  1865. 

To  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  : 

The  central  committee  of  the  Federal  Gymnastic  Society,  in  the  name  of 
the  young  men  of  Switzerland,  join  in  the  many  testimonies  of  sympathy  which 
have  been  sent  to  you  from  Switzerland,  for  the  noble  cause  you  are  defending. 
The  news  of  the  horrid  crime  committed  upon  the  person  of  your  worthy 
President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  great  citizen  who  did  so  much  for  liberty  in 
his  country,  was  painfully  received  by  the  sons  of  free  Helvetia ;  but  his  task 
will  not  remain  unfinished;  it  will  be  continued  by  his  worthy  successor. 

A  great  cry  of  condemnation  arose  in  Europe,  and  we  join  it  with  all  our 
souls,  hoping  the  noble  cause  you  defend  will  yet  triumph  over  all  opposing 
obstacles. 

We  address  ourselves  to  you.  Mr.  President,  in  the  name  of  all  the  sections 
of  the  Federal  Gymnastic  Society,  in  expressions  of  the  confidence  we  have  in 
the  successor  of  the  noble  and  virtuous  LINCOLN. 

[SEAL]  HENRY  GRAND  JEAN,  President. 

ALFRED  DUI30IS, 
GUSTAVE  WUILLEME, 

Vice-Presidents. 

ALEXANDRE  COURVOISIER, 
JULES  GUINAND, 

Secretaries. 

FERDINAND  RICHARD.  Treasurer. 
96 


762  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

MUNSINGEN,  May  6,  1865. 

The  members  of  the  Official  Song  Union,  amounting  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  in  number,  met  in  Konalfingen  on  the  30th  of  April,  1865,  and  resolved 
as  follows: 

The  undersigned  declare  their  deep  sympathy  in  the  general  sorrow  on 
account  of  the  atrocious  assassination  of  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and 
cordially  rejoice  at  the  happy  consequences  of  northern  victories  in  the  North 
American  Union. 

They  also  request  the  proper  execution  of  this  resolution  by  the  superior 
authorities. 

In  the  name  of  the  Union: 

Z.  P.  STUNG,  Notary,  President. 

JACOB  FISCHER,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

MUNSINGEN,  May  1,  1865. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne : 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  you  fifty-seven  signatures  of  the  members 
of  the  Sternenleistes  to  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  our  sister 
republic  of  America.  You  will  please  forward  the  document  to  the  legation  of 
the  United  States. 

T.  KONRAD,  JR.,  W.  BERGES. 

Cloth  Painter  and  Actuary          JOSEPH  MERZ,  Cane-maker, 
of  the  Sternenleistes.      A.  IRMIGER 

G.  WEBER  VOGEL.  GABRIEL  WIRZ,  Machinist. 

ED.  AMSLER,  Druggist.  GOTTLIEB  WEBER. 

I.  IRMIGER.  F.  HUNZECKER. 

M.  SOGT.  RUDOLF  WEBER. 

AND  FORTY-SIX  OTHER  NAMES. 


[Translation.  ] 

MEIRINGEN,  May  20,  1865. 

The  district  synod  of  Oberhasli  has  this  day  unanimously  resolved  to 
approve  of  the  Swiss  address  of  congratulation  and  sympathy  to  the  North 
American  Union. 

In  making  this  communication,  it  takes  the  occasion  to  express  its  perfect 

A.  ABZLANALZ,  President. 
I  certify  the  exactness  of  the  above  copy : 

F.  GENGEL,  Editor  Bund. 


EXPKESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       763 

[Translation.] 

The  inhabitants  of  Murten  to  the  American  Union. 

Whenever  the  cause  of  freedom  rejoices  in  a  new  triumph  the  hearts  of 
our  people  beat  warmer  and  higher  in  sympathetic  union  with  the  victors.  So, 
at  the  news  of  the  glorious  successes  of  the  North  our  bosoms  beat  with  a  roar 
ing  storm  of  joy  and  jubilation;  but,  as  with  lightning  from  a  clear  sky,  we 
were  struck  down  with  this  overwhelming  news — ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  dis 
tinguished  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  the  indefatigable  cham 
pion  and  standard-bearer  of  popular  personal  liberty,  has  fallen  by  the  mortal 
bullet  from  the  assassin's  pistol. 

The  ocean  which  divides  your  republic  from  the  free  child  of  the  Alpine 
heights  is  grand  and  deep ;  but  greater  is  our  horror  and  detestation  of  the 
abominable  crime  committed  against  you,  and  deeper  our  sorrow  for  the  loss  of 
the  great  republican,  LINCOLN.  We  weep  with  the  people  of  the  North  Ameri 
can  Union  at  the  grave  of  their  immortal  citizen ;  we  press  their  hands 
with  deep-moved  hearts  to  show  them  that  their  grief  is  ours,  their  sorrow 
ours,  too. 

May  the  bleeding  wounds,  the  consequence  of  crime,  be  cicatrized  by  time, 
and  the  star-spangled  banner  ever  wave  high  and  victorious  in  the  cause  of 
freedom  and  the  defence  of  the  sacred  rights  of  man.  So  on  may  the  trees  of 
peace  and  plenty  grow  again  and  flourish  upon  the  blood-drenched  plains  of 
your  once  unhappy  land,  and  spread  their  blessed  branches  of  conciliation  over 
all  your  once-more-united  States. 

With  republican  greeting : 

For  the  Miinncrchor,  (three  members) — 

4.  J.  GERBER,  Leader. 

For  Friends'  Aid  Society,  (fourteen  members) — 

AB.  BRELO. 

For  the  city  schools — 

JOHN  HAAS,  Director. 

For  Under-officers'  Union,  (forty-five  members) — 

F.  CHATONEY. 

For  Grutli  Union,  (twenty  members)— 

J.  RUBLI. 

For  Mutual  Aid  Society,  (one  hundred  and  seventy  members) — 

ABR.  FASSNACHT,  President. 


764  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

Concurrence  of  the  Mutual  Aid  Society  of  Ncuveville,  canton  of  Berne,  in  the 
address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American  Union  by  the  Siviss 
people. 

NEUVEVILLE,  May  6,  1865. 

SIR:  The  Mutual  Aid  Society  met  to-day  and  decided  to  join  in  the  sponta 
neous  manifestation  of  the  Swiss  people,  and  thank  the  citizens  who  proposed  it. 
It  also  requested  its  officers  to  sign  the  present  resolution  of  concurrence 
and  send  it  to  its  address,  in  the  name  of  the  society. 

H.  TSCHIFFE,  President. 
FRED  IMER,  Vke-P resident. 
SCHEM  KARLEN,  Cashier. 
E.  CIBOLLET,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

NIDAU,  May  6,  1865. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne : 

The  teachers  in  the  district  of  Nidau,  in  the  canton  of  Berne,  hereby 
declare  their  cordial  approval  of  the  vote  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the 
United  States  of  North  America,  and  beg  that  their  names  be  added  to  the 
address  of  the  Swiss  Confederation. 

In  the  name  of  the  synod  of  Nidau  : 

D.  SCHMUTZ,  President. 

J.  A.  KAUFMANN,  Secretary. 


[Translation.  ] 

The  president  and  committee  of  the  Workingmeris  Union  of  Niederunen,  in  the 
canton  of  Glarus,  to  the  supreme  government  and  free  people  of  the  United 
States  oj  North  America,  greeting : 

We,  in  consonance  with  a  great  internal  desire  to  express  our  heartfelt  joy 
for  the  late  victories  of  the  free  people  of  the  United  States  of  North  America, 
unanimously  approve  of  the  address  of  sympathy  and  gratulation  to  be  sent  to 
them.  We  rejoice  with  them  in  their  victories,  in  the  triumph  of  the  great 
cause  for  the  benefit  of  humanity,  and  we  lament  with  them  the  atrocious 
murder  of  their  great  aud  good  citizen,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  at  a  time  when 
peace  was  about  to  smile  upon  the  great  republic. 

God  grant  that  the  free  people  of  America  may  long  enjoy  the  blessings  of 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE  AND   SYMPATHY.  7 Of) 

1  licir  victories  and  advantages  of  their  triumphs  ;  may  He  console  the  citizens 
of  a  free  country  for  the  loss  of  their  noble  champion  of  freedom  and  martyr  of 
patriotism ;  and  may  His  Almighty  hand  direct  the  great  nation  in  the  ways  of 
peace,  prosperity,  and  happiness. 

God  preserve  your  country  and  ours. 

Adopted  at  the  general  meeting  on  the  14th  May,  1865. 

In  the  name  of  the  union  : 

HEINRICH  BE1TENHOLZ,  President. 
JOHANNES  BOHRY,  Actuary. 
FOLLOWED  BY  SIGNATURES  OF  EIGHTY  MEMBERS. 


[Translation.] 

The  state  council  of  the  republic  and  canton  of  Neufchatel  to  the  president  and 
members  of  the  Federal  Council,  Berne. 

GENTLEMEN  AND  COLLEAGUES  :  We  are  informed  that  an  address  of  sym 
pathy  for  the  American  Union,  on  account  of  the  loss  to  the  nation  of  its  first 
citizen  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  is  now  being  signed. 

Wishing  to  participate  in  the  demonstration,  we  take  the  liberty  of  request 
ing  you,  gentlemen,  to  sign  the  address  in  the  name  of  the  government  of  Neuf 
chatel. 

Thanking  you  in  advance,  we  embrace  the  occasion  to  assure  you  of  our 
high  consideration  and  federal  devotion. 

In  the  name  of  the  state  council : 

U.  FRANRENAU,  President. 

GEORGE  GUILLAUME,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

State  council  of  the  republic  and  canton  of  Neufchatel  to  the  president  and  mem 
bers  of  the  Federal  Council  in  Berne. 

NEUFCHATEL,  June  2,  18G5. 

GENTLEMEN  AND  COLLEAGUES:  Our  newly  elected  grand  council,  in  its 
first  session  now  held,  wishes  to  begin  with  a  testimony  of  sympathy  for  the 
people  and  government  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  for  the  family  of  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN,  on  account  of  the  lamentable  death  of  that  illustrious  citizen. 

We  send  you  the  decree  voted  unanimously  by  the  grand  council  of  Neuf- 


766  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

chatel,  and  request  you  to  transmit  it  to  the  minister  resident  of  the  United 
States. 

We  accept  the  opportunity  to  express  our  great  consideration  and  devotion. 

In  the  name  of  the  state  council  : 

HENRI  TOUCHON,  President. 

GEOKGE  GUILLAUME,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

Decree. 

The  grand  council  of  the  republic  and  canton  of  Neufchatel,  in  Switzer 
land,  unanimously  decree  to  express  their  profound  sympathies  to  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  and  to  its  people,  on  account  of  the  death  of  their 
illustrious  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  emancipator  of  the  slaves ;  and  also 
to  express  their  profound  sympathy  for  the  family  of  President  LINCOLN. 

Given  under  the  seal  of  the  grand  council  of  Neufchatel,  the  1st  of  June, 
1865. 

In  the  name  of  the  grand  council : 

[SEAL.]  ALF'D  DUBOIS,  President. 

A.  GUYAT  EUPOLO,  >  c, 

u   T^I   u  f  secretaries. 

S.  D.  BONJOUK,  $ 


[Translation.] 

Manifesto. 

NEUFCHATEL,  May  6, 1865. 

The  following  resolution  was  spontaneously  passed  at  a  public  meeting 
of  600  Swiss  citizens,  held  in  the  Vuille  brewery,  Neufchatel,  on  the  6th  of 
May,  1865 : 

"  In  view  of  the  great  sorrow  now  oppressing  the  American  people,  the 
citizens  present  at  this  meeting  declare  that  they  feel  profound  indignation  and 
exceeding  grief  at  the  news  of  the  atrocious  act  that  brought  death  to  ABRA 
HAM  LINCOLN,  the  excellent  President  of  the  United  States. 

"  This  manifestation  shall  be  communicated  to  the  Federal  Council  for 
transmission  to  the  proper  authorities  abroad." 
In  the  name  of  the  meeting  : 

EUGENE  BOREL,  President. 
HENRI  FOUCHON,  Vice  President. 
ALFRED  PERROSET, 
EUGENE  PIAGET, 
F.  BADER, 

Secretaries. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  7<>7 

[Translation.] 

NEUFCHA.TEL,  May  8,  1865. 

Mr.  EDITOR  :  As  we  learn  through  your  estimable  paper  that  not  only 
societies,  but  every  lover  of  freedom,  can  have  an  opportunity  of  expressing 
their  sympathy  for  the  American  Union,  we  take  the  liberty,  with  this  view, 
of  addressing  ourselves  to  you. 

The  great  triumph  of  the  American  Union  over  the  South,  in  a  four  years' 
war,  has  caused  a  jubilee  in  our  society,  for  we  look  upon  it  as  the  triumph 
of  the  people  over  despotism,  another  step  in  advance  for  people's  rights,  and 
as  an  invitation  to  us  not  to  despair.  The  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  President  of 
the  United  States,  who  fell  by  the  assassin's  hand  on  the  14th  of  April  a  sacri 
fice  to  humanity,  infuses  hope  into  our  hearts,  and  bids  us  weather  out  the 
storm. 

May  many  such  men  still  exist  to  bless  the  Union  and  other  nations  witli 
their  happy  presence  !  Long  live  the  American  republic  as  a  model  for  our 
selves  ! 

Our  society,  composed  of  seventy  members,  has  this  day  voted  its  unanimous 
assent  to  the  address  of  sympathy  to  the  American  people. 

In  the  name  of  the  German  Industrial  Union  of  Neufchatel : 

P.  FANGEL,  President. 
A.  KNAPP,  Actuary. 


Translation.] 

The  council  of  Oftrigen  to  the  Bundesrath,  Berne. 

OFTKIGEN,  May  14,  1865. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  citizens  of  Oftrigen,  at  a  public  meeting  this  day, 
unanimously  adopted  the  following  resolution  : 

"Resolved,  That  we  accord  our  most  sincere  sympathy  to  the  North 
American  republic  in  its  great  victories,  and  give  our  most  cordial  condolence 
for  the  murder  of  its  great  President,  LINCOLN." 

Will  you  have  the  kindness  to  communicate  this  resolution  to  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  Slates  in  Washington? 

Be  pleased  to  accept  the  assurances  of  our  distinguished  consideration. 

BERNARD  ZIMMERLI,  President. 
G.  ZIMMERLI,  Secretary. 


7(58  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

OFTRIGEN,  May  30,  1865. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne : 

We  hereby  respectfully  request  you  to  insert  the  enclosed  communication 
in  your  estimable  paper.  Hoping  you  will  oblige  us  with  such  a  slight  favor, 
wo  remain,  yours,  &c., 

LANG  HUSSY,  Councillor. 


[Translation.] 
EXPRESSION  OF  SYMPATHY  FOR  THE  AMERICAN  UNION. 

"  On  motion  of  Mr.  Lang  Hussy,  at  a  meeting  of  many  citizens  of  Oitri- 
gen,  just  after  the  state  elections,  it  was  unanimously  resolved  to  approve  of  the 
Swiss  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American  Union." 


[Translation.] 

ROGGWEIL. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND  :  At  a  meeting  held  this  day  the  fire  corps,  of  40  men, 
passed  the  following  resolutions  : 

1.  We  hail  with  joy  the  triumph  of  freedom  over  slavery  in  America. 

2.  We  grieve  with  the  patriots  of  that  country  over  the  death  of  their 
beloved  President. 

You  will  please  see  that  this  communication  is  transmitted  to  the  proper 
authority,  and  oblige, 

RUDOLF  HEGI,  Captain. 


[Translation.  ] 

Signatures  of  the  members  of  the  Grutlf   Union,  Romont  section,  to  the  address 
of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American  Union. 

To  President  ANDREW  JOHNSON  : 

The  members  of  the  Romont  section  of  the  Grutle  Union  offer  their 
sincere  sympathy  and  deepest  sentiments  of  regret  and  indignation  on  account 
of  the  great  misfortune  recently  occurred  to  our  sister  republic  beyond  the 
ocean,  by  the  hand  of  a  ruthless  assassin. 

Our  grief  and  pain  are  the  greater  as  the  joy  with  which  we  were  about  to 
celebrate  the  victories  of  northern  arms  over  Petersburg  and  Richmond  was 
interrupted  by  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       769 

All  eyes  were  turned  to  that  great  man  as  his  iron  hand  was  stretched  to 
emancipate  the  blacks  from  the  white  tyranny  that  was  scourging  them  unmer 
cifully.     Kingly  powers  trembled  at  his  strength  and  could  oiler  no  intervention. 
May  his  great  unfinished  task  which  has  fallen  into  your  hands  be  properly 
accomplished  for  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  our  sister  republic,  so  that  its 
happy  inhabitants  may  bless  you  for  a  lasting  peace.     May  a  providential  star  of 
light  guide  you  in  the  direction  of  the  destinies  of  a  great  nation.     Finally,  our 
countrymen  offer  their  aid  and  well  wishes  to  your  wisely  directed  government. 
In  the  name  of  the  union,  consisting  of  twenty  members : 

GOTTLIEB  SCIIEIDEGGER,  President. 
JACOB  KURTH,  Actuary. 
J.  EGGERSTEIN,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

BERNE,  May  \,  1865. 

By  the  authority  of  the  government  counsellor  of  Solothurn,  I  hereby 
sign  the  enclosed  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States  of  North  America,  in  the  name  of  the  canton  of  Solothurn. 
(Sole  ure.) 

For  the  Swiss  Union  Chancery : 

SCHIESS, 
Chancellor  of  the  Confederation. 

I  Bundes-kanzlei  1 
<  Schweizeirschc  > 
(  Eidgenossenchaft.  ) 

[Translation.  ] 

The  chief  justice  and  government  council  of  tlie  canton  of  St.  Gall  to  the  Swiss 

Union  council  in  Berne. 

ST.  GALL,  May  3,  18G5. 

MR  PRESIDENT  AND  GENTLEMEN  OP  THE  COUNCIL  :  As  we  cannot  refuse 
our  approval  of  the  Berne  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  govern 
ment  of  the  North  American  Union,  we  give  it  most  cordially ;  and,  moreover, 
we  are  pleased  to  send  an  address  to  the  government  of  the  American  Union 
from  our  own  government. 

In  sending  the  original  of  it  to  you,  we  respectfully  request  you  to  have  it 
delivered  into  the  hands  of  President  Johnson. 

In  the  meantime  we  take  the  occasion  to  commend  you  as  well  as  our 
selves  to  the  protection  of  Divine  Providence. 

In  the  name  of  the  government  council : 

SAILER,  Chief  Justice. 
ZINGG,  State  Secretary. 
97 


770  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABHAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.  ] 

ST.  GALL,  May  3,  1865. 
To  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States  of  America  : 

The  people  of  the  Swiss  Confederation  in  general,  and  of  our  canton  in 
particular,  from  the  commencement  of  the  sanguinary  civil  war  which  at  one 
time  threatened  to  destroy  the  integrity  of  the  great  free  nation  of  the  United 
States  of  North  America,  up  to  the  present  time,  when  the  bitter  contest  of 
the  South  against  the  highest  interests  of  the  country  is  coming  to  a  close, 
have  always  felt  the  warmest  sympathy  and  expressed  the  best  wishes  for  the 
unwavering  maintenance  of  the  unity  of  the  great  transatlantic  sister  republic, 
when  remembering  the  perfect  friendship  and  uninterrupted  commercial  inter 
course  that  has  long  existed  between  the  Swiss  Confederation  and  the  United 
States  of  America. 

Thanks  to  the  guidance  of  the  Almighty,  and  to  the  determination  and 
energy  of  the  supreme  government  of  the  Union  and  its  brave  people,  the 
bloody  civil  war  is  now  at  an  end ;  and  its  result  is  the  triumph  of  freedom 
and  the  rights  of  man  and  the  strengthening  of  the  unity  of  the  great  North 
American  States. 

And  now,  in  sending  our  sympathy  for  your  many  victories,  and  our  1)est 
wishes  for  the  continued  prosperity  of  your  country,  we  only  perform  a  pleasant 
duty,  incumbent  upon  us  at  the  conclusion  of  your  sanguinary  contest  for  exist 
ence.  But  as  our  joy  for  the  victories  of  your  valiant  hosts  is  sincere,  so  is  the 
condolence  we  offer  at  the  death  of  your  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  whose 
life  was  devoted  to  the  welfare  and  liberty  of  his  people. 

While  we  abhor  the  cruel  deed  that  sacrificed  the  man  most  respected 
of  the  nation,  we  entertain  the  assured  hope  and  firm  conviction  that  the  des 
tinies  of  the  people  of  the  North  American  Union  will  be  guided  with  the  same 
spirit  of  strength,  wisdom,  and  conciliation  possessed  by  the  illustrious  deceased. 
We  ask  your  excellency  to  receive  the  humble  expression  of  our  high  esteem 
and  personal  consideration. 

In  the  name  of  the  confederate  canton  of  St.  Gall : 

SAILER,  Chief  Justice. 

ZINGG,  State  Secretary. 


[Translation.  ] 

ST.  GALLEN,  May  3,  1865. 
The  chancery  of  the  canton  of  St.  Gallen  to  Mr.  F.  Gengel,  in  Berne : 

SIR:  By  order  of  the  government  of  the  canton,  in  acknowledging  the 
reception  of  your  estimable  communication  of  the  1st  instant,  we  have  to  say, 


EXPRESSIONS  OP  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       771 

in  answer  to  the  committee  charged  with  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condo 
lence  to  the  American  Union,  that  we  heartily  accord  in  its  approval,  and  desire 
to  have  this  expression  conveyed  to  the  proper  destination  through  the  medium 
of  the  union  council  of  the  confederation. 

The  Secretary  of  State,     Z1NGG. 


[Translation.  ] 

ST.  GALL,  May  17,  18G5. 
Council  of  the  canton  of  St.  Call  to  the  honorable  Swiss  Bundesrath  in  Berne: 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  accordance  with  the  wish  of  the  council  of  this  district, 
we  send  you  an  abstract*  of  the  minutes  of  the  popular  meeting  held  on  the 
7th  of  this  month  to  ratify  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the 
American  Union. 

Accept  the  assurance  of  our  distinguished  consideration. 

SAILER,  President. 
ZINGG,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

ST.  GALL,  May  12,  1865. 
To  the  Bund: 

The  Company  of  Free  Hunters  of  the  city  of  St.  Gall,  numbering  one 
hundred  and  fifty  members,  at  its  last  meeting,  resolved  to  approve  of  the 
address  of  sympathy  to  the  American  Union.  We  beg  you  to  note  this,  and 
subscribe  ourselves  your  obedient  servants, 

BURGE,  Captain. 
J.  HAEBEKLIN,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

SCHOFTLAND,  May  5,  18G5. 
The  Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne  : 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  you  the  lists  of  the  signatures  of  the 
Feldschiitzen  and  Leist-Gesellschaft  of  this  place  to  the  general  address  of 
sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  North  American  Union,  and  its  inhabitants, 
our  brothers  beyond  the  ocean,  on  the  occasion  of  the  assassination  of  the 
martyr  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  for  their  recent  glorious  victories  over 

*  For  abstract  referred  to,  see  Balgach. 


772  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  southern  rebels.     You  will  please  have  them  sent  to  the  proper  address, 
and  oblige  the  undersigned. 

T.  GLOOR,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 
SCHOFTLAND,  CANTON  OF  AARGAU, 

April  27,  1865. 

The  subscribers  heartily  join  in  the  address  of  sympathy  to  the  President 
and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  on  account  of  their  recent  complete 
victories  over  their  enemies. 

The  Feldschiitzen-gesellschaft  of  Schb'ftland : 

ADOLPH  HUTHY,  President. 
T.  GLOOR,  Secretary. 
A.  WIRTS,  Cashier. 
A.  DIENER, 
SAMUEL  HAURI, 

Directors  from  Hirschthal. 

Members  of  the  Association. 

R.  MULLER.  S.  HAURI. 

T.  HUMM.  CHRISTIAN  SCHELL. 

F.  LUTNY.  JACOB  MULLER, 
FRIEDRICH  GLOOR.  S.  MULLER. 

Z.  FEHLMANN.  RUDOLPH  HUNZICKER. 

T.  SUTER.  EUDOLF  WIRZ. 

J.  SUTHI.  HUTHY  BASLER. 

G.  LANZ.  RUDOLF  ZINNHARD. 
G.  WIRZ.  R.  MATHYS. 
HEINRICH  FREY.  RUDOLF  BOLLIGER, 

Members  of  the  Leist-Gesellschqft  of  Schoftland. 

F.  R.  WIRZ,  President.  CASPAR  DIENER. 

FRIEDRICH  MULLER,  S.  GLOOR. 

Secretary.  LUTHI  FUSTER. 

REV.  F.  ZIMMERLIN.  SAMUEL  SCHILLING. 

R.  WIELAND.  S.  MULLER. 

DAVID  STUHSI,  H.  LEIST. 
Teacher  in  the  District  School. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       773 

[Translation.] 

SIR:  All  the  members  of  the  Grutli-Union,  of  Schonenberg,  twenty-six  in 
number,  congratulate  the  brave  North  in  their  recent  victories  for  freedom  and 
humanity  in  the  United  States.  They  also  deeply  deplore  the  death  of  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN,  and  hope  that  Grod  will  now  give  the  country  a  permanent  peace. 

JOHN  GURTLER,  President. 

ED.  ULBICH,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

SCHWANDEN,  May  (3,  1865. 
The  Bund: 

SIR  :  We  are  not  men  of  many  words,  but  our  feelings  are  not  the  less 
deep,  and  we  now  wish  to  express  them,  through  you,  to  the  American  people, 
as  a  free  people  and  our  fellow-laborers  in  freedom. 

In  the  name  of  the  Factorymen  of  the  Schwanden  Verein : 

C.  ZEHN,  Chairman. 


Translation.  ] 

STEFFISBURG,  May  6,  1865. 

The  cruel  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  the  pious  ruler  of  our  sister 
republic  beyond  the  ocean,  has  awakened  feelings  of  sympathy  and  the  deepest 
indignation  in  our  patriotic  hearts.  We  have  therefore  unanimously  resolved 
to  express  our  approbation  of  the  general  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence 
to  the  people  of  the  American  Union.  Enclosed  is  a  list  of  the  signers. 
In  the  name  of  the  Men's  Choral  Union  : 

J.  R,  SCHUPBACH,  President. 
W.  F.  WINTERFELD,  Actuary. 
[List  of  twenty-six  member  follows.] 


[Translation.] 

SIGN,  May  7,  1865. 

Committee  of  the  Industrial  Society  of  Sion  to  the  Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne  : 
The  Industrial  Society  of  Sion,  by  order  of  the  committee,  at  a  regular 
meeting  this  day,  unanimously  resolved  to  adhere  to  the  address  of  sympathy 
and  condolence  to  the  sister  republic  of  the  United  States.  Our  society,  num 
bering  ninety-four  members,  makes  it  a  pleasant  duty  to  congratulate  the  people, 


774  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

as  well  as  the  supreme  government  of  the  United  States,  on  their  glorious 
victories  over  the  South,  which  put  an  end  to  the  abominable  curse  of  slavery ; 
and  at  the  same  time  we  express  our  deepest  condolence  for  the  murder  of  the 
noble  citizen,  President  LINCOLN,  so  ruthlessly  and  unexpectedly  struck  down 
by  the  monster  Booth  at  a  time  when  the  nation  was  on  the  point  of  great 
rejoicing. 

In  the  name  the  society  : 

JOSHUA  ALBRECHT,  President. 

N.  B. — The  editor  of  the  Bund  will  have  the  kindness  to  have  this  con 
veyed  to  its  proper  address. 


[Translation.  J 

State  council  of  the  canton  of  the  Valais  to  Dr.  John  Wittcnbach,  member  of  the 

grand  council  of  Berne. 

SIGN,  May  8,  1865. 

SIR:  In  reply  to  the  letter  addressed  to  us  the  1st  of  May  by  the  committee 
charged  with  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  legation  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  we  have  the  honor  to  say  that  the  proceedings  meet 
with  the  full  approval  of  the  government  of  this  canton,  and  we  therefore 
request  the  committee  to  include  us  among  the  signers  to  the  address,  as  the 
council  is  convinced  that  we  represent  the  sentiments  of  the  entire  population 
of  Valais. 

We  thank  the  committee  for  proposing  the  subject,  and  seize  the  occasion 
to  express  the  assurances  of  our  distinguished  consideration. 

CH.  LE  DURON, 

President  of  the  State  Council. 
E.  BARBARIN, 

Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation.] 


The  state  council  of  the  canton  of  Valais  to  the  legation  of  the  United  States  of 

America  in  Berne. 

SIGN,  May  19,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  grand  council  of  Valais,  that  met  on  the  15th  of  this  month,  gave 
its  entire  approval  to  the  addresses  of  sympathy  and  condolence  on  account  of 
the  assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  by  a 
vote  in  full  session  on  the  17th  instant,  which  were  sent  to  your  legation  by  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       775 

state  council  of  this  canton  and  the  governments  of  the  other  states  of  the 
Swiss  Confederation. 

We  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  you,  herewith,  the  act  of  adhesion,  signed 
by  the  officers  of  the  grand  council,  and  present  to  you  the  assurance  of  our 
high  consideration. 

OIL  LE  DURON,  President. 

E.  BARBARIN,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

The,  grand  council  of  the  canton  of  Valais  to  the  legation  of  the  United  States 

of  America  in  Berne. 

SIR  :  The  grand  council  joins  in  the  addresses  of  sympathy  and  condolence 
sent  to  the  legation  by  the  government  of  Valais  and  other  states  of  the  Swiss 
Confederation,  on  the  subject  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN.  The 
grand  council  is  convinced  that  this  is  the  expression  of  the  sentiments  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  canton. 

Given  at  Sion,  May  17,  1865,  in  the  name  of  the  grand  council: 

ZERMATTEN,  President. 

Z.    DURIER,          >    t, 

-,     T,    ,,  >  Secretaries. 

L.    E.    llOURY,  \ 


[Translation.] 

SISSACH,  May  8,  1865. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Bund,  in  Berne  : 

In  consideration  of  the  news  of  the  late  events  in  North  America,  and  par 
ticularly  of  the  deep  sympathy  we  feel  for  its  patriotic  citizens,  on  account  of 
the  murder  of  their  good  President  LINCOLN,  allow  us  to  embrace  a  list  of  about 
170  names,  collected  in  this  place  and  neighborhood,  in  approval  of  the  general 
address  of  sympathy  to  the  United  States. 

MEYER  &  SUTTERLIN, 

General  Agents. 


[Translation.] 

SCHWYTZ,  May  10,  1865. 
Council  of  the  canton  of  Schwytz  to  the  honorable  Bundcsrath,  in  Berne: 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  news  of  the  heinous  crime  of  the  murder  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  the  worthy  President  of  (he  great  republic  of  the  United  States  of 


776  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

North  America,  who  had  won  the  esteem  not  only  of  his  own  country,  but  of 
the  whole  world,  has  filled  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  this  canton  with  the 
deepest  grief.  We  feel  ourselves  compelled  to  join  in  the  general  lamentation 
now  expressed  everywhere,  and  therefore  request  you  to  convey  these  our  true 
sentiments  to  our  brethren  of  the  United  States  of  North  America. 

With  highest  respect,  &c., 

J.  A.  STEINEGGER,  President. 

A.  EBEKLE,  Secretary. 


Translation.  ] 

ST.  MAURICE,  May  12,  1865. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  The  eminent  man  who  fell  by  the  murderous  hand  of  the 
infamous  villain  Booth,  at  the  moment  his  soul  winged  its  flight  to  the  celestial 
regions,  left  regrets  and  profound  grief  in  our  hearts.  The  atrocious  crime  of 
which  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  the  victim  has  filled  us  with  indignation  and 
horror. 

We  regret  the  great  loss  to  the  North — the  loss  of  a  great,  generous,  and 
noble  heart,  who  did  so  much  for  the  abolition  of  slavery,  for  all  his  aims  were 
to  do  good  to  his  fellow-men  Yet  we  hope  that  the  Americans  of  the  North 
will  finish  the  great  work  of  the  noble  martyr,  whose  motto  was,  "Liberty, 
equality,  and  fraternity." 

Such  is  the  sincere  wish  of  the  undersigned  citizens  of  St.  Maurice. 

HENRY  GARNY.  FRANCOIS  BURNIER. 

THOS.  PRUDE.  LOUIS  SARRASIN. 

ALBERT  DEBONNAIRE.  F.  GAY. 

ANTOINE  DUTART.  CHARLES  VOEFFRAY. 

FRANCOIS  GEX.  JOSEPH  DUBOULE. 

PHILIBERT  CHEVALLIER.          JOS.  MEIZOZ. 

LOUIS  SEYDOUX.  PIERRE  DUFOUR. 

AND  SEVERAL  OTHERS. 


Translation.  ] 

SARNEN,  May  4,  1865. 
Council  of  Unterwalden  to  the  Bundesrath,  in  Berne : 

GENTLEMEN  :  Following  in  the  worthy  footsteps  of  many  of  our  cantons, 
we  feel  ourselves  obliged  to  express  our  deepest  sympathy  for  the  American 
Union  on  account  of  the  recent  horrid  murder  of  its  excellent  President,  Sir 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  Though  the  consequences  of  this  atrocious  deed  cannot 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       777 

be  foreseen,  we  sincerely  hope  it  may  have  no  sinister  effect  either  on  the  pros 
perity  and  peace  of  that  country  or  of  the  foreign  world. 

You  will  please  communicate  this  to  the  United  States  legation  in  Berne, 
and  accept  the  assurance  of  our  distinguished  consideration. 

AL.  MICHEL,  President. 

W.  S.  GASSER,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

The  state  chancery  of  the  canton  of  Unterwalden  to  the  committee  for  the  address 
of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American  Union. 

SARNEN,  May  7,  1865. 

In  answer  to  your  note  of  the  1st  instant  to  our  government,  we  respect 
fully  say  that  our  council  most  cordially  joins  the  federal  union  in  the  address 
of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American  Union. 
Accept  the  assurance  of  our  high  esteem. 

W.  L.  HASSER, 
Chief  Justice  for  the  State  Chancery. 


[Translation.] 

Council  of  Unterwalden  to  his  Excellency  Andrew  Johnson,  Vice- President  of 

the  United  States. 

STANZ,  May  4,  1865. 

The  terrible  news  of  the  sudden  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President 
of  the  North  American  Union,  who  was  the  noble  champion  of  human  rights 
to  all  with  loyalty  to  the  Union,  has  caused  a  feeling  of  the  greatest  indignation 
in  the  bosoms  of  the  people  of  Nidwall,  denizens  of  the  mountains  of  old  Switzer 
land,  and  hate  for  the  perpetrators  of  the  horrid  deed. 

And  we,  the  authorities,  in  the  name  of  our  people,  congratulate  you,  Mr. 
Vice-President,  on  the  glorious  victories  of  the  holy  cause,  and  pray  the 
Almighty  to  have  you  in  His  holy  keeping. 

LWYRSOH,  President. 
A.  WAGNER,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

STANZ,  May  4,  1865. 
Council  of  Lower  Unterwalden  to  the  honorable  Bundcsrath,  in  Berne : 

GENTLEMEN  :  Following  the  example  of  the  union  council  and  the  gov 
ernments  of  several  cantons,  allow  us  to  express  our  deepest  sympathy  for  the 
98 


778  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

American  Union.  It  is  a  great  honor  for  the  Swiss  people,  at  a  time  when 
great  grief  has  overwhelmed  the  sister  republic  of  America,  not  to  remain 
dumb,  but  to  speak  out  their  sympathy  for  the  cause  of  social  freedom. 

"We  therefore  enclose  our  address  of  sympathy,  and  beg  you  will  send  it, 
with  the  others,  to  its  proper  destination. 

We  recommend  you  to  protecting  Providence. 

LWYSROH,  President. 

A.  WAGNER,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

The  president  and  council  of  the  canton  of  Schaff'hauscn  to  Mr.  G.  G.  Fogg, 
United  States  minister  resident  in  Berne. 

SCHAFFHAUSEN,  May  3,  1865. 

HONORED  SIR  :  The  shocking  news  of  the  murder  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
President  of  the  United  States,  makes  it  our  duty  to  send  you  the  expression 
of  our  sincere  grief  and  profound  sympathy  for  the  loss  of  that  great  man.  We 
turn  with  horror  from  the  deed  of  blood  perpetrated  upon  the  person  of  a  man 
who  fought  indefatigably,  with  wonderful  wisdom,  moderation  and  patience,  to 
restore  unity  and  peace  to  our  great  sister  republic  beyond  the  ocean. 
Accept  the  assurance  of  our  esteem. 

ZACH  GIESEL  TILLE,  President. 

H.  AMMAN,  Vice-President. 

JOHN  HALLANER,  Secretary. 

STOKAR,  Second  Secretary. 

F.  G-.  GASSER,  Counsellor. 

DR.  WANNER,  Clerk. 

N.  CRINGOLF. 


[Translation.] 

SCHAFFHAUSEN,  May  3,  1865. 
President  and  Council  of  Schaffhausen  to  the  Bundesrath,  in  Berne : 

We  have  the  honor  to  enclose  you  a  letter  of  condolence,  which  we  respect 
fully  request  you  to  forward  to  Mr.  G.  G.  Fogg,  minister  resident  of  the  United 
States  of  North  America,  as  an  expression  of  our  sorrow  for  the  terrible  and 
sanguinary  deed  perpetrated  upon  Mr.  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States. 
We  accept  the  occasion  to  commend  you  to  the  protection  of  the  Almighty. 

ZACH  GIESEL  TILLE,  President. 
DR.  WANNER,  Clerk. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       779 

[Translation.  ] 

The  magistrate  and  state  committee  of  the  canton  of  Appenzell,  outer  Rhodes,  to 
Dr.  John  Wittenbach,  grand  counsellor,  in  Berne. 

TEUFFEN,  May  5,  1865. 

SIR  :  In  answer  to  the  circular  enclosed  to  us  by  the  central  committee  on 
the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American  Union,  on  account  of 
the  dreadful  catastrophe  that  has  just  overtaken  that  once  happy  republic,  by 
the  loss  of  its  worthy  President,  we  say  we  are  ready  to  approve  it  most  heartily, 
with  the  rest  of  the  cantons  of  this  confederation.  As  the  manifest  contains 
the  most  sincere  expression  of  our  real  sentiments,  we  cannot  refrain  from 
giving  it  our  most  cordial  approval. 

lie  pleased  to  accept,  honored  sir,  the  expressions  of  our  most  distinguished 
consideration. 

In  the  name  of  the  union  committee  : 

ROTH,  Chief  Magistrate. 

KOHL,  Secretary  of  the  Council. 


[Translation.  ] 

Declaration  of  adhesion  to  the  addresses  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the 

United  States. 

Representatives  and  delegates  from  all  the  districts  of  the  Bernese  Jura, 
namely :  Porreutrui,  Biennc,  Courtelari,  Delemont,  Franclies-Montagnc,s,  Lauf- 
fcn,  Moutier,  and  Neuveville,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred  and  fifty,  (250,) 
held  a  public  meeting  at  Tavannes,  on  the  14th  of  May,  1865,  and  adopted  the 
following  resolutions  unanimously  and  by  acclamation : 

1st.  We  cordially  join  in  the  addresses  of  congratulation  to  the  United 
States,  on  account  of  their  recent  victories  over  secession. 

2d.  We  sincerely  sympathize  with  them  in  their  sorrows  1'or  the  loss  of 
their  worthy  President,  AKHAIIAM  LINCOLN,  the  victim  of  a  most  atrocious 
crime. 

We  cherish  the  ardent  hope  that  the  universal  tokens  of  sympathy  now 
shown  in  both  hemispheres  for  the  great  republic  of  the  United  States  may 
tend  to  assuage  the  profound  grief  for  the  tragic  and  lamentable  death  of  their 
most  illustrious  citizen. 

In  the,  name  of  the  representatives  of  the  districts  of  the  Bernese  Jura, 
assembled  at  Tavannes,  May  14,  1865  : 

S.  JOLISSAINT,  Lawyer,  President. 

S.  VOISIN,  Mayor,  Secretary. 


780  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABEAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

THUN,  May,  1865. 

The  undersigned  authorities,  societies,  and  private  individuals  in  the  district 
of  Thun,  rejoicing  over  the  final  victory  of  human  rights  and  the  end  of  the 
civil  war  in  the  American  Union,  on  the  one  part,  and  lamenting  the  murder 
of  the  greatest  man  in  the  nation,  on  the  other  hand,  feel  it  their  duty  to  join 
cordially  in  the  address  to  the  Amercan  people  and  their  leader  in  the  cause  of 
freedom  and  humanity  in  our  sister  republic  beyond  the  ocean. 

HEINRICH  HOFER,  President. 

A.  KREBSER,  Notary. 

[280  OTHER  SIGNATURES.] 


[Translation.] 

TRAVERS,  May  15,  1865. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  Neuenburg,  Boudry,  Travers,  Couvet,  Fleurier,  and 
Chaux-de-Fond  sections  of  the  Swiss  Grutli  Union,  in  their  meetings  of  yester 
day,  unanimously  resolved  to  approve  of  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence 
to  the  American  Union. 

The  undersigned,  as  secretary,  has  the  honor  to  enclose  you  the  resolution, 
and  subscribe  himself  your  obedient  servant, 

J.  STEFFEN,  Secretary. 
The  BUNDESRATH,  in  Berne. 


[Translation.] 

THIERACHERN,  NEAR  THUN, 

May  30,  1865. 

Being  prevented  by  absence  from  attending  the  meeting  for  the  adoption 
of  the  address  of  sympathy  to  your  supreme  government,  I  now  have  the 
honor  to  ask  you  to  add  my  name  and  the  following  words : 

I  hail  the  Union  victories  with  joy,  and  deplore  the  loss  of  its  President, 
LINCOLN.     May  God  protect  it  from  similar  disasters  in  future,  and  preserve 
the  government  of  North  America  forever. 
With  great  respect, 

FAHRNI  DUB01S. 
The  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER  RESIDENT,  Berne. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       781 

[Translation.] 

From  the  state  chancery  of  the  federal  states  of  Zurich  to  the  committee  for  the 
address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American  Union  in  Berne. 

ZURICH,  May  4,  18G5. 

HONORED  SIR  :  -Wo  have  the  honor,  by  order  of  our  state  council,  in  answer 
to  your  esteemed  letter  of  the  1st  instant,  to  communicate  to  the  authorities 
inviting  our  participation  in  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the 
American  Union,  that  our  state  council  expresses  the  friendly  feeling  it  has  for 
the  late  successes  of  the  Union  in  its  war  for  freedom,  and  the  deep  sorrow  for 
the  atrocious  assassination  of  its  excellent  President,  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
and  makes  this  known  to  the  federal  council  for  its  proper  communication  to 
the  authorities  in  the  United  States  of  America. 

Accept,  sir,  the  assurance  of  our  distinguished  consideration. 

The  state  chancery  of  the  canton  of  Zurich,  by  the  second  secretary  of 
state, 

T.  BOKHAKD. 


[Translation.] 

The  president  and  council  of  the   canton  of  Zurich  to  the  honorable  Swiss 

Bundesrath. 

ZURICH,  May  4,  18G5. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  news  of  recent  events  in  the  North  American  Union 
has  aroused  our  sympathy,  as  is  the  case  everywhere  else.  Just  as  peace 
appeared  to  rejoice  desponding  hearts,  and  all  were  giving  themselves  up  to 
anticipations  of  returning  prosperity,  the  terrible  murder  of  President  LINCOLN, 
the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  American  Union,  struck  all  mute  with  wonder,  and 
filled  all  hearts  with  grief  and  indignation. 

As  you  are  preparing  expressions  of  joy  and  sorrow  to  be  communicated 
to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  in  the  name  of  the  Swiss  Confedera 
tion,  we  respectfully  request  you  to  add  this  expression  of  our  feelings  for  the 
people  of  the  sister  republic,  and  beg  you  to  accept  the  expression  of  our 
esteem  and  consideration. 

ED.   ZIEGLEU,  President. 

J.  BOKHAKD,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

To  the  loyal  people  of  the  United  States  of  America : 

At  a  mass  meeting  in  the  city  of  Zurich,  on  the  2d  of  May,  18G5,  the 
German  residents,  Swiss  citizens,  and  others  present,  resolved  unanimously  to 
express  to  you,  the  loyal  people  of  the  United  States,  their  heartfelt  sympathies. 


782  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

We  are,  a,bove  all,  animated  by  the  most  profound  sorrow  that  your  sim 
ple-minded  yet  great,  wise,  and  noble  President,  just  realizing  the  joyful  con 
viction  of  the  overthrow  of  the  rebellion,  has  been  taken  from  you  by  the  hand 
of  a  fiend  in  human  shape. 

To  him,  the  reconstructor  of  the  Union,  next  to  George  Washington,  its 
founder,  immortality  is  secured.  The  name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  will,  in 
history,  be  identified  with  the  gigantic  four  years'  contest  which  has  been 
fought,  not  for  America  alone,  but  also  for  Europe  and  all  mankind. 

With  most  renowned  valor,  energy,  and  sacrifices  cheerfully  made,  have 
you,  soldiers  and  leaders,  people  from  the  humblest  to  the  highest  positions  of 
life,  triumphantly  upheld  your  rights  and  laws,  the  supremacy  of  the  glorious 
Constitution  of  the  greatest  republic  on  the  globe.  May  all  •'  chivalry  "  rebel 
lions  everywhere  thus  be  trodden  into  the  dust ! 

But  you  have  done  more ;  you  have  gloriously  vindicated  the  divine  rights 
of  man  without  distinction  of  race ;  you  have  opened  an  honorable  field  to  free 
labor,  and  given  the  death-blow  to  slavery  wherever  it  exists.  With  enthusi 
asm  we  welcome  this  eventful  deed,  one  of  the  greatest  in  the  history  of  the 
world. 

The  foundation  of  your  republic  hastened  the  outbreak  of  the  French 
revolution.  The  rejuvenation  of  the  Union  will  give  strength  and  speed  to  the 
great  principle  of  self-government  in  its  inarch  through  the  world. 

We,  therefore,  offer  to  you,  the  loyal  citizens  of  the  United  States,  our 
warmest  expressions  of  joy,  admiration,  and  gratitude. 

In  conclusion,  to  you,  our  beloved  countrymen  on  the  other  side  of  the 
ocean,  we  express  our  pride  at  your  vigorous  and  manly  participation  in  the 
battles  and  victories  of  the  Union,  and  with  overflowing  hearts  we  press  your 
brave  hands. 

Loyal  citizens  of  the  United  States,  remain  true  and  steadfast  to  the  cause 
of  liberty  and  humanity. 

The  star-spangled  banner  forever ! 
The  committee : 

0.  BULLE,  President. 

C.  GOEDEL,  Secretary. 

H.  BEHN  ESCHENBURG. 

K.  NAUWERCK. 

G.  A.  WISLICENUS. 

N.  E.  MARK. 

THO.  MARGONALL. 

WM.  HOFFMANN. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       783 

[Translation.  ] 

ZURICH,  May  5,  1805. 

Signatures  of  the  polytechnic  scholars  from  the  canton  of  Ticiuo  to  the 
address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  American  Union  : 

LEONARDO  ROSSI,  of  Castelrotto. 
CARLO  FONTANA,  of  Tesserete. 
OLINDO   BOLETTI,  of  Locarno. 
IGNAZIO  ZANATTA,  of  Lugano. 
GIOACHIMO   TIODA,  of  Locarno. 
CAETANO  FONTANA,  of  Tesserete. 
ACHILLE  RUSCA,  of  Locarno. 
GIULIO  GIANINI,  of  Sobrio. 
FEDERICO  BEZZOLO,  of  Cornologno. 
PLINIO  DELLBARCIII,  of  Axtano, 
GIACOMO  LEPORI,  of  Deno. 
TEODORO  ANASTASIA,  of  Brcno. 
VESPASS10RNO  PALEARI,  of  Mczcattc. 


[Translation.] 

OFFICE  OF  THE  WEISSE  ABLER, 

Zurich,  May  10,  1865. 
Editor  of  the  Bund,  Berne : 

DEAR  SIR  :  Your  invitation  to  join  in  the  address  to  the  American  people 
has  been  received.  I  willingly  accede  to  it ;  but  as  several  private  addresses 
have  already  been  circulated  here,  it  will  be  impossible  to  obtain  many  more 
names. 

I  enclose  several  subscription  lists  of  the  Polish  emigrants  in  this  part 
of  the  country. 

Yours,  respectfully, 

WILIIELM  IIABICHT. 


[Translation.] 

BENDLICON,  NEAR  ZURICH, 

May  2,  1865. 

We,  the  emigrants  from  Poland,  participate  in  the  feeling  of  horror  expe 
rienced  by  all  nations  at  the  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United 
States,  who  deserved  well  of  humanity.  Received  with  hospitality  upon  the 
soil  of  Switzerland,  we,  join  our  voices  with  the  Helvetians  in  expressions  of 
condolence  with  the  American  people,  and  with  their  wishes  that  the  country 


784  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

where  Pulaski  and  Kosciusko  fought  with  Washington  may  be  strengthened  in 
its  independence  and  integrity  by  the  absolute  abolition  of  slavery,  clemency 
towards  the  conquered,  equality  of  all  its  inhabitants,  and  respect  for  the  liberty 
of  other  nations. 

Managers  and  printers  of  the  Polish  paper  called  the  Ojczyzna : 

AGATON  GILLER,  Responsible  Editor. 

RADOMIRISK. 

ANTOINE   SWIEREZEWSKI. 

JOSEPH  KOSSOBRUZKI. 

THEODORE  DZWIGATSKI. 

JOSEPH  HARISIMOWICZ. 

LEOPOLD  BUCZON. 

JULIUSZ  MILEWSKI. 

BOLESLAS  KOWALEWSKI. 

HEINRICH  KAPPE. 

HIPOLIT  OBRYSKI. 


f  Translation.] 

Address  of  Polish  emigrants. 

ZURICH,  May  3,  1865. 
To  his  Excellency  ANDREW  JOHNSON,  President  of  the  United  States : 

The  Polish  emigrants  participate  in  the  recent  joy  and  sorrow  of  the 
American  people  ;  they  hail  the  triumph  of  the  principles  of  equality  and  liberty 
in  America,  and  the  expected  triumph  of  those  principles  in  Europe,  assuring 
the  regeneration  of  Poland  by  putting  an  end  to  the  rule  of  brute  force  and  to 
white  slavery,  as  they  have  done  to  black  slavery  in  the  New  World. 

The  Polish  emigrants  cordially  mourn  with  the  people  of  the  great  republic, 
suddenly  deprived  of  its  chief  by  a  guilty  hand. 

Happily  for  humanity,  the  liberal  institutions  of  America  are  imperishable, 
and  the  blood  of  the  great  citizen  will  only  tend  to  cement  the  bonds  of  union. 

Citizen  President !  The  soldiers  of  liberty,  the  countrymen  of  Kosciusko 
and  Pulaski,  who  fought  for  the  independence  of  America,  take  this  solemn 
occasion  to  express  through  you  to  the  American  people  their  horror  at  the 
great  crime  that  put  an  earthly  end  to  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  illustrious 
representative  of  patriotism  and  of  civic  virtues,  who,  with  the  intelligence  of 
a  statesman,  knew  how  to  reconcile  energy  with  moderation,  and  severity  with 
magnanimity. 

The  sons  of  Poland  who  are  fighting  from  generation  to  generation  in  a 
holy  cause,  and  who  suffer  martyrdom  for  it,  are  firmly  convinced  that  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY. 


785 


power  of  the  United  States,  once  clear  of  domestic  broils,  will  have  its  influ 
ence  upon  other  nations,  and  that  facts  will  soon  appear  to  prove  this  faith. 

In  this  conviction,  the  Polish  emigrants  join  in  the  joy  and  sorrow  of  the 
American  people,  and  express  the  most  sincere  wishes  for  their  greatness  and 
future  prosperity,  so  intimately  connected  with  the  future  liberty  of  the  world. 

Signatures  in  Munich. 

ALEXANDER  ZAKDUKI.  ALEKSANDER  MIERZWINSKI.  STANISLAW  BOJANOUSKI. 

ALBERT  WIKOWSKI.  MARULLI  WAJAE.  G.  KAMISISKI, 

WLADAZSLAW  PRESHOWICZ.  BROMISLAW  ABRAMOWICZ.      ROMAULD  ZIOMEZYNSIfl. 
WACTAW  BUDJISZEWSKI.          MIKSTAJ  MARTYNOW.  PUTKNOWNIK  RUCKY. 

P10TROWSKI  PAWET. 


Signatures  of  Polish  emigrants  in  Munich. 


ANTONI  SADOWZKJ. 
FRANUSZECK  BITTECK. 
MARGIN  B1XKOWSKI. 
WEINENTY  GERNKE. 
JAN  PUISKROWSKI. 
MICIIAL  SAGANOWSKI. 
ARNOLD  ZANDI. 


MAJOR  BIENIENIC. 

TADEWSK  KUCHOWSKI. 

CAPTAIN  BROCHOKI. 

W.  KONIARSKI. 

LT.  SZYDVOWOKI. 

F.  NETTYN. 

B.  HEMPEL. 

O.  ZBROWICK. 

K.  REYCH. 

IGNACI  STECKI. 


GR.  WASILAWSKI. 
J.  KNASNEKI. 
A.  GOROSKI. 
J.  SAVICKI. 


STANISLAW  BRODEWIKZ. 
ANTONI  LUBKOWSKI. 
TEOFIL  GNUTKIEWICZ. 
MICHAEL  KOSSECK. 
ROMAN  LYSAHAWSKI. 
LONGIN  ZADARNOSKI. 
ANTONI  PIASEZKI. 

Polish  signatures  in  Solcure. 

JAN  GIEMISKI. 

W.  WITOWSKI. 

K.  PONIATOWSKI. 

TURSKY. 

A.  GRALOWSKI. 

JACOB  TAWOROWSKKI. 

C.  LADISLAS  PLATER. 

M.  LANGEWICZ. 

WILHELM  IIABICHT. 


KARIL  GOETZ. 
JOSEF  STRAZINSKI. 
ANTONI  LIPINSKI. 
KOSTATY  ZEBROSKY. 
ADAM  ZIELINSKI. 
TIIEODOR  STEINGREBER. 


WM.  KAMIENIKI. 

J.  KELBIKI. 

FILIP  E.  SKORAKZEWSKI. 

LEOPOLD  BUBNOWSKI. 

LEON  STRUMILD. 

II.  FILOKOWSKI. 

J.  JARUZELSKI. 

T.  B.  GOOSKI. 

W.  ZALUOWSKI. 


Signatures  in  Kussnacht,  near  Zurich. 


JAN  SKABICKI. 
PROTAZI  DEVERNIKI. 
WLADISLAW  ZAREMBA. 
SZYMON  ANTONIAC. 


EDMUD  NOVARIKI. 
JAN  POLAKOSKI. 
J.  ANTONIAC. 
J.  PITENSKI. 


Signatures  in  Lucerne,  May  3,  1865. 


L.  KULWICZ  KUKAWKA. 
TEOFIL  STEZPOWLICZ. 
STANISLAUS  MAJEWSKI. 
L.  ZAWICZUCHA  SZACINSKI. 
SZRETER. 


W.  SKRZYPICK. 
ANTONI  KORTOWSKI. 
OPALSKI  PIOTH. 
A.  KUTYUSKI. 
A.  LIZENSKI. 


JAN  NOVAKI. 
J.  KAMRIVSKI. 
X.  BARKAS. 
Z.  BUCZATOWSKI. 


Signatures  in  Zurich,  Switzerland. 


JAN  STRONSKI. 
ANTONI  GRABOWSKI. 
JAKUB  WYEWSKI. 


LEON  KAZENEWSKI. 
MALCUM  KORIKI. 


ANDRZEJ  ZARKOWSKI. 
FRANICZEL  DOBROWOLSKI. 


AND  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  TWENTY-THREE  NAMES  FROM  ZURICH  AND  ADJOINING  TOWNS. 


99 


786  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.  ] 

Mr.  EDITOR  :  We  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  by  these  presents  that 
the  Song-Union  of  Zwcisimmen,  nineteen  members,  has  this  day  resolved  to 
join  in  the  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  free  States  of  North 
America. 

In  the  mean  time  the  members  take  the  occasion  to  express  their  distin 
guished  consideration. 

In  the  name  of  the  society  and  for  the  president : 

D.  GEMPELER, 

Acting  Secretary. 
F.  VERRENI,  Actuary. 


[Translation.] 

ZUG,  May  9,  1865. 
Council  of  Zug  to  the  Bundesrath,  Berne : 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  Berlin  committee  has  given  us  the  latest  news  from  the 
United  States,  (the  glorious  victories  of  the  northern  States  and  the  atrocious 
assassination  of  the  President,)  and  invites  us  to  join  in  an  address  of  sympa 
thy  and  condolence  to  the  government  and  people  of  the  sister  republic  beyond 
the  ocean. 

We  do  not  hesitate  to  give  our  fullest  consent  and  approbation  to  the 
address,  and  hope  it  will  be  welcomed  by  all  of  our  fellow-citizens. 

We  are  glad  that  the  proposal  of  sympathy  originated  at  the  capital  of  our 
confederation,  and  we  have  no  doubt  but  the  good  example  will  be  followed  by 
all  the  other  cantons,  and  we  know  it  will  be  approved  by  the  Swiss  people  in 
general. 

We  think  it  would  be  well  for  this  canton  to  have  a  special  address,  as 
many  others  have ;  but  as  this  is  not  yet  determined  on,  we  beg  you  to  accept 
this  expression  of  assent  to  the  general  address,  and  ask  you  to  accept  the 
protests  of  our  distinguished  consideration. 

M.  LITTA,  President. 

A.  SCHWEEZMANN,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

The  council  of  Zofmgen  to  Mr.  G.  G.  Fogg,  United  States  minister  resident 

in  Berne. 

ZOFINGEN,  May  18,  1865. 

HONORED  SIR  :  We  are  pleased  to  enclose  herewith  a  list  of  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  signatures  of  our  inhabitants,  intended  to  be  annexed  to  the 


EXPEESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       787 

Berne  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  our  brothers  beyond  the  ocean, 
in  commemoration  of  their  victories  and  in  lamentation  of  their  sorrows  at  the 
death  of  their  excellent  President,  who  was  murdered  with  the  design  to 
destroy -the  effect  of  his  good  deeds. 

We  accept  the  occasion  to  assure  you  of  our  distinguished  consideration. 

S.  R.  RINGIER,  President. 

II.  F.  ZIMMERLI,  Notary. 


[Translation.  ] 
COMMUNITY  OF  ZOFINGEN. 

The  undersigned  citizens  of  the  canton  of  Aargau,  with  all  our  heart, 
approve  of  the  Berne  address  of  sympathy  and  condolence  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  in  every  part  and  particular. 

S.  R.  RINGIER. 
AND  224  OTIIEE  NAMES  MENTIONED. 


SALYADOE. 


[Translation.] 

LEGATION  OF  GUATEMALA  AND  SALVADOR, 

Brooklyn,  April  17,  1865. 

SIR:  I  was  grieved  to  hear  of  the  death  of  the  excellent  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  The  news  reached  me  before  your  despatch  of  the 
loth  instant,  informing  me  of  the  sad  event,  and  of  the  manner  of  its  perpetra 
tion.  I  am  the  more  grieved  at  the  deplorable  circumstance,  as  Mr.  LINCOLN 
was  one  of  the  best  friends  to  the  governments  I  have  the  honor  to  represent, 
and  his  death  will  be  the  more  regretted  by  the  republics  of  Guatemala  and 
Salvador. 

I  hope  the  Hon.  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son,  Frederick  William  Seward,  will 
soon  be  restored  to  health,  as  the  papers  announce,  for  the  interest  of  the 
United  States. 

I  am  informed  that  the  Vicc-Prcsident  of  the  United  States  has  assumed 
the  functions  of  President,  and  that  you  are  authorized  by  him  to  take  charge 
of  the  Department  of  State  till  further  orders. 

I  embrace  the  occasion  to  offer  you  the  assurances  of  my  distinguished 
consideration. 

A.  J.  DE  IR1SARRI. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


788  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

LEGATION  OP  SALVADOR, 

Brooklyn,  June  9,  1865. 

Mr.  SECRETARY  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I  have  received  a 
despatch  from  the  minister  of  foreign  relations  of  Salvador,  dated  the  19th  of 
last  month,  in  answer  to  my  letter  to  that  department,  communicating  the  news 
of  the  assassination  of  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  illustrious  President  of  your 
republic,  in  which  I  am  instructed  to  express  to  your  excellency  the  profound 
grief  of  the  President  of  Salvador  for  the  sad  event,  as  well  as  for  the  attempt 
upon  your  life. 

That  government  has  ordered  the  civil  and  military  employes  of  the 
republic  to  put  on  mourning  as  a  token  of  sympathy  for  the  government  of  the 
United  States.  I  expect  a  similar  communication  from  the  government  of 
Gautemala  by  the  next  steamer.  I  learn  by  the  last  mail  that  my  despatch, 
communicating  the  lamentable  event  of  the  14th  of  April,  had  not  reached  there 
when  the  last  steamer  started. 

I  remain,  with  feelings  of  the  highest  consideration,  your  very  obedient 

servant, 

A.  J.  DE  IRISARRI. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWAED, 

Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation.] 

LEGATION  OF  GUATEMALA  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Brooklyn,  June  26,  1865. 

Mr.  SECRETARY  :  When  the  Acting  Secretary  of  State  informed  me  of  the 
sad  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  I  answered  immedi 
ately,  expressing  the  sorrow  I  felt  at  the  unfortunate  event,  and  the  assurance 
of  a  similar  sentiment  on  the  part  of  the  governments  of  Guatemala  and  Salva 
dor  that  I  have  the  honor  to  represent. 

On  the  9th  of  June  I  communicated  to  you  the  reply  of  the  minister  of 
foreign  affairs  of  Salvador  to  my  note  bearing  the  sad  intelligence,  and  I  now 
have  the  honor  to  communicate  what  the  under-secretary  of  the  government, 
charged  with  the  department  of  foreign  relations,  has  written  on  the  subject. 

It  is  as  follows : 

"  SIR  :  The  news  of  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of 
the  United  States,  has  caused  the  deepest  sensation  in  the  minds  of  those  now 
composing  the  government  of  the  republic  of  Guatemala.  The  noble  character 
of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States  has  everywhere  inspired  the  most 
respectful  sympathy;  and  the  manner  in  which  his  life  was  taken — a  life  dear 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.  780 

to  all  his  fellow-countrymen — has  caused  the  deepest  affliction  to  the  person 
ages  of  this  government,  and  all  our  people  were  mute  with  horror  at  the 
announcement  of  the  terrible  catastrophe  of  the  14th  of  April. 

"The  minister  of  foreign  relations,  now  in  charge  of  the  government, 
desires  you  to  be  the  interpreter  of  this  sentiment  to  the  Secretary  of  State  of 
the  United  States,  and  to  express  to  him  the  profound  grief  of  the  government 
of  Guatemala  at  the  horrid  death  of  the  excellent  citizen  who  directed  the 
destinies  of  the  great  nation. 

"Be  so  good  as  to  manifest  to  the  Secretary  of  State  the  sympathy  of  the 
government  and  people  of  Guatemala,  and  their  wishes  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
United  States." 

You  may  be  assured  of  the  sincerity  of  the  sorrow  of  the  government  and 
,  people  of  Guatemala  for  the  lamentable  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  the  well-deserv 
ing  President  of  the  United  States. 

With  the  greatest  consideration,  I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  most  obedient 
servant, 

A.  J.  DE  IRISARRI. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,. 


**  ^  A  //  V 
TUBKEY. 


His  Highness  Aali  Pacha  to  Mr.  Morris. 


[Translation.] 

SUBLIME  PORTE,  DEPARTMENT  OF  FOREIGN  AFFAIRS, 

May  1,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  Sultan,  my  august  sovereign,  has  learned  with  profound  afflic 
tion  the  mournful  news  of  the  cruel  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  of  the 
wounding  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  I  have  been  commanded  to  convey  to 
you  an  expression  of  the  regrets  of  his  imperial  Majesty. 

I  need  not  state  to  you,  sir,  how  much  the  imperial  government,  in  its 
character  of  sincere  friend  of  the  United  States,  is  interested  in  their  prosperity, 
and  how  great  has  been  the  sorrow  which  this  event  has  occasioned. 
Be  pleased,  sir,  to  accept  assurances  of  my  high  consideration. 

AALI. 
Mr.  MORRIS, 

Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


790  ASSASSINATION  OP   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

BEIEOUT,  SYEIA,  May  13,  1865. 

At  the  call  of  J.  Aug.  Johnson,  esq.,  American  consul  at  Beirout,  a  meet 
ing  of  the  American  citizens  resident  in  Syria  was  held  at  the  consulate  this 
afternoon,  at  5  o'clock,  to  give  expression  to  the  sentiments  of  the  local  Ameri 
can  community  with  reference  to  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN. 

The  consul  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  the  Rev.  Philip  Berry  appointed 
secretary.  The  meeting  was  opened  with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Van  Dyck. 

After  a  statement  of  facts  by  the  Chair,  a  committee  was  appointed,  con 
sisting  of  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Van  Dyck,  H.  Jessup,  and  Post,  to  draw  up  suitable 
resolutions  embodying  the  sense  of  this  meeting,  and  which  are  as  follows : 

Whereas  in  the  inscrutable  dispensation  of  Divine  Providence  our  country, 
in  the  midst  of  its  rejoicings  for  victory,  has  been  overtaken  by  a  great  national 
calamity  in  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  severe  wounding  of  the* 
Hon.  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  in  the  attempt  to  assassinate 
him :  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  do  hereby  express  our  detestation  of  the  dastardly  and 
horrible  crime  which  has  deprived  our  nation  of  its  Chief  Magistrate,  at  such  a 
crisis  in  its  history  as  the  present,  and  our  unfeigned  grief  and  humiliation  under 
this  sorrowful  dispensation. 

Resolved,  That  we  do  hereby  unite  with  our  fellow-citizens  and  country 
men,  at  home  and  abroad,  in  expressing  our  high  appreciation  of  the  character 
of  President  LINCOLN  as  a  patriot,  as  a  citizen,  and  as  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
United  States,  and  that,  as  a  mark  of  respect  for  his  memory,  we  wear  the 
usual  badge  of  mourning  for  forty  days. 

Resolved,  That  we  earnestly  pray  for  the  speedy  restoration  of  Mr.  Seward 
to  health  and  strength. 

Resolved,  That  J.  Aug.  Johnson,  esq.,  United  States  consul  for  Syria  and 
Palestine,  be  requested  to  transmit  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  signed  by  the 
chairman  and  secretary,  to  the  Department  of  State  at  Washington,  and  another 
to  the  family  of  the  deceased  President,  with  whose  grief  we  deeply  sympa 
thize. 

J.  AUGUSTUN  JOHNSON, 

United  States  Consul,  Chairman. 

PHILIP  BEKKY,  Secretary. 


[Translation.  3 

BUCHAREST,  May  11,  1865- 
To  the  Editors  of  the  "  Bund,"  in  Berne : 

Your  appeal  to  the  Swiss  people  to  perform  an  act  of  patriotism  in  presence 
of  the  gEeat  events  that  have  just  occurred  in  the  United  States  has  found  a 
powerful  echo  among  us. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY. 


791 


We  consider  it  our  duty  to  add  our  signatures,  with  those  of  our  fellow- 
citizens,  to  the  two  proposed  addresses — one  of  congratulation  for  the  victorious 
cause  of  the  republic,  the  other  of  condolence  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of 
its  worthy  President,  LINCOLN. 

As  the  news  reached  us  late,  on  account  of  our  great  distance,  we  sent  a 
telegram  ordering  our  signatures  to  be  affixed  in  time. 

I  enclose  the  original  of  the  despatch  and  signatures,  which  you  will  please 
annex  to  the  national  address. 

Accept  the  expression  of  our  perfect  consideration. 

HANS  HERZAL. 


[Translation.] 

BUCHAREST,  May  10,  1865. 

We  Swiss,  residing  in  Bucharest,  cordially  approve  of  the  two  addresses 
contained  in  Nos.  115  and  116  of  the  Bund,  and  request  the  editors  to  annex 
our  signatures  to  them. 


N.  ZWIEFEL. 
I.  H.  ISELIN. 
F.  F.  SCHWEIZER. 
F.  MATTHEY. 
F.  BRATSCHY. 
AUG.  KOLLA. 
M.  SURBER. 
M.  ISELIN. 
L.  S.  KELLER. 
H.  RUEGG. 
H.  IIINNEN. 


F.  WIELAND. 

A.  DUPERRESE. 
R.  DEVENOGE. 
LS.  CHARDON. 
C.  GUBLER. 
H.  AESCHMANN. 
LS.  LEYVRAZ. 
A.  VULLIET. 

G.  BAITER. 
H.  HERZOG. 


Mr.  Morris  to  Mr.  Seward. 

[Extract.] 

No.  111.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 

Constantinople,  May  1,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  receipt  of  a  telegram  from  London,  on  Friday  last,  announcing 
the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  an  attack  on  your  own  life,  pro 
duced  a  great  excitement  in  this  country.  A  universal  sentiment  of  indignation 
and  of  horror  for  such  a  crime  against  such  a  man  as  our  late  President,  at  the 


71)2  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

moment  when  the  shouts  of  our  victorious  armies  proclaimed  that  he  had  saved 
the  country,  and  had  won  the  respect  and  admiration  of  the  world  by  the  suc 
cessful  issue  of  the  struggle  he  had  directed  against  that  foe  alike  of  humanity 
and  American  liberty  and  union — southern  slavery — was  expressed  by  all  the 
various  nationalities  of  this  capital. 

The  half-masted  flag  on  the  legation  had  hardly  been  raised  before  my 
colleagues  of  the  diplomatic  corps  called  to  express  their  sympathies  for  our 
national  loss.  The  society  of  Italian  -Workingmen  delivered  me  an  address  of 
condolence,  and  the  subjects  of  the  Hellenic  government,  in  large  numbers, 
yesterday  repaired  to  my  residence  to  express  their  grief  for  such  a  calamity. 
Several  of  their  number  addressed  the  crowd  in  their  native  Greek,  and  in 
reply  to  a  formal  discourse  from  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  I  delivered  to 
the  assembled  people  an  address.  In  recognition  of  such  a  friendly  act,  I 
caused  the  Greek  flag  to  be  raised  above  the  half-masted  American  flag.  The 
spectacle  of  these  two  flags,  of  the  two  most  intensely  liberty-loving  people  in 
the  world,  floating  together  in  kindred  sympathy  on  the  same  statf,  created  a 
deep  sensation  among  the  passing  crowds. 

It  gives  me  a  melancholy  pleasure  to  refer  to  these  incidents  as  showing 
how  wide-spread  was  the  fame  achieved  by  President  LINCOLN,  and  how  earn 
est  was  the  admiration  felt  for  the  services  he  had  rendered  to  his  race  and  to 
his  country  even  in  this  remote  corner  of  Europe. 

I  cannot  be  mistaken,  for  I  see  and  feel  it  all  around  me,  in  predicting  that 
this  assassination,  be  the  motive  what  it  may,  will  produce  important  political 
consequences  throughout  Europe,  and  will  arouse  and  stimulate  the  friends  of 
liberty  to  new  efforts  against  despotism  and  arbitrary  power. 

The  assassin's  hand  has  consecrated  the  life  and  death  of  President 
LINCOLN.  He  fell  a  victim  to  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of  liberty  and  human 
rights,  and  he  will  take  his  place  in  history  among  the  martyrs  whom  universal 
humanity  honors  as  its  benefactor. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  despatch  without  expressing  my  fervent  prayer  that 
the  life  of  Secretary  Seward  may  be  spared,  and  that,  by  the  favor  of  Almighty 
God,  he  may  recover  from  the  wounds  under  which  he  is  suffering.  Never 
were  his  services  to  his  country  more  evident  than  now,  and  never  was  there 
such  a  general  concurrence  in  the  opinion,  both  among  strangers  and  Americans, 
of  the  immense  importance  of  your  excellency's  life  to  the  dearest  interests  of 
the  American  people. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

E.  JOY  MORRIS. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       793 

Mr.  Morris  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

No.  112.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 

Constantinople,  May  3,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  enclosed  copies  of  a  correspondence 
between  his  highness  Aali  Pacha  and  myself,  relative  to  the  late  melancholy 
events  at  Washington. 

Since  the  answer  was  written  to  the  letter  from  the  Porte,  \ve  have 
received  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Scward.  This  intelligence  has 
caused  a  most  painful  impression  through  all  circles,  and  particularly  those  of 
the  government  and  the  diplomatic  corps.  He  had  won  the  admiration  and 
esteem  of  all  who  are  conversant  with  our  politics  by  his  eminent  ability  as  a 
diplomatic  writer,  and  by  the  rare  skill  and  judgment  with  which  he  directed 
our  foreign  policy  in  the  most  critical  periods  of  American  history.  His  name 
and  fame  will  be  inseparably  associated  with  the  great  events  in  which  he  was 
so  conspicuous  an  actor. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

E.  JOY  MORRIS. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Mr.  Morris  to  Mr.  Scward. 

[Extract.] 

LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 

Constantinople,  Mai/  4,  1865. 

SIR  :     *  Since  the  writing  of  my 

despatch  of  yesterday's  date,  we  have  been  overjoyed  to  learn  that  the  rumor 
of  your  death  is  not  true,  and  thatjou  are  recovering  from  the  dreadful  wounds 
inflicted  on  you  by  the  assassin.  We  humbly  invoke  an  all-merciful  God  to 
restore  you  to  health  for  the  sake  of  the  best  interests  of  our  beloved  country. 
However  variant  may  be  the  opinions  of  people  in  Europe  as  to  the  American 
war.  they  are  accordant  in  the  recognition  of  the  consummate  ability  and  saga 
city  with  which  you  have  directed  our  foreign  policy.  The  preservation  of 
your  life  is  regarded  as  an  event  in  which  the  world  at  large  has  a  common 
interest  with  your  fellow-countrymen.  May  Heaven  prolong  your  useful  life 
for  new  services  to  the  American  people  ! 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

E.  JOY  MORRIS. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 

100 


794  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Mr.  Morris  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

[Extract.] 

No.  114]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 

Constantinople,  May  11,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  despatch  No.  87, 
and  the  circular  containing  the  official  announcement  of  the  assassination  of 
President  LINCOLN.  In  a  previous  despatch  I  referred  at  large  to  the  universal 
feeling  of  horror  and  indignation  which  such  a  monstrous  crime  had  produced 
among  all  classes  of  the  population  of  this  capital ;  no  human  event,  it  seems 
to  me,  could  inspire  a  deeper  and  more  widespread  sense  of  sorrow  and  abhor 
rence  than  such  a  crime  against  such  a  man.  President  LINCOLN'S  course  of 
action,  during  his  four  years'  term  of  office,  had  been  so  honorable  to  him 
self  and  so  useful  to  his  country,  that  he  had  won  even  the  respect  of  the 
enemies  of  the  noble  cause  he  championed.  He  lived  long  enough  to  refute 
the  calumnies  of  his  foreign  assailants,  and  to  confound  the  wicked  schemes 
of  domestic  traitors.  His  steady  perseverance  in  the  course  of  right,  his  un 
shaken  faith  in  ultimate  success,  and  the  stern  loyalty  he  exhibited  to  the 
Constitution,  astonished  the  European  world  and  enforced  its  admiration  of  one 
of  the  grandest  exhibitions  of  moral  courage  and  of  the  conscientious  discharge 
of  duty  to  be  found  in  ancient  or  modern  history.  He  has  descended  to  the 
tomb  with  an  untarnished  fame,  and  honored  alike  by  the  kings  and  people 
of  Europe,  and  the  citizens  of  republican  America. 

Since  my  last  despatch  a  deputation  has  called  on  me,  on  the  part  of  the 
American  church  and  nationality,  to  express  their  condolence,  and  their  hopes 
that  slavery,  the  cause  of  all  our  woes,  will  be  forever  eradicated  in  the  United 
States.  This  delegation  consisted  of  three  of  the  highest  ecclesiastical  digni 
taries  of  the  American  church.  * 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

E.  JOY  MORRIS. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation.] 

Letter  to  the  United  States  minister  at  Constantinople  from  members  of  a  Ger 
man  masonic  lodge  in  that  city. 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  June  7,  1865. 

The  undersigned,  members  of  the   German  masonic  lodge  entitled   the 
Germania  of  the  Golden  Horn  in  this  city,  have  the  honor  to  express  their 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       71)5 

sincere  condolence  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  for  the 
death  of  their  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Your  compatriots  are  not  alone  in  deploring  that  great  misfortune ;  their 
grief  is  felt  and  shared  by  the  entire  universe,  by  all  true  friends  of  humanity, 
and  especially  by  members  of  the  masonic  order,  as  they  have  lost  a  brother  in 
the  person  of  the  illustrious  deceased,  and  they  have  seen  but  few  like  him 
since  the  foundation  of  their  order. 

But  we  are  comforted,  with  the  friends  of  the  republic,  with  the  conviction 
that  the  crime  committed  by  a  villain,  at  the  instigation  of  a  band  of  fanatics, 
has  not  interrupted  the  even  march  of  events. 

The  enemies  of  the  republic  have  given  it  a  terrible  blow,  but  its  children 
have  defended  it  bravely,  and  have  shown  that  the  free  man  never  loses  cour 
age  in  the  most  serious  events  of  life,  and  that  liberty  and  order  in  a  republic 
do  not  depend  on  the  existence  of  a  single  man. 

The  immense  sacrifices  and  enormous  losses  suffered  by  the  people  of  the 
United  Stales  have  produced  a  good  result;  the  republic  has  come  out  of  the 
five  years'  struggle  greater  and  more  powerful  than  ever;  its  enemies  tremble, 
and  in  their  fright  forget  their  former  feelings. 

And  events  have  produced  a  still  more  glorious  sequel :  slavery,  that  crime 
against  the  dignity  of  human  nature,  is  no  more ;  its  stain  no  longer  dims  the 
brilliancy  of  the  star-spangled  banner  of  the  American  Union,  that  will  now 
wave  more  grand  and  glorious. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  lived  long  enough  to  witness  the  success  of  his  cause. 
The  last  moments  of  him  whom  we  deplore  were  solaced  by  the  triumph  of 
liberty  and  humanity,  of  'which  he  was  a  martyr. 

In  asking  you  to  accept  this  sincere  expression  of  our  sentiments,  we  send 
our  best  wishes  for  the  prosperity  of  your  great  and  beautiful  country,  hoping 
it  may  continue  to  be  the  asylum  of  liberty  and  the  defence  of  the  oppressed. 

Receive  the  assurances  of  our  distinguished  consideration. 

Signatures  to  the  original. 

G.  TREU,  PETER  LEIIRENBECHER. 

for  the  Venerable,  now  absent.  MARTIN  MASCIIEK. 

SIEGFRIED  KURLAENDER,  T.  MOSNER. 

Venerable.  CARL  LAMPERT. 

DR.  E.  M.  WEINBERG.  GEORGES  DEMPWOLFF. 

T.  SAXL.  JOHANN  FILZ. 

M.  STOENESEN.  CARL  HUMANN. 

BREDE.  H.  STEFFENS. 

F.  G.  HELM.  A.  SEMADENI. 
C.   MAUBACH. 


796  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABEAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

ITALIAN  INDUSTRIAL  SOCIETY  OP  CONSTANTINOPLE, 

April  29,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  tragical  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  lately  snatched  from  the 
presidency  of  the  great  American  republic,  is  a  loss  to  be  deplored  by  universal 
humanity. 

Under  this  impression,  the  Italian  Industrial  Society  of  Constantinople, 
of  both  the  male  and  female  sections,  hasten  to  bear  their  tribute  of  grief  for 
this  deplorable  event  to  your  excellency. 

We  beg  your  excellency  to  accept  this  tribute  of  sorrow  as  a  proof  of  that 
fraternity  which  at  no  distant  day  will  unite  in  sympathy  the  people  of  both 
hemispheres,  and  we  humbly  request  that  you  will  do  us  the  honor  to  transmit 
this  letter  to  the  government  at  Washington. 

Accept,  excellency,  our  most  cordial  salutations. 
For  the  society : 

GUISEPPE  DE  ANDREA, 

Vice-President. 

PIETRO  TABBUCA,  Secretary. 
Hon.  E.  JOY  MORRIS, 

United  States  Minister  at  Constantinople. 


[Translation.  ] 

LEGATION  OF  PERSIA, 

Constantinople,  May  17,  1865. 

MONSIEUR  LE  MINISTRE  AND  DEAR  COLLEAGUE:  Telegraphic. information 
having  been  received  at  Teheran  of  the  assassination  of  the  illustrious  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  I  have  received  instructions  by 
telegraph  to  convey  to  your  excellency  the  expression  of  the  regret  and  sorrow 
entertained  by  my  august  sovereign  his  Majesty  the  Shahinshah  and  his  impe 
rial  government  for  this  sad  event. 

I  have  also  been  directed  by  my  government  to  solicit  your  excellency  to 
communicate  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  its  sentiments  of  condo 
lence,  and  its  wishes  for  the  prosperity  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
for  perpetual  amity  between  the  two  countries. 

In  executing  these  orders  of  my  government,  I  beg  you,  monsieur  le 
ministre  and  dear  colleague,  to  accept  the  expression  of  my  own  profound 
sympathy  for  the  cruel  death  of  your  illustrious  President,  and  my  sincere 
condolence  for  the  same. 

I  avail  myself  of  this  occasion  to  renew  to  you  the  assurance  of  my  high 
consideration. 

HUSSEIN. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       797 

[Translation  from  the  Greek  ] 

An  address  of  sympathy  of  the  Hellenic  Greeks  of  Constantinople  to  Hon  E  Joy 
Morris,  United  States  minister,  April  30,  1865. 

Honored  Minister  of  the  American  People : 

Amidst  our  rejoicing  for  the  triumph  of  the  sacred  cause  of  human  rights 
in  the  United  States,  our  hearts  have  been  afflicted  by  the  sad  news  of  the 
assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  of  the  attempt  on  the  life  of  the  Sec 
retary  of  State,  William  II.  Seward. 

Overcast  with  clouds  of  war  are  the  faces  of  sorrowing  millions !  Uni 
versal  humanity  weeps  in  sympathizing  sorrow  with  bereaved  America !  The 
champion  of  the  people,  the  friend  of  man,  the  savior  of  his  country,  the  illus 
trious  President  LINCOLN  has  fallen  a  victim  to  the  malignity  of  a  hireling 
assassin !  The  demoniac  passions  of  slavery,  which  in  vain  vented  their  fury 
against  the  solid  structure  of  the  American  Union,  have  exhausted  their 
revengeful  malevolence  in  the  murder  of  the  best  of  men  and  the  wisest  of 
rulers  !  Accursed  be  the  arm  that  struck  the  fatal  blow  !  Enemies  of  God 
and  man  must  be  they  who  planned  and  they  who  executed  such  a  terrible 
deed  !  In  immortal  infamy  will  their  names  live,  side  by  side  with  the  imper 
ishable  glory  of  him  they  slew  !  Posterity  will  never  forget  the  hideousncss 
of  the  barbarous  cause  of  which  they  were  the  mercenary  instruments,  nor  the 
world-wide  services  of  their  noble-hearted  victim  !  Another  martyr  to  liberty 
and  right  has  been  sacrificed  to  the  hatred  of  the  enemies  of  the  people,  but 
the  great  republic  of  which  he  was  the  head,  and  which  they  sought  to  kill 
also,  lives  in  spite  of  their  malicious  rage — it  yet  lives,  thanks  to  God,  a  terror 
to  despots  and  a  pillar  of  hope  to  oppressed  millions ! 

The  race  of  great  men  is  not  yet  exhausted  in  your  country,  respected 
sir;  liberty  is  prolific  in  statesman  genius,  but  despotism  casts  a  withering 
blight  on  society,  and  dries  up  the  springs  of  national  greatness.  In  this  hour 
of  need  the  intellectual  might  of  the  republic  will  exhibit  itself  in  all  its 
strength.  The  hour  of  peril  for  a  free  country  is  the  hour  of  glorious  achieve 
ments.  Despond  not,  America.  Mighty  and  inexhaustible  are  your  resources 
in  men,  such  men  as  freedom  alone  can  create.  Honored  sir,  convey  this  Gre 
cian  wail  of  sorrow  to  your  fellow-countrymen,  and  tell  them  the  name  of 
LINCOLN  is  endeared  to  the  heart  of  every  Greek,  that  we  regard  him  as  our 
friend  and  benefactor  as  well  as  theirs,  and  that  his  name  and  actions  will  never 
be  effaced  from  our  grateful  memory.  Deign  to  accept,  sir,  this  laurel-crowned 
portrait  of  the  illustrious  man,  whose  cruel  death  we  mourn  in  common  with 
you.  The  laurel  is  interwoven  with  the  sable  emblem  of  mortal  woe.  It  is 
typical  of  the  blended  feelings  with  which  we  have  this  day  approached  you: 
joy  for  deeds  of  unfading  renown,  and  sorrow  that  so  glorious  a  career  has 
been  so  suddenly  arrested.  Cherish,  sir,  this  humble  girt  of  the  Greeks  of 


798  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Constantinople  as  a  testimony  of  the  good  will  we  bear  to  the  nation  you 
represent,  and  of  our  appreciation  of  the  character  and  services  of  its  great 
citizen,  whom  the  genius  of  history  will  crown  with  a  wreath  of  unfading 
glory  as  the  mighty  liberator  who  broke  the  shackles  of  four  millions  of  slaves 
and  forever  effaced  from  the  national  escutcheon  the  reproachful  stain  of  human 
thraldom. 


THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

Address  from  the   British  communitij  of  Constantinople  to  the  Hon.  E.  Joy 
Morris,  American  minister  to  the  Porte. 

On  Thursday,  May  11,  a  meeting  of  British  residents  was  held  at  Misserie's 
Hotel,  Mr.  Consul  General  Logic  in  the  chair.  The  attendance  was  numerous 
and  influential.  . 

In  stating  the  object  for  which  the  meeting  had  been  convened,  Mr.  Logic 
said  it  was  not  necessary  to  make  any  detailed  allusion  to  the  crimes  which  had 
pained  and  shocked  Englishmen  everywhere,  little,  if  at  all,  less  than  Ameri 
cans  themselves.  He  felt  confident  that  every  member  of  our  local  community 
would  share  the  sorrow  and  indignation  excited  throughout  Europe  by  the 
cowardly  murder  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  and  the  attack  upon  Mr.  Seward,  and  would 
condole  heartily  with  the  American  people  under  the  great  national  disaster 
which  had  befallen  them.  He  would,  therefore,  at  once  call  on  his  respected 
friend,  Mr.  Hanson,  to  move  a  resolution  expressive  of  this  unanimous  senti 
ment  of  our  colony. 

Mr.  Hanson  briefly  expressed  his  concurrence  in  the  sympathy  so  well 
expressed  by  the  consul  general,  and  moved: 

"  That  this  meeting  has  heard  with  sorrow  and  indignation  of  the  murder 
of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  murderous  attack  on  Mr. 
Secretary  Seward. 

"  That  an  address,  expressive  of  the  feelings  of  the  British  community  at 
Constantinople  on  this  subject,  be  signed  and  presented  to  his  excellency  the 
American  minister." 

Mr.  McCoan  having  seconded  the  resolution,  it  was  carried  unanimously. 

The  Rev.  H.  J.  Knapp  then  read  a  draught  of  the  address — which  had 
been  prepared  by  the  consul  general — and  moved  the  second  resolution,  which 
was  seconded  by  Mr.  E.  Lafontainc : 

"  That  the  address  now  read  to  the  meeting  be  adopted,  and  that  it  be  pre 
sented,  when  signed,  by  a  committee  of  British  residents,  composed  of  the 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  71M) 

following  gentlemen:  Mr.  Consul  General  Logic,  Messrs.  Hanson,  McCoan, 
Rev.  II.  J.  Knapp,  E.  Lafontaine,  and  Lamb." 

Carried  unanimously. 

Mr.  Logic  then  intimated  that  the  address  would  lie  at  the  consulate  for 
signature  by  all  British  residents  from  Friday  morning  till  Monday  afternoon, 
when,  or  on  Tuesday,  as  might  be  most  convenient  to  Mr.  Morris,  it  would  be 
presented.  After  a  cordial  vote  of  thanks  to  the  consul  general,  the  meeting 
separated. 

Mr.  Morris  having  appointed  yesterday  forenoon  for  receiving  the  deputa 
tion,  at  11  a.  in.  the  latter  proceeded  to  the  American  legation,  where,  after  a 
short  introductory  conversation,  the  address,  which  was  in  the  following  terms, 
was  presented  and  read  by  Mr.  Logic : 

To  his  Excellency  the  Hon.  E.  JOY  MOKRIS,  Sfc.,  §c. 

SIR  :  We,  the  undersigned  British  residents  at  Constantinople,  have  heard 
with  horror  and  indignation  of  the  recent  crimes  at  Washington,  which  have 
deprived  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  of  their  respected  Presi 
dent,  and  put  in  jeopardy  the  life  of  Mr.  Secretary  Seward. 

We  speak,  sir,  to  the  representative  in  this  capital  of  a  people  of  our  own 
blood,  with  whom  we  share  in  so  many  kindred  feelings  and  so  many  great 
memories,  and  we  feel  that  it  would  be  alike  unnecessary  and  unbecoming  to 
seek  for  phrases  to  express  that  we  deeply  abhor  a  cowardly  and  cold-blooded 
murder. 

We  feel  that  this  crime  is  even  made  more  hateful  by  the  attempt  of  the 
assassin  to  clothe  it  in  the  garb  of  an  act  of  political  revenge.  To  us,  sir,  it 
appears  that  the  facility  with  which  the  act  was  perpetrated  and  the  murderer 
escaped  for  the  moment  from  the  retribution  due  to  his  crimes,  is  in  itself  a 
touching  proof  of  the  single-minded  simplicity  with  which  the  late  President 
conformed  to  the  spirit  of  the  institutions  of  his  country,  and  which  ought  to 
have  made  his  person  sacred,  even  to  the  most  bitter  and  desperate  partisan. 

Although  it  would  be  highly  unbecoming  in  us  to  say  a  word  to  your 
excellency  respecting  the  domestic  politics  of  the  state,  we  feel  that,  in  joining 
in  a  personal  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  late  Mr.  LINCOLN,  we  do  not  pass 
beyond  our  province. 

We  are  sure  that  history  will  bear  testimony  to  the  unshaken  fortitude 
which  he  displayed  in  difficulty,  to  the  spirit  of  moderation  with  which  he  met 
success,  and  to  that  simple,  unselfish,  single-minded  devotion  to  his  country 
which  lie  brought  to  the  pcrfo.rmance  of  the  duties  of  his  high  office. 

We  desire,  sir,  to  express  briefly  to  your  excellency,  as  the  representative 
of  the  United  States,  our  hearty  sympathy  with  the  great  misfortune  which 
1hey  have  sustained,  our  earnest  hope  lor  the  future  welfare  and  prosperity  of 


800  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

1he  republic,  and  the  unfeigned  desire  we  feel,  in  common  with  our  fellow- 
countrymen  at  home,  for  the  perpetual  maintenance  of  kindly  feeling  and 
peaceful  intercourse  between  our  nations. 

CHAS.  V.  PIANSON. 

REV.  H.  J.  KNAPP. 

WM.  WOOD. 

HENRY  SWAN. 

S.  A.  BROWN. 

THEO.  W.  DIMON. 

E.  LAFONTAINE. 

CHAS.  W.  HOGLAND. 

GEORGE  BAKER. 

THOMAS  TODD. 
CONSTANTINOPLE,  May  11,  1865. 

[Here  follow  the  signatures  of  nearly  every  British  adult  male  resident  in 
Constantinople.] 


Honored  Minister  of  the  United  States  of  America: 

The  Armenian  Protestant  community  of  Constantinople  has  the  honor  to 
wait  upon  you,  on  the  occasion  of  the  deplorable  occurrence  which  has  plunged 
the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  in  mourning,  for 
the  purpose  of  offering  a  respectful  expression  of  our  horror  of  the  detestable 
crime,  and  of  our  profound  sympathy  in  the  grief  of  a  people  which  has  always 
taken  so  active  an  interest  in  our  welfare. 

We  have  learned  with  the  deepest  pain  and  regret  that  the  execrable  act 
of  a  vile  assassin  has  deprived  the  great  republic  of  the  New  World  of  its 
beloved  and  talented  President,  the  lamented  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  greatly 
endangered  the  life  of  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State.  The  Almighty, 
in  his  inscrutable  providence,  has  visited  a  great  nation  with  the  most  poignant 
of  afflictions  in  the  midst  of  its  joy  for  the  prospect  of  an  early  restoration  of 
the  blessings  of  peace,  without  permitting  its  illustrious  Chief  Magistrate  to 
enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  patriotic  labors,  as  interesting  to  the  nation  over  which 
lie  presided  as  to  the  universal  cause  of  humanity.  In  the  death  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN  the  world  has  lost  a  bright  Christian  example  and  a  man  of  irre 
proachable  purity  and  honesty  of  character.  As  a  statesman  and  a  patriot  he 
was  among  the  most  eminent  of  his  age,  and  will,  therefore,  in  all  time  to  come 
occupy  a  most  prominent  place  in  the  history,  not  only  of  his  own  country,  but 
in  that  of  the  human  race,  of  which  he  was  so  great  a  benefactor.  Although  so 
far  separated  from  the  scene  of  his  labors,  we  have  been  deeply  interested  spec- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        801 

tators  of  his  career,  and  rejoiced  in  the  prospect  of  the  termination  of  a  struggle 
which  had  for  its  object  the  preservation  of  so  good  a  government  and  the  freedom 
of  millions  of  human  beings  held  in  degraded  bondage.  Honor  to  the  memory 
of  so  noble-hearted  a  philanthropist — to  a  government  which  has  shown  itself 
so  fully  able  to  preserve  itself  against  an  unhallowed  attack  upon  its  existence. 

We  are  fully  aware,  sir,  that  the  great  loss  which  your  country  has  sus 
tained  cannot  affect  in  the  smallest  degree  its  vigor  or  its  vitality,  or  arrest  it  in 
its  destined  career.  Its  wise  Constitution  provides  for  the  continuance  of  its 
principles  under  every  possible  contingency,  and  we  have  full  confidence  in  the 
perfection  of  the  humane  policy  of  the  deceased  President  under  the  eminent 
person  who  succeeds  to  his  office. 

May  the  Most  High  guide  all  the  councils  of  the  great  American  nation  of 
the  United  States,  so  that  it  may  continue  to  be,  as  it  has  always  heretofore 
been,  a  bright  beacon  to  enlighten  the  path  of  man  in  his  loftiest  aspirations, 
and  in  the  preservation  of  those  divine  principles  of  benevolence  and  peace 
proclaimed  by  our  beloved  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

We  offer  to  yourself,  honored  sir,  and  to  the  government  and  people  of  the 
United  States  of  America  this  very  inadequate  expression  of  our  sympathies  on 
this  mournful  occasion,  and  beg  you  will  do  us  the  honor  to  convey  them  to  the 
American  government. 

STEFAN  SEROPYAN, 
Deputy  of  the  American  Protestant  Community. 

CONSTANTINOPLE,  May  10, 1865. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America  at  Constan 
tinople,  convened  in  the  American  legation,  Saturday,  the  29th  day  of  April, 
1865,  attended  by  the  members  of  the  legation  and  consulate  general,  and  all 
of  the  community  of  that  city,  the  honorable  E.  Joy  Morris  was  called  to  the 
chair,  and  Mr.  John  P.  Brown  nominated  secretary. 

The  meeting  was  opened  with  a  prayer  by  the  Reverend  Dr.  William 
Goodell ;  after  which  the  chairman  addressed  it  on  the  subject  of  the  deplor 
able  occurrences  which  had  called  it  together. 

A  committee  was  then  nominated  to  frame  resolutions  suitable  to  the  occa 
sion,  composed  of  the  following  persons :  The  Reverend  Dr.  William  Goodell, 
chairman;  Reverend  Dr.  Elias  Riggs,  member;  Dr.  D.  Stamatiades,  member; 
Reverend  George  Washburn,  member ;  Mr.  John  P.  Brown,  secretary ;  who 
adopted  the  following: 

Whereas,  when  about  to  assemble  together  with  grateful  hearts  in  thanks 
to  Almighty  God  for  having  blessed  our  beloved  country  with  the  prospect  of  a 
101 


802  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABttAIIAM  LINCOLN. 

speedy  restoration  of  peace  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  we  have  learned 
with  the  deepest  grief  that  it  has  also  pleased  the  Almighty,  in  his  inscrutable 
providence,  to  chasten  our  hearts  with  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  the  grievously  wounding  of  William 
H.  Scward,  Secretary  of  State,  by  the  hands  of  assassins.  We,  therefore, 
humble  ourselves  before  him  in  our  deep  affliction,  and  unite  with  our  fellow- 
citizens  in  the  United  States,  as  well  as  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  in  an  expression 
of  our  abhorrence  of  so  execrable  a  crime,  and  of  our  sorrow  of  this  dispensa 
tion  of  Providence,  as  also  of  the  high  estimation  in  which  we  hold  the  eminent 
character  and  services  of  the  illustrious  deceased,  and  of  the  great  patriots  who 
have  been  victims  to  the  cause  of  our  country  and  of  that  of  humanity : 

Resolved,  That,  as  a  mark  of  the  deep  respect  which  we  all  entertain  for 
the  memory  of  the  lamented  President,  we  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning 
for  forty  days,  and  that  we  respectfully  request  the  honorable  E.  Joy  Morris, 
minister  resident  at  this  capital,  to  transmit  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  signed 
by  the  chairman  and  secretary,  to  the  Department  of  State,  at  Washington,  and 
another  to  the  afflicted  family  of  the  deceased  President,  in  whose  grief  we 
profoundly  participate. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  published  in  the  public 
papers  in  this  city. 

WILLIAM  GOODELL,  Chairman. 

JOHN  P.  BROWN,  Secretary. 


Address  of  British  residents  in  Smyrna. 

SMYRNA,  May  24,  1865. 

SIR:  The  crimes  that  have  been  committed  upon  the  persons  of  the 
lamented  late  President  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
the  honorable  William  II.  Seward,  have  excited  in  us  the  strongest  abhorrence. 
We  would  fain  add  our  voice  to  that  of  Our  countrymen  in  England  in  giving 
expression  to  the  feelings  to  which  those  deplorable  events  have  given  rise. 

The  great  principles  of  morality,  which  are  above  all  social  or  political 
contingencies,  have  been  outraged  in  the  crimes  above  alluded  to,  in  a  manner 
that  makes  it  incumbent  upon  every  community,  however  small,  to  brand  with 
execration  the  perpetrators  of  them,  and  to  reject  with  indignation  whatever 
plea  may  be  put  forward  in  extenuation  of  them. 

The  many  and  rare  virtues  that  were  combined  in  the  person  of  President 
LINCOLN  make  his  loss  a  great  misfortune  to  the  American  nation,  and  demand 
that  we  should  offer  to  it,  as  we  do,  our  utmost  sympathy  and  condolence. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       803 

We  beg,  sir,  that  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  transmit  to  your  government 
this  expression  of  our  sentiments,  and  to  add  our  respectful  request  that  Mrs. 
Lincoln  may  be  informed  how  deeply  we  grieve  at  the  calamity  that  has 
befallen  her. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servants, 

ROBERT  WM.  CUMBERBATCH, 

Her  Britannic  Majesty's  Consul. 
C.  WHITTALL. 
A.  EDWARDS. 
FRED.  LA  FONTAINE. 
J.  T.  WOOD. 
WILLIAM  B.  LEWIG,  M.  A., 

British  Cltaplain. 
R.  J.  LAWSON. 

HENRY  E.  ROSE. 
W.  GILBERTSON. 
RICHARD  BARKER. 

AND  FIFTY  OTHER  NAMES. 

JOHN  GRIFFITT,  Esq., 

Acting  United  States  Consul,  Smyrna. 


Meeting  of  American  citizens  in  Smyrna. 

SMYRNA,  ASIA  MINOR,  May  19,  1865. 

Yesterday  a  meeting  of  the  resident  citizens  of  the  United  States  in  refer 
ence  to  the  late  deplorable  events  at  Washington  was  convened. 

Rev.  Daniel  Ladd  opened  the  meeting  with  a  few  remarks,  stating  its  ob 
ject;  whereupon  Mr.  Joseph  Lungdon  was  chosen  chairman,  and  Mr.  F.  C. 
Blackler  secretary. 

Rev.  Mr.  Ladd  then  addressed  the  meeting,  (which  was  numerously  attended 
by  ladies  and  gentlemen,)  in  a  feeling  and  appropriate  manner,  after  which  the 
national  hymn,  "  America,"  was  played  and  sung,  followed  by  a  fervent  and  im 
pressive  prayer  by  Mr.  Ladd. 

Mr.  Langdon  made  some  remarks  on  the  life  and  character  of  the  late 
President  LINCOLN,  and  offered  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  we  have  heard  with  indignation  and  profound  grief  of  the 
assassination  of  the  beloved  President  of  our  republic,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and 
of  a  further  horrible  attempt  to  destroy  the  lives  of  our  Secretary  and  Assistant 
Secretary  of  State.  That  as  regards  the  taking  of  the  life  of  our  Chief  Magis 
trate  at  this  critical  moment,  when  all  true  Americans  were  trusting  that  great 


804  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  good  man  to  bring  us  out  of  the  troubles  which  this  terrible  rebellion  has 
caused,  we  all  execrate  the  monster  who  has  perpetrated  the  horrid  deed,  and 
thus  deprived  our  country  of  one  we  all  loved  and  trusted  in. 

Mr.  Blackler  proposed  the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  the  American  citizens  of  our  republic  resident  in  Smyrna 
tender  our  heartfelt  sympathies  to  Mrs  Lincoln  and  family  in  the  irreparable 
loss  they  have  sustained,  as  well  as  our  country,  by  the  death  of  our  beloved 
Chief  Magistrate. 

Mr.  John  Griffitt,  United  States  vice-consul,  proposed  the  following  reso 
lution  : 

Resolved,  That  in  this  our  deep  distress  we  feel  consoled  in  having  such  a 
successor  to  our  late  lamented  chief  as  Andrew  Johnson,  one  in  whom  we  re 
pose  every  confidence,  and  whose  long  and  honorable  career  in  various  depart 
ments  of  public  life  have  qualified  him  in  the  highest  degree  to  occupy  the 
distinguished  position  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

Rev.  Mr.  Ladd  proposed  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  secretary  of  this  meeting  be  appointed  to  take  charge 
of  the  foregoing  resolutions,  and  to  transmit  a  copy  of  them  to  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
and  a  copy  to  the  Department  of  State,  at  Washington. 

The  above  resolutions  were  severally  seconded  and  unanimously  adopted. 

After  other  remarks  from  other  members  of  the  meeting,  expressive  of  the 
great  loss  sustained  by  our  country,  the  meeting  was  closed  with  religious 
exercises. 

F.  C.  BLACKLER,  Secretary. 


TUNIS. 


[Literal  translation  from  tlie  Arabic.] 

Praise  to  the  only  God ! 

To  the  excellence  of  him  who  has  given  distinction  to  the  ministry — who 
has  at  the  same  time  ordered  and  directed  its  affairs — to  the  excellence  of  him 
who  is  the  glory  of  eminent  ministers,  whose  renown  •  is  universal,  and  whose 
character  and  services  are  above  all  praise,  Monsieur  William  H.  Seward,  min 
ister  of  state  and  of  foreign  affairs  of  the  United  States  of  America;  may  he 
always  be  the  head  of  the  ministry  and  the  director  of  eminent  men. 

Rendering  due  honor  to  the  distinguished  office  and  to  the  high  character 
of  your  excellency,  we  make  known  to  you  that  his  Highness  our  august  sover 
eign  ceases  not  to  entertain  for  your  government  an  abiding  and  ever  increasing 
friendship  and  regard,  the  cause  of  which  is  your  admirable  conduct  and  your 
noble  policy.  His  Highness  has  received  the  news  of  the  re-establishment  of 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       805 

peace  ami  tranquillity  in  your  great  country.  This  news  has  afforded  him  un 
measured  satisfaction ;  and  sincere  friendship  makes  him  share  with  you  the 
pleasure  consequent  upon  this  happy  result  and  great  event. 

To  this  end,  then,  his  Highness  sends  to  your  government  the  honorable, 
the  beloved,  the  elect,  General  Otman  Hashem,  to  express  to  the  President  his 
sincere  felicitations,  and  also  to  express  to  the  President  the  heartfelt  grief 
which  his  Highness  experienced  at  the  death  of  the  lamented  President,  ABRA 
HAM  LINCOLN,  which  sad  event  wounded  all  our  hearts.  We  pray  God  that  this 
mTiy  be  the  end  of  trials  and  misfortunes  to  your  beloved  country.  His  High 
ness  also  sends  with  his  ambassador  his  portrait,  to  serve  as  a  souvenir  of  his 
friendship,  as  stated  in  his  letter. 

His  Highness  looks  with  confidence  to  your  excellency  to  arrange  for  an 
agreeable  reception  of  his  envoy,  General  Hashem,  by  his  Excellency  the 
President. 

We  take  this  occasion  also  to  inform  your  excellency  that  we  have  found 
in  the  conduct  of  him  who  is  distinguished  among  his  colleagues,  Mr.  Amos 
Perry,  consul  of  your  government  at  this  court,  the  best  disposition  to  maintain 
and  strengthen  the  bonds  of  friendship  which  unite  our  two  governments.  His 
(Mr.  Perry's)  courteous  and  honorable  bearing  merits  and  receives  the  appro 
bation  and  the  best  compliments  of  his  Highness  our  august  sovereign. 

We  make  this  statement  to  bear  our  testimony  to  a  worthy  representative, 
and  to  show  that  your  choice  falls  only  on  meritorious  men. 
Written  by  the  poor  before  his  God  : 

MUSTAPHA, 
Major  General,  Prime  Minister,  and  Minister  of 

Foreign  Affairs  of  his  Highness  the  Bey  of  Tunis. 

TUNIS,  the  1th  Rabi  el  tami,  1282,  (A.  C.,  August  29,  1865.) 


[Literal  triiiishitiun  from  the  Arabic.] 

Praises  to  the  oidy  God  ! 

To  the  excellence  of  the  eminent  personage  whose  merits  are  celebrated, 
and  whose  renown  is  universal,  like  the  light  of  the  sun,  which  cannot  be  hidden 
from  the  day  ;  to  the  excellence  of  him  who  is  the  glory  of  great  men,  the  cream 
of  men  of  distinction,  and  vvhos*  virtues  are  above  all  praise ;  to  our  friend, 
Andrew  Johnson,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America ;  may  he  always 
be  exalted,  and  may  his  days  be  ever  prospered. 

Having  rendered  due  honor  to  the  elevated  rank  and  to  the  eminent 
character  of  your  Excellency,  we  inform  you  that  we  have  heard  the  agreeable 
news  of  the  fruitful  victory  gained  by  your  government,  and  of  the  consequent 
reestablishment  of  peace  and  tranquillity  in  your  great  country.  This  news 


806  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

has  rejoiced  us  beyond  measure,  and  has  awakened  our  warmest  sentiments  of 
gratitude,  by  reason  of  the  great  and  sincere  friendship  which  unites  our  two 
governments ;  which  friendship  lias  been  bequeathed  to  us  as  a  heritage  by 
our  ancestors,  to  become  stronger  and  stronger  forever. 

We  were  the  more  cheered  by  this  news  from  having  shared  in  the  grief 
of  the  American  people  in  the  loss  which  they  experienced  in  the  death  of  their 
late  President,  Mr.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  a  loss  which  we  keenly  felt.  This  grief 
would  have  remained  unalterably  fixed  in  our  hearts  but  for  the  news  of  the 
re-establishment  of  tranquillity  in  your  country ;  which  news  came  to  moder^e 
and  assuage  our  affliction. 

We  desire  to  present  to  your  Excellency  and  to  your  people  our  best  com 
pliments,  with  expressions  of  condolence  in  your  affliction  and  sorrow,  and  with 
expressions  of  felicitations  in  your  prosperity  and  joy.  We  despatch  our  envoy, 
the  honorable,  the  beloved,  the  elect,  our  son,  General  Otman  Hashem,  to  be 
the  interpreter  of  our  sentiments  in  the  presence  of  your  Excellency  and  in  your 
country.  We  send  at  the  same  time  with  him  our  portrait,  to  be  a  souvenir  of 
our  friendship. 

May  God  preserve  your  Excellency,  and  perpetuate  the  happiness  and  pros 
perity  of  yourself  and  of  your  illustrious  nation. 

Written  by  him  who  has  for  your  Excellency  the  highest  consideration,  the 
slave  of  his  God,  the  Moosher  Mohammed  Essadek,  Bashaw  Bey,  possessor  of 
the  kingdom  of  Tunis. 

TUNIS,  the  1th  llabi  el  tami,  1282,  (A.  €.,  August  29,  1865.) 

[LOCUS  SIGILLL] 


[Literal  translation  from  the  Arabic.] 

Praises  to  the  only  God  ! 

To  the  lady  for  whom  we  pray  God  that  he  would  save  her  from  trial  and 
affliction  arid  protect  her  from  dangers  and  sorrows,  both  by  day  and  by  night — 
to  her  who  is  distinguished  among  ladies  of  distinction,  the  cream  of  elevated 
personages,  and  whose  virtues  are  above  all  praise,  to  Madame  Abraham  Lin 
coln:  may  God  shield  her  from  every  ill. 

Acknowledging  the  honor  due  to  your  elevated  character  and  position,  we 
desire  to  express  to  you  the  pain  inflicted  on  our  heart  by  the  sad  death  of  your 
beloved  husband.  How  cruel  this  fate,  and -how  deep  the  wound  inflicted  by 
this  terrible  event.  All  hearts  are  put  in  mourning.  The  news  of  this  catas 
trophe  both  plunged  us  into  affliction  and  overwhelmed  us  with  consternation. 
It  turned  our  eyes  upon  the  distressed  of  this  earth,  and  our  spirits  were 
troubled. 

Against  death  all  effort  is  vain,  and  one's  sole  remedy  is  to  resign  himself 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       807 

to  the  decrees  of  the  Great  God,  and  with  Him  to  seek  consolation.  May  the 
Great  God,  then,  grant  you  patience  and  resignation,  increasing  your  worthiness 
in  proportion  to  the  keenness  and  depth  of  your  affliction  and  pain.  May  He 
order  that  this  be  the  last  of  your  trials,  and  that  your  days  become  long  years. 

Written  by  him  who  has  for  you  the  highest  consideration,  the  slave  of  his 
God,  the  Moosher  Mohammed  Essadek,  Bashaw  Bey,  possessor  of  the  kingdom 
of  Tunis. 

TUNIS,  7  Itabi  el  tami,  1282,  (A.  C.,  August  29,  1805.) 

[LOCUS  SIGILLI.] 


Mr.  Perry  to  Mr.  Seward. 

[Extract.] 

No.  G8.]  UNITED  STATES  CONSULATE, 

Tunis,  April  W,  18G5. 

SIR:  *  *  *  *  * 

The  prevalence  of  a  strange  and  cruel  rumor,  of  whose  truth  or  falsity  I 
have  no  knowledge,  may  illustrate  the  excitability  of  the  Tunisian  populace  in 
regard  to  American  affairs.  "Peace  proclaimed  in  America,  and  President 
LINCOLN  assassinated  at  Richmond."  These  have  been  the  words  bandied 
through  the  city  from  noon  to  night.  Great  numbers  have  flocked  to  the  door 
of  this  consulate  to  ascertain  the  truth  or  falsity  of  this  report,  and  the  drago 
mans  were  instructed  to  say  that  the  consul  has  received  no  reliable  information 
relative  to  the  matter  in  question.  The  names  of  President  LINCOLN  and  Min 
ister  Seward  have  by  recent  events  become  almost  as  well  known  to  the  popu 
lace  of  Tunis  as  those  of  the  Bey  Mohammed  and  his  minister  Sidi  Mustapha. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

AMOS  PERRY. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  Slate. 


Mr.  Perry  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

No.  70.]  UNITED  STATES  CONSULATE, 

Tunis,  May  13,  18G5. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt,  on  the  llth  instant,  of 
the  two  circulars  of  the  17th  of  April,  1805,  one  circular  giving  a  statement 
relative  to  the  assassination  of  our  lamented  President  and  the  attempted  assas 
sination  of  our  honorable  Secretary  of  State;  and  the  other  circular  naming  the 


808  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAUAM   LINCOLN. 

insigna  of  mourning  to  be  adopted  by  those  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  depart 
ment. 

All  the  national  vessels  in  this  harbor  had  their  flags  at  half-mast  there 
days,  commencing  on  the  8th  instant,  in  honor  of  our  lamented  President,  and 
within  an  hour  after  receiving  your  circular.  On  the  llth  instant  circulars  to 
the  same  effect  as  yours  were  in  the  hands  of  all  my  colleagues,  and  the  flags 
of  all  the  nations  here  represented  were  hung  in  mourning.  Last  week  each 
of  my  colleagues  did  himself  and  our  nation  the  honor  to  call  upon  me  with 
expressions  of  sorrow  for  our  deceased  President  and  wounded  statesman,  of 
indignation  against  the  perpetrators  of  these  crimes,  and  of  congratulation  upon 
our  glorious  victories  and  our  prospects  of  peace. 

I  deem  it  inadvisable  to  trouble  you  with  detailed  accounts  of  the  interest 
and  sympathy  awakened  in  this  place  by  the  recent  events  in  our  country.  The 
Bey's  minister  has  replied  to  my  circular  with  touching  expressions  of  horror 
and  sympathy.  My  colleagues  have  most  of  them  written  to  me  long  and  inter 
esting  letters.  A  delegation  from  the  Italian  Masonic  Lodge  of  this  city  waited 
upon  me  yesterday  with  an  address  of  condolence. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

AMOS  PERRY. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation.] 

Address  of  the  Italian  Lodge. 

TUNIS,  May  12,  1865. 

SIR  :  We  come  as  the  delegates  of  the  Italian  Lodge  (Carthage  and  Utica) 
of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  in  this  city,  to  express  to  you,  who  so  fully  par 
take  of  the  elevated  sentiments  of  your  countrymen,  our  profound  sorrow  for 
the  death  of  your  illustrious  Chief  Magistrate,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  The  name 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  will  henceforth  be  honored  in  our  annals.  Though  he 
was  an  American,  we  in  Africa  are  benefited  by  his  life,  and  the  world  is  his 
debtor.  He  was  wise,  honest,  and  persevering ;  and  while  putting  down  the 
greatest  and  most  infamous  rebellion  that  ever  disgraced  the  annals  of  history, 
he  struck  a  death-blow  to  the  institution  of  slavery,  thus  giving  vigor  and  strength 
to  the  cause  of  liberty  throughout  the  world.  While  we  honor  Washington  as 
the  father  of  his  country,  we  shall  still  ever  venerate  LINCOLN  as  the  liberator 
of  slaves  and  as  one  of  the  greatest  benefactors  of  humanity.  While  admiring 
the  character  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  we  are  instructed  by  our  fraternity  to 
express  the  hope  that  the  work  of  emancipation  so  well  commenced  by  him 
may  be  fully  consummated  by  his  surviving  countrymen. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        809 

And  now,  honored  sir,  praying  that  the  republican  institutions  of  your 
country  may  ever  be  maintained  in  their  purity  and  powers,  diffusing  blessings 
far  and  near,  we  beg  you  to  accept  the  sincere  expression  of  our  profound 
respect. 

DR.  G.  MUGNANI, 
T.  SANTI, 
DR.  G.  ZERAFA, 
L.  FALCA, 
G.  B.  GIOJA, 

Delegates  of  tlie  Italian  Lodge,  Carthage  and  Utica. 
Hon.  AMOS  PERRY, 

Consul  General  of  ike  United  States  of  America  at  Tunis. 


UNITED    STATES    OF    COLOMBIA. 


President  Murillo  to  Mr.  Burton. 

[Translation.  ] 

BOGOTA,  June  21,  1865. 

Mr.  MINISTER  :  I  am  advised  that,  by  the  death  of  your  great  fellow- 
citizen,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  Andrew  Johnson  has  entered  upon  the  discharge 
of  the  presidency  of  the  United  States  of  America  for  a  constitutional  term. 

From  the  time  the  mournful  echo  of  the  night  of  the  14th  of  April  in 
Washington  reached  our  community  you  have  been  able  to  note  how  deep  and 
painful  has  been  the  sensation  produced  in  it.  My  fellow-citizens  have  sadly 
lamented  the  loss  of  that  high  magistrate  who  has  associated  his  name  with  the 
emancipation  of  four  millions  of  men,  and  erasing  the  stigma  of  an  odious  insti 
tution,  a  true  misfortune  in  itself;  and  I,  who  had  the  favorable  opportunity, 
almost  of  intimate  association,  to  appreciate  the  girts  and  to  receive  proofs  of  his 
benevolent  character,  have  united  with  lively  emotion  in  the  just  grief  of  the 
American  people. 


[Translation.] 

UNITED  STATES  OF  COLOMBIA,  DKPARTMENT 

or  TIIK  INTERIOR  AND  FOREIGN  RELATIONS, 

Bogota,  October  11,  1865. 

The  undersigned,  secretary  of  the  interior  and  foreign  relations  of  the 
United  States  of  Colombia,  had  the  honor  to  receive  the  note  in  which  the 

102 


810  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

honorable  minister  of  the  United  States  of  America  makes  known  his  having 
received  instructions  from  his  government  directing  him  to  communicate  to  the 
citizen  President  the  lively  sentiments  of  friendship  and  gratitude  produced  in 
the  minds  of  the  American  people  and  government  by  the  unmistakable  demon 
strations  of  grief  caused  in  the  Colombian  Union  by  the  death  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  and  soliciting  at  the  same  time  a  special  audience  of  the  first  magis 
trate  for  the  purpose  of  making  to  him  said  communication  by  order  of  his 
government. 

The  citizen  President  has  designated  Thursday  next  for  such  reception, 
and  being  profoundly  grateful  for  this  mark  of  consideration  on  the  part  of  the 
American  government  and  people,  he  will  have  the  pleasure  to  manifest  again 
and  officially  the  profound  feeling  which  has  been  caused  throughout  this  Union 
by  the  unfortunate  death  of  that  honest  and  virtuous  citizen  who  so  honorably 
for  the  republican  world  sustained  the  just  union  and  true  liberty  of  the  great 
republic. 

The  undersigned  renews  to  the  honorable  Mr.  Burton  the  assurances  of 
his  very  high  consideration. 

SANTIAGO  PEREZ. 


[Translation.] 

Speech  of  President  Murillo  to  Mr.  Burton. 

Mr.  MINISTER  :  It  is  very  flattering  and  pleasing  to  the  people  and  govern 
ment  of  Colombia  to  know  that  the  American  people  and  government  should 
have  been  gratified  at  the  expression  of  sorrow  and  kindly  sympathy  emitted 
by  us  when  we  heard  that  a  crime  had  deprived  your  country  of  one  of  its 
most  enlightened  citizens  as  a  victim  offered  upon  the  altar  of  duty,  and  these 
frequent  manifestations  of  sympathy  between  the  two  countries  are  very  grate 
ful  to  me,  because  they  tend  to  strengthen  the  mutual  esteem  which  ought  to 
exist  between  republican  peoples  living  on  the  same  continent. 


[Translation.] 

LEGATION  OF  COLOMBIA  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

New  York,  April  17,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  undersigned,  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary 
of  Colombia,  has  received  your  note  of  the  15th  instant,  informing  him  of  the 
violent  death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  criminal  attempt 
upon  the  life  of  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son,  in  consequence  of  which  events  Mr. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       31 1 

Andrew  Johnson,  the  Vice-President,  has  assumed  the  functions  of  President, 
and  has  authorized  you  to  act  as  Secretary  of  State. 

The  undersigned,  in  expressing  his  sincere  regret  for  the  unfortunate  events 
that  have  taken  place,  and  which  he  has  hastened  to  communicate  to  his  gov 
ernment,  makes  himself  the  interpreter  of  his  countrymen,  and  assures  you  that 
the  sad  event  will  be  deplored  in  the  United  States  of  Colombia,  as  well  on 
account  of  the  fraternal  interest  they  feel  for  this  nation,  as  their  sympathy  in 
the  humane  policy  of  the  lamented  President,  which  is  cherished  in  our  country, 
and  inspires  our  institutions,  based  on  justice  and  liberty. 

The  undersigned  is  pleased  to  learn  from  the  daily  papers  that  the  hon 
orable  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son  are  recovering  from  the  atrocious  attempt  -to  take 
their  lives,  and  that  their  wounds  will  have  no  serious  consequences. 

The  antecedents  of  the  eminent  citizen  who  is  called  to  preside  as  Chief 
Magistrate  of  this  country  are  the  best  guarantee  the  undersigned  can  offer  his 
government  that  the  new  administration  will  continue  its  frank,  cordial,  and 
friendly  policy  towards  the  United  States  of  Colombia. 

The  undersigned  congratulates  you  on  your  appointment  as  Acting  Secre 
tary  of  State,  and  embraces  the  occasion  to  repeat  the  assurances  of  his  most 
distinguished  consideration. 

E.  SALGAR. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Secretary  of  State,  $c.,  §c.,  t^r. 


Mr.  Burton  to  Mr.  Seu-ard. 

No.  181.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Bogota,  July  31,  1865. 

SIR:  Intelligence  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  the 
attempt  to  murder  the  Secretary  of  State,  reached  this  city  on  the  '23d  of  May 
last.  The  news  created  a  general  and  profound  sensation  of  horror  and  indig 
nation.  His  Excellency  President  Murillo  sent  immediately  to  his  secretary 
of  foreign  relations  to  express  the  deep  grief  experienced  by  the  Colombian 
government  and  people  at  this  frightful  and  melancholy  event,  requesting  me 
to  convey  the  same  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  with  his  sincere 
sympathy  and  condolence.  The  spontaneous  manifestations  of  sympathy  offered 
by  the  diplomatic  and  consular  bodies  in  this  capital,  and  by  the  citizens,  were 
of  the  most  touching  nature. 

I  set  apart  the  21st  of  June  as  a  day  of  mourning  for  our  great  misfortune, 
which  was  responded  1o  in  an  impressive  manner,  as  will  be  learned  from  the 
accompanying  papers.  On  consul! ing  the  foreign  secretary  as  to  the  most 
appropriate  day  for  (his  purpose,  wishing  to  avoid  any  conflict  with  the  numerous 


812  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

days  dedicated  to  religious  ceremonies,  his  Excellency  the  President  tendered 
me  a  public  audience  to  announce  the  death  of  our  lamented  President,  which 
I  accepted  out  of  respect  to  his  earnest  desire  to  pay  the  most  expressive  hon 
ors  to  our  late  Chief  Magistrate.  After  making  the  announcement  I  repaired 
to  the  office  for  foreign  affairs,  and  announced  to  the  secretary  the  attempt  on 
Mr.  Secretary  Seward  and  his  son.  He  expressed  his  deep  sympathy  for  them 
in  their  misfortune  and  sufferings,  and  the  consequent  misfortune  to  my  country, 
and  requested  me  to  make  the  same  known  to  them,  with  his  sincere  hope  that 
they  would  be  restored  to  health,  and  to  the  great  cause  of.  which  he  regarded 
Secretary  Seward  as  the  worthy  representative. 

In-  consequence  of  our  affliction  I  did  not  intend  to  open  the  legation  to 
the  usual  ceremonial  rejoicings  on  our  national  anniversary.  I  learned,  how 
ever,  on  the  evening  of  the  3d  of  July,  that  the  Colombian  government,  foreign 
representatives  and  citizens,  had  arranged  to  pay  their  respects  in  a  solemn 
manner,  and  I  received  them  accordingly.  The  occasion  was  one  of  melancholy 
satisfaction.  At  six  o'clock  p.  m.  the  whole  military  of  the  city  passed  in  mourn 
ing  in  front  of  the  legation,  and  through  the  evening  the  presidential  bandsi 
numbering  sixty  musicians,  saluted  it  with  solemn  dirges. 

In  common  with  our  afflicted  people  I  mourn  our  sad  bereavement.  In 
common  with  them  I  render  devout  thanks  to  God  for  the  delivery  of  the  Sec 
retary  of  State,  his  sons,  and  faithful  attendants. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

ALLAN  A.  BURTON. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 


Mr.  Burton  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  194.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Bogota,  October  13,  1865. 

SIR:  As  directed  by  your  No.  126,  I,  on  yesterday,  in  public  audience, 
delivered  to  his  Excellency  the  Citizen  President  of  Colombia  the  message  of 
gratitude  for  the  condolence  and  sympathy  tendered  by  the  Colombian  govern 
ment  and  people  on  the  bereavement  sustained  by  the  death  of  the  lamented 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States,  with  which  I  had  been ' 
intrusted.  As  other  bodies  in  the  republic  had  followed  the  example  of  the 
constituent  convention  of  Bolivar,  I  ventured  to  ex'tend  the  message  to  the 
whole  country.  His  excellency  the  secretary  of  foreign  relations  communi 
cated  it  in  a  note  to  each  body.  The  annexed  papers  will  explain  how  I  have 
attempted  to  fulfil  your  instructions. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       813 

I  was  received  on  the  occasion  by  the  military  in  full  dress,  and  by  bands 
of  music.  The  attendance  at  the  audience,  as  well  as  the  whole  proceedings, 
was  highly  flattering. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

ALLAN  A.  BURTON, 
lion.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State,  Washington. 

NOVEMBER  1,  18G5. — P.  S.  Having  previously  announced  the  attempt  on 
the  lives  of  the  Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  I  had  the  pleasure,  by 
a  note  to  the  Foreign  Office,  to  announce  their  recovery.  My  correspondence 
being  suspended  with  that  department  a  day  or  so  after,  on  account  of  my 
health,  as  explained  in  my  No.  195,  I  have,  consequently,  not  received  the 
secretary's  acknowledgment.  These  papers  will  be  sent  to  the  department 
hereafter. 

ALLAN  A.  BURTON. 


[Translation.] 

UNITED  STATES  OF  COLOMBIA — SOVEREIGN   STATE  OF  CUNDINAMARCA — EXECUTIVE 

POWER. 

The  President  of  the  State  to  the  lion.  Allan  A.  Burton,  minister  resident  of  the 

United  States  of  America. 

BOGOTA,  June  20,  18G5. 

The  undersigned  hastens  to  answer  the  note  which  the  honorable  Mr.  Minis 
ter  of  the  United  States  of  America  has  done  him  the  honor  to  address  him, 
under  date  of  yesterday,  announcing  officially  the  death  of  the  never  to-be- 
enough-lamcnted  Mr.  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  that  republic. 

The  honorable  Mr.  Minister  knows  the  high  considerations  which  the 
undersigned  entertains  for  the  United  States  of  America  and  its  government, 
and  the  veneration  he  has  always  attached  to  the  name  and  merits  of  the 
deceased,  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  it  is  therefore  useless  to  express  to  the  minister 
the  sincere  grief  and  deep  pain  with  which  he  has  received  this  unhappy  intel 
ligence  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  the  State  of  Cundinamarca  will  be  sadly  impressed 
by  this  melancholy  event,  and  in  evidence  of  which  the  State  flag  will'  be  dis 
played  in  mourning  from  the  government  house  on  to-morrow. 

The  undersigned  gives  to  the  honorable  Mr.  Burton,  individually,  the  most 
feeling  and  cordial  condolence,  and  has  the  honor  to  improve  this  opportunity 
to  reiterate  to  him  the  expression  of  his  high  esteem  and  distinguished  consid 
eration. 

RAFAEL  MENDOZA. 


814  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

HER  BRITANNIC  MAJESTY'S  LEGATION, 

Bogota,  June  20,  1865. 

SIK  :  I  have  this  moment  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  excellency's  note 
of  this  day's  date,  by  which  you  announce  to  me  the  melancholy  intelligence  of 
the  death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  April  last. 

In  stating  your  belief  that  this  sad  announcement  would  awaken  within 
me  feelings  of  sincere  sympathy,  your  excellency  has  truly  interpreted  my 
sentiments.  No  one,  indeed,  could  have  heard  with  more  profound  grief,  with 
greater  horror  and  indignation  than  I,  the  intelligence  of  the  fearful  calamity  by 
which  the  United  States  has  been  deprived  of  its  illustrious  Chief  Magistrate. 
It  is,  therefore,  with  a  mournful  satisfaction  that  I  avail  myself  of  the  oppor 
tunity  thus  afforded  me  to  give  utterance  to  these  feelings,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  convey  to  your  excellency  the  expression  of  my  heartfelt  condolence. 

I  need  not  add  that,  in  compliance  with  your  request,  and  as  a  tribute  of 
respect  to  the  memory  of  the  illustrious  dead,  I  shall  cause  the  British  flag  to 
be  displayed  to-morrow  from  this  legation. 

1  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  consideration,  sir,  your  excel 
lency's  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

CHARLES  O'LEARY. 

His  Excellency  Mr.  ALLAN  A.  BURTON, 

Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  of  America,  Sfc.,  Sfc. 


Minister  of  France  to  Mr.  Burton. 

[Translation.] 

BOGOTA,  June  20,  1865. 

The  undersigned,  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  of  his 
Majesty  the  Emperor,  has  received  the  note  of  to-day  by  which  his  excellency 
Mr.  Allan  A.  Burton,  minister  of  the  United  States  of  America,  has  made 
known  to  him  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  Union. 

The  undersigned  has  learned  with  feelings  of  the  most  profound  regret  of 
this  sorrowful  event,  which  happened  under  circumstances  rendering  it,  if  possi 
ble,  still  more  afflicting.  The  minister  of  the  Emperor  loses  no  time  in  praying 
his  excellency  Mr.  Allan  A.  Burton,  minister  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
to  freely  accept  the  sincere  expression  of  the  pain  the  legation  of  his  Majesty 
the  Emperor  has  experienced,  and  to  assure  him  that  he  will  perform  the  duty 
of  uniting  with  the  representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America  in  hoisting 
the  flag  of  the  empire  at  half-mast  through  to-morrow. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  815 

The  undersigned  takes  this  sad  occasion  to  renew  to  his  excellency  the 
assurances  of  his  high  consideration  and  esteem. 

BARON  GOURY  DU  ROSLAN. 
His  Excellency  Mr.  ALLAN  A.  BURTON, 

Minister  of  the  United  States  of  America,  §c.,  §c. 


[Translation.  ] 

CONSULATE  OF  HIS  MAJESTY  THE  KING  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS 

FOR  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  COLOMBIA, 

Bogota,  June  21,  18G5. 

SIR:  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  excellency's  note  under  date  of 
yesterday,  informing  me  of  the  death  of  his  Excellency  President  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  and  desiring  me  to  display  on  this  day  the  flag  of  my  country  as  a 
mark  of  honor  to  the  illustrious  dead. 

Your  excellency  well  knows  how  strong  the  mutual  and  friendly  feeling  is 
which  exists  between  our  native  countries,  and  I  believe  I  can  assure  your 
excellency  that  the  death  of  his  Excellency  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has 
awakened  the  deepest  sympathy  in  the  hearts  of  all  Nethcrlandcrs. 

According  to  your  excellency's  request  the  flag  of  my  country  is  displayed. 

Hoping  that  the  never-to-be-sufficiently-lamented  death  of  the  chief  of 
your  excellency's  government  may  be  no  obstacle  to  the  speedy  restoration  of 
the  United  States  to  their  former  prosperity,  I  desire  your  excellency  to  accept 
the  sentiments  of  my  perfect  esteem  and  consideration. 

VAN  ARCKEN. 
His  Excellency  Mr.  ALLAN  A.  BURTON, 

Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  of  North  America. 


[Translation.] 

BOGOTA,  June  20,  1865. 

It  has  been  with  the  deepest  pain  that  the  undersigned  has  received  the 
official  note  addressed  him  to-day  by  the  honorable  Allan  A.  Burton,  minister 
resident  of  the  United  States  of  America,  announcing  the  death  of  the  enlight 
ened  citizen  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  Union,  and  signifying  the 
hope  that  the  flag  of  Venezuela  may  be  raised  at  half-mast  on  to-morrow  on 
this  consulate,  as  a  sign  of  grief  for  that  calamity,  and  in  honor  to  the  memory 
of  the  deceased. 

For  days  past  the  undersigned  has  lamented,  as  a  great  misfortune  to 
republican  America,  the  tragic  and  unexpected  death  of  President  LINCOLN  ; 


BIG  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

and  faithfully  interpreting  the  sentiments  of  his  nation  and  government,  he  will, 
on  his  part,  contribute  to  the  demonstration  of  grief  and  horror  indicated  by  the 
honorable  Mr.  Burton,  by  hoisting  at  half-mast  on  the  consulate  general  of  the 
United  States  of  Venezuela  the  flag  of  said  republic. 

The  undersigned  improves  the  occasion  to  reiterate  to  the  honorable  Mr. 
Burton  the  assurances  of  personal  esteem  with  which  he  is  his  very  obedient 
servant, 

LEON  ECHEVERRIA, 

Consul  General  of  Venezuela. 

Hon.  ALLAN  A.  BURTON, 

Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  of  America,  Sfc.,  Sfc. 


[Translation.] 

BOGOTA,  June  20,  1865. 

The  undersigned,  consul  general  of  Chili,  has  had  the  honor  to  receive  to 
day  the  attentive  note  of  the  honorable  Allan  A.  Burton,  minister  resident  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  by  which  he  is  pleased  to  announce  the  deplora 
ble  and  unhappy  news  of  the  decease  of  the  illustrious  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
President  of  the  United  States  of  North  America,  on  the  morning  of  the  15th 
of  April  last. 

The  consul  general  of  Chili  partakes  cordially  and  profoundly  of  the  feel 
ings  that  must  have  saddened  the  heart  of  the  honorable  Mr.  Burton,  by  reason 
of  the  unfortunate  event  which  has  deprived  his  country  of  the  important 
services  which  that  enlightened  man  was  lending  to  it,  and  by  which  he  had 
won  the  sympathy  and  admiration  of  the  civilized  world.  All  humanity  pros 
trates  itself  before  the  tomb  of  that  martyr  to  duty  and  the  rights  of  man,  to 
offer  to  him  the  just  and  merited  homage  of  their  admiration,  respect  and 
gratitude. 

The  undersigned  believes  himself  the  faithful  interpreter  of  the  feelings  of 
the  Chilian  government  and  people  in  affirming  to  the  honorable  Mr.  Burton, 
that,  bound  by  ties  of  close  friendship  with  the  great  republic,  they  will  look 
upon  that  never-to-be-sufficiently-deplored  event  as  a  great  misfortune  to  a 
brother  people,  and  that  the  loved  and  venerated  memory  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  will 
ever  be  associated  with  the  most  grateful  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  most 
horrifying  recollections. 

For  its  part,  this  consulate  general  will  perform  the  sad  duty  of  raising  the 
flag  of  Chili  in  the  manner  desired  by  his  excellency,  in  commemoration  of  the 
mournful  event  which  we  all  lament,  and  the  undersigned  also  has  the  honor 
to  offer  personally  to  the  honorable  Mr.  Burton  the  most  sincere  expression  of 
his  feelings. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE    AND    SYMPATHY.  817 

The  undersigned  improves  this  occasion  to  renew  to  the  honorable  Allan 
A.  Burton  the  assurances  of  the  high  esteem  and  respect  with  which  he  has 
the  honor  to  subscribe  himself  his  very  obedient  servant, 

MANUEL  ANTONIO  CORDOVEZ. 
Hon.  ALLAN  A.  BURTON, 

Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  of  America,  §c.,  §c. 


[Translated  from  La  Opinion,  (Bogota,)  June  7,  18G5.] 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. ]5Y  HON.  SALVADOR  CAMACHO  ROLDAN. 

The  name  with  which  we  head  these  lines  will  be  one  of  the  most  famous 
which  this  century,  fruitful  in  great  men  and  great  events,  will  transmit  to  the 
admiration  and  love  of  posterity.  Of  the  many  great  men  whom  war,  diplo 
macy,  and  politics  have  raised  upon  the  wings  of  human  passions,  none  will, 
perhaps,  enjoy  a  history,  a  fame,  so  pure  and  imperishable  as  he  who,  controlling 
the  turbulent  waves  of^the  most  collossal  civil  war  of  modern  times,  preserved 
order  with  liberty,  and  maintained  the  integrity  of  a  great  republic,  while 
the  bonds  of  its  society  were  being  broken  into  atoms  by  the  advent  of  a  new 
civilization. 

This  will  not  be  because  history  will  present  him  brandishing  a  flaming 
sword  over  heaps  of  slain  enemies,  disposing  in  despotic  councils  of  the  fate  of 
peoples,  or  erasing  and  changing  the  lines  of  territories;  neither  boldly  putting 
his  foot  on  the  unchanged  liberal  spirit  of  his  age ;  but  because,  as  in  all  great 
revelations  of  truth  to  man,  the  divine  spirit  of  a  great  idea  incarnated  itself  in 
an  humble  being,  and  inspired  him  with  the  faith,  the  courage,  and  the  perse 
verance  to  draw  it  safely  from  the  agitated  ocean  through  breakers,  and  in  spite 
of  hostile  winds,  to  the  port  of  safety  and  of  triumph. 

The  greatness  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  consisted  not  so  much  in  his  talents,  which 
were  more  solid  than  brilliant;  nor  in  his  education,  which  was  neglected,  as 
that  of  every  man  who,  like  him,  is  born  and  grows  up  in  the  bosom  of  poverty  ; 
neither  in  the  sagacity  of  the  politician  nor  the  audacity  of  the  tribune,  or  of 
the  reformer;  but  in  his  manly  good  common  sense,  in  the  firmness  of  his 
character,  in  the  instinctive  sagacity  with  which  he  anticipated  the  genius  and 
tendencies  of  his  people,  in  his  devoted  patriotism,  in  his  genial  honesty,  his 
guileless  frankness,  the  serenity  of  his  spirit,  in  his  unequalled  capacity  to  follow 
without  ever  losing  sight  of  the  thread  of  events,  and  to  adapt  his  efforts  to  the 
magnitude  and  actual  stage  of  the  crisis,  and  to  give  to  the  cause  of  an  abstract 
idea  all  the  interest  of  enthusiasm  and  of  passion;  but  above  all,  in  raising 
himself  from  the  narrow  field  of  a  local  advocate  to  the  immense  field  of 
103 


818  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

passions,   conflicting  interests  and   opinions,  which  was   suddenly  lighted   up 
before  him  by  the  devouring  conflagration  of  civil  war. 

What  strife  so  gigantic  as  that  in  the  United  States  I  What  men  and 
what  interests  ?  AVhat  passions  and  what  resources?  The  high,  proud  mag 
nates  of  slavery  with  their  two  thousand  millions'  worth  of  human  flesh,  the 
pride  of  command  from  the  cradle,  with  all  the  wealth  that  tobacco,  sugar,  and 
cotton  could  bring  at  their  orders ;  a  vast  territory  traversed  by  mountains  and 
furrowed  by  great  rivers,  slavery  and  liberty,  panting  avarice  and  disinterested 
self-abnegation  contending  hand  to  hand ;  all  the  extraordinary  discoveries  of 
the  second  quarter  of  this  century  face  to  face  with  the  barbarism  of  the  past 
ages ;  the  last  legacy  of  the  Old  World  disputing  the  way  to  the  march  of  ideas 
of  the  New  World ;  the  soul  of  old  Europe  and  the  heart  of  virgin  America, 
the  past  and  the  future,  contending  in  a  duel  to  the  death  on  the  grandest  field 
on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

To  raise  within  a  few  months,  in  a  nation  that  had  lost  all  their  military 
habits  from  long  uninterrupted  peace,  an  army  of  seven  hundred  thousand  men ; 
to  increase  a  navy  from  forty  to  nearly  a  thousand  vessels  within  three  years ; 
to  obtain  from  a  people  accustomed  to  economy  and  yearly  expenses  of  forty 
millions  of  dollars,  resources  to  meet  an  expenditure  of  two  millions  and  a  half 
daily  ;  to  feel  the  before-hidden  hate  of  despots  now  violently  hissing  in  its 
face;  to  see  ambition  and  treason  spring  up  in  its  bosom,  where  before  had 
been  only  submissive  adoration  of  the  people;  to  listen,  amidst  the  general 
tumult,  to  the  most  discordant  counsels;  to  face  all  these  necessities,  all  these 
troubles,  annoyances  and  dangers,  and  to  march  on,  like  Atlas,  with  the  world 
on  his  shoulders,  firm  and  full  of  faith  to  the  last,  was  the  task  intrusted  to  and 
heroically  performed  by  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  and  his  ministers,  those  Titans, 
Seward,  Chase,  Stanton,  and  Welles. 

From  the  beginning  France  and  England  wished  to  recognize  the  inde 
pendence  of  the  confederates,  but  they  had  to  shrink  before  the  boldness  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN,  who,  through  Mr.  Seward,  announced  that  that  recognition  would  be 
considered  a  declaration  of  war.  The  confederate  privateers  were  armed  and 
ready  to  sail  from  French  and  English  ports,  but  at  the  potent  voice  of  the 
American  government  they  were  seized  and  detained.  It  was  necessary  to 
effectively  blockade  a  coast  of  3,000  miles  in  extent;  and  the  voice  of  Mr. 
Welles  created  and  cast  upon  the  waters  960  vessels,  and  covered  the  whole 
of  that  long  line.  It  was  necessary  to  spend  $750,000,000  per  year,  and  the 
wand  of  Mr.  Chase  found  those  millions,  and  the  resources  to  pay  their  interest 
and  to  extinguish  the  principal  within  a  few  years. 

There  were  not  50,000  muskets  when  the  war  began,  nor  4,000  men  in 
the  ranks.  The  voice  of  Mr.  Cameron  first,  and  of  Mr.  Stanton  afterwards, 
called  together  and  organized  more  than  700,000  brave  men,  and  made,  in 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.  819 

American  shops,  more  than  2,000,000  of  fire-arms,  thousands  of  cannon,  moun 
tains  of  ammunition,  and  other  elements  of  war  hardly  to  be  calculated. 

There  were  no  generals.  The  penetrating  sagacity  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  drew 
from  obscurity  McClellan,  Grant,  Sherman,  Sheridan.  Thomas,  and  many  others. 

General  Fremont,  the  idol  of  the  northern  masses,  attempted  to  press  the 
President  forward  on  the  road  to  emancipation;  putting  on  the  airs  of  a  dic 
tator,  driving  out  in  his  magnificent  carriage,  drawn  by  four  white  horses, 
displaying  the  train  of  a  prince  in  the  heart  of  a  republic,  Mr.  LINCOLN  plucked 
off  his  plumes  and  stars,  and  removed  him  from  the  command  of  the  West. 

General  Hunter,  with  extemporaneous  zeal,  declared  the  liberty  of  the 
slave  early  in  1862.  Mr.  LINCOLN  revoked  his  proclamation  and  took  away  his 
command. 

On  the  victorious  field  of  Antietam  General  McClellan  undertook  to  impose 
on  the  President  a  policy  favorable  to  slavery.  Mr.  LINCOLN  broke  the  sword 
of  the  presumptuous  chieftain,  and  launched  forth  the  proclamation  of  emanci 
pation. 

In  addition  to  these  we  might  refer  to  innumerable  other  examples  of 
elevation  and  firmness  of  character  indispensable  to  guide  a  country  in  the  midst 
of  civil  war.  To  his  firmness  is  due  the  absence  of  chiefs  dangerous  to  order 
and  liberty ;  that  freedom  to  the  slave  should  not  have  produced  a  servile  war ; 
that  hatred  and  vengeance  did  not  engender  bloody  retaliations,  dangers  so 
common,  unfortunately,  in  the  civil  wars  of  Spanish  America.  No  forced  loans, 
brutal  recruiting,  or  disorderly  seizure  of  property,  so  demoralizing  to  the 
soldiery  ;  none  of  those  savage  demonstrations  of  energy  so  common  here. 
Nothing  of  this  has  been  seen  in  the  United  States;  neither  have  the  federal 
authorities  fomented  political  or  moral  ideas,  or  attempted  to  manufacture  pub 
lic  opinion  to  its  own  ends — evils  which,  among  us,  follow  in  the  track  of 
revolutions  as  the  fojtid  and  unhealthy  sediment  follows  the  freshets  in  our 
rivers.  With  all  this,  the  virtues  of  the  people  have,  of  course,  had  much  to 
do ;  but  not  a  little  has  depended  on  the  high  character  of  the  leaders  who 
have  marked  out  the  way  and  given  the  example  to  popular  impulse. 

It  has  been  thought,  mistakenly  to  our  view,  that  Mr.  LINCOLN  was  gifted 
with  an  invincible  stubbornness  in  his  purposes,  and  a  blind  fanaticism  in  his 
ideas.  We  have  noticed,  on  the  contrary,  in  studying  the  acts  of  this  public 
man,  much  moderation  and  a  great  inclination  to  conciliation.  Although  an 
abolitionist  for  many  years  before,  his  inaugural  programme  of  18G1  offered  all 
the  guarantees  to  be  desired  by  slavery,  asking  only  that  it  should  not  be 
extended  into  the  newly  settled  territories. 

The  emancipation  of  the  slaves  was  not  decreed  until  the  measure  became 
not  only  a  wise  means  of  securing  their  powerful  assistance  in  the  war,  but 
also  an  irresistible,  exigence  of  popular  opinion.  When,  in  1863,  propositions 
of  peace  were  talked  of  by  the  South,  Mr.  LINCOLN  did  not  hesitate  to  declare 


820  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

his  willingness  to  submit  the  validity  of  the  emancipation  proclamation  to  the 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  approval  or  disapproval  of  Congress. 
It  was  only  after  so  much  blood  had  been  shed  that  it  cried  to  Heaven  for  recom 
pense,  that  he  judged  the  only  price  of  this  blood  was  the  irrevocable,  complete, 
and  absolute  extermination  of  slavery,  and  that  ground  alone  he  manifested  a 
disposition  not  to  yield. 

The  last  phase  of  his  public  character,  and  which  appeals  most  lively  to 
our  sympathy,  was  his  magnanimity.  The  formidable  and  groundless  insur 
rection,  which  had  threatened  to  destroy  the  unity  and  force  of  the  country, 
subdued,  his  first  and  only  purpose  was  to  reorganize  the  conquered  territories, 
returning  them  their  existence  and  their  own  governments,  without  retaining 
for  a  moment  longer  than  necessary  and  just  the  discretionary  power  with 
which  the  rebellion  had  armed  him.  He  never  thought  from  the  first  of  hum 
bling  and  punishing,  or  of  showing  that  healthy  energy  which  is  always  the 
inevitable  source  of  armed  reaction.  The  stupid  assassin,  more  stupid  than  his 
murderous  bullet,  without  doubt  did  not  think  that,  amidst  the  dangerous 
fermentation  of  passions  which  follows  a  day  of  victory  over  brethren,  the  surest 
guarantee  of  restoration  and  liberty  to  the  South  was  the  noble  life  of  Mr. 
LINCOLN. 

In  the  vulgar  sense  of  human  language,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was  certainly 
not  a  great  man.  He  had  not  the  dazzling  prestige  of  victorious  achievements 
in  war ;  he  was  not  a  conqueror  of  peoples  and  countries ;  he  never  enveloped 
his  plans  in  the  gloomy  obscurity  of  mystery,  dissimulation;  he  never  took  to 
himself  the  credit  of  results  which  followed  from  the  inscrutable  decrees  of 
Providence ;  his  voice  had  not  the  enchanting  harmony  of  Demosthenes  or 
Mirabcau,  or  of  Clay ;  he  was  free  from  that  satanic  pride  which,  in  others, 
supplies  the  want  of  true  greatness.  But  he  possessed  something  greater  than  all 
these,  which  all  the  splendors  of  earthly  glory  cannot  equal.  He  was  the  instru 
ment  of  God  The  Divine  Spirit,  which  in  another  day  of  regeneration  took 
the  form  of  an  humble  artisan  of  Galilee,  had  again  clothed  itself  in  the  flesh 
and  bones  of  a  man  of  lowly  birth  and  degree.  That  man  was  ABRAHAM  LIN 
COLN,  the  liberator  and  savior  of  the  great  republic  of  modern  times.  That 
irresistible  force,  called  an  idea,  seized  upon  an  obscure  and  almost  common 
man,  burnt  him  with  its  holy  fire,  purified  him  in  its  crucible,  and  raised  him 
to  the  apex  of  human  greatness — even  to  being  redeemer  of  a  whole  race  of 
men.  He  whose  boyhood  was  passed  at  the  plough-handle  in  the  then  solitary 
prairies  of  Illinois';  whose  early  manhood  was  dragged  out  in  fatigue  at  the 
oar  of  a  Mississippi  flat-boat,  and  the  only  repose  of  whose  maturer  years  was 
the  noisy  labors  of  the  forum ;  that  man  was  called  to  be  the  arbiter  of  the  fate 
of  his  country — the  great  man  of  state,  whose  destiny  it  was  to  manage  the 
rudder  during  the  most  frightful  storm  of  this  age.  In  the  critical  hour  of  trial 
and  danger,  all  rested  on  him.  Even  the  lines  of  his  physiognomy,  half  grave, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       821 

half  comic,  had  been  transformed  by  the  agitations  of  his  life.  In  the  language 
of  a  distinguished  journalist  of  his  country,  "his  kind  and  powerful  face  was 
slightly  marked  by  the  circular  track  of  his  jocose  thoughts,  and  deeply  ploughed 
and  cross-furrowed,  the  visible  signs  of  his  profound  anxieties."  There  is  in 
his  last  words  something  of  the  fire  of  the  old  prophets.  "Fondly  do  we  hope," 
(he  said  in  his  inaugural  address  of  the  4th  of  March  last,)  "  Fondly  do  we 
hope,  fervently  do  we  pray,  that  this  mighty  scourge  of  war  may  pass 
away.  Yet  if  God  wills  that  it  continue  until  all  the  wealth  piled  by  the  bond 
man's  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until 
every  drop  of  blood  drawn  by  the  lash  be  paid  by  another  drawn  with  the 
sword,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so  still  it  must  be  said,  'the  judg 
ments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether"  And  that  nothing 
should  be  wanting  to  complete  the  true  grandeur  of  his  life,  the  hand  of  crime 
snatched  it  from  him  in  the  midst  of  the  triumph  of  his  cause,  and  bound  his 
temples,  already  pale  from  the  vigils  and  anguish  of  four  years,  with  the 
resplendent  crown  of  the  martyr. 

The  tragic  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  its  only  semblance  of  comparison  in 
history  in  that  of  Henry  IV,  cut  off  in  the  plenitude  of  his  genius  and  of  his 
vast  enterprises  by  the  dagger  of  a  fanatic.  The  wretch's  pretext  of  tyranni 
cide  is  absurd  and  ridiculous  applied  to  a  man  who  had  freed  four  millions  of 
slaves,  and  prepared  the  way  to  freedom  for  the  three  millions  more  in  the 
Spanish  colonies  and  Brazil,  and  inaugurated  the  era  of  universal  emancipation 
of  the  races,  which,  like  the  fellahs  of  Egypt  and  parias  of  India,  are  yet  the 
object  of  spoliation  by  more  powerful  races.  The  regeneration  even  of  Africa 
itself,  of  that  great  continent  which  is  the  affront  of  the  century,  will  be,  per 
haps,  one  of  the  consequences  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  North  America. 

If  the  emancipation  of  the  negroes  could  give  the  right,  not  to  a  fanatic  or 
inebriate,  but  to  a  slaveholder,  to  avenge  himself  by  murdering  the  liberator, 
what  right  would  not  the  being  enslaved  give  the  slave  against  the  master  ! 

If  the  assassination  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  could  find  an  excuse  with  the  slavery 
party,  with  what  show  of  justice  could  any  vengeance  be  lamented  which,  in 
the  name  of  a  whole  race  invoking  the  recollections  of  two  centuries  of  oppres 
sion,  the  negroes  should  now  take  on  their  ancient  spoilers?  What  good  was 
to  result  to  a  cause  already  fallen  in  the  opinions  and  consciences  of  men,  by 
the  assassination  of  a  single  man,  who  was  not  the  creator  but  simply  the  instru 
ment  of  an  idea  before  fixed  in  the  brain  of  all,  and  master  of  their  wills  ? 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is  dead,  but  his  work  is  finished  and  sealed  forever  with  the 
veneration  which  God  has  given  to  the  blood  of  martyrs.  He  who  was  yes 
terday  a  man,  is  to-day  an  apostle ;  he  who  was  the  centre  at  which  the  shots 
of  malice  and  hatred  were  aimed,  is  now  consecrated  by  the  sacrament  of  death; 
he  who  was  yesterday  a  power,  is  to-day  a  prestige,  sacred,  irresistible.  His 
voice  is  louder  and  more  potent  from  the  mansion  of  martyrs  than  from  the 


822  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Capitol,  and  the  cry  which  was  boldly  raised  among  the  living  is  mute  before 
the  majesty  of  the  tomb. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  passes  to  the  side  of  Washington — the  one  the  father, 
and  the  other  the  savior  of  a  great  nation.  The  traditions,  pure  and  stainless, 
of  the  early  times  of  the  republic,  broken  at  the  close  of  the  administration 
of  the  second  Adams,  were  restored  in  the  martyr  of  Ford's  theatre ;  and  the 
predominance  of  material  interests  which  has  heretofore  obscured  the  country 
of  Franklin,  will  abdicate  the  field  to  the  prelacy  of  moral  ideas,  of  justice,  of 
equality,  and  of  reparation. 

The  whip  has  dropped  from  the  hand  of  the  overseer;  the  blood-hound 
will  hunt  no  more  the  fugitive  slave  in  the  mangrove  swamps  of  the  Mississippi; 
the  hammer  of  the  auctioneer  of  negroes  has  struck  for  the  last  time  on  his 
platform,  and  its  hateful  sound  has  died  into  eternal  silence.  The  sacred  ties 
of  love  which  unite  the  hearts  of  slaves  will  not  again  be  broken  by  the  forced 
separation  of  husbands  and  wives,  parents  and  children.  The  unnatural  and 
infamous  consort  between  the  words  liberty  and  slavery  is  dissolved  forever; 
and  liberty  !  liberty  !  will  be  the  cry  which  shall  run  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific,  and  from  the  northern  lakes  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico. 

This  great  work  has  cost  a  great  price.  Humanity  will  have  to  mourn  yet 
for  many  years  to  come  the  horrors  of  that  civil  war ;  but  above  the  blood  of 
its  victims,  above  the  bones  of  its  dead,  above  the  ashes  of  desolate  hearths, 
will  arise  the  great  figure  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  as  the  most  acceptable  sacri 
fice  offered  by  the  nineteenth  century  in  expiation  of  the  great  crime  of  the 
sixteenth.  Above  all  the  anguish  and  tears  of  that  immense  hecatomb  will 
appear  the  shade  of  LINCOLN  as  the  symbol  of  hope  and  of  pardon. 


[Translated  from  El  Tiempo  de  Bogota  of  May  24,  18G5.] 
AN  AMERICAN  CALAMITY. ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

The  most  horrible  and  frightful  crime,  without  example  in  republican 
America,  has  just  been  perpetrated  in  Washington ;  a  crime  without  defence, 
excuse,  or  extenuation ;  a  crime  coldly  premeditated  and  coldly  executed,  as  a 
consequence  of  the  dark  political  plottings  of  the  leaders  of  a  ferocious  party ; 
of  that  party  which  opposes  throughout  the  world  every  principle  of  liberty, 
every  aspiration  of  independence,  all  progress  in  the  life  of  humanity.  The 
crime  committed  in  Washington  is  not  an  isolated  crime  engendered  by  the  spirit 
of  the  slavery  fanatic  to  the  point  of  putting  the  pistol  and  dagger  in  the  hands 
of  New  Ravaillacs.  No ;  the  crime  committed  in  Washington,  being  futile  for 
Hie  return  of  things  to  the  state  in  which  they  were  before  the  proclamation 
of  emancipation,  the  law  abolishing  slavery,  and  the  surrender  of  Richmond, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       823 

could  have  had  no  other  than  vengeance  for  its  object.  But  in  republics,  where 
the  killing  of  men  does  not  kill  ideas,  the  deatli  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  could  have  had  no 
ulterior  object  connected  with  the  war  or  the  re-establishment  of  slavery  in  the 
southern  States.  These  were  and  are  still  dead  questions.  The  object  of  re 
moving  Mr.  LINCOLN  and  Mr.  Seward  from  the  political  scenes  of  the  world  was 
more  distant,  of  greater  dimensions,  and  of  more  transcendent  consequences 
to  republican  America.  We  may  be  mistaken  in  our  fears,  but  we  catch  a  glim 
mering  from  the  dark  councils  of  the  despots  of  every  lineage  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  of  the  exterminating  thought  which  armed  the  assassins  of  the 
night  of  the  14th  of  April. 

LINCOLN  was  a  man  of  iron,  of  firm  will,  irresistible;  he  was  the  personi 
fication  of  the  liberal  idea  in  its  genuine  acceptation ;  he  was  beloved  by  his 
fellow-citizens,  and  sustained  by  the  statesmen  and  generals  of  the  greatest 
and  most  merited  renown  in  his  country ;  he  was  terrible,  in  fine,  but  not  a 
terror  to  the  conquered  confederates,  to  whom,  in  his  magnanimity,  he  had 
opened  his  arms  for  reconciliation;  but  he  was  a  terror  to  others — to  the  unwel 
come  invaders  of  Mexico,  to  the  enemies  of  republics  of  the  world  of  Columbus. 

There  may  be  temerity  in  our  conjectures,  but  the  idea,  the  fear,  the  sus 
picion,  arc  not  exclusively  ours.  Not  a  single  friend  who  has  casually  fallen  in 
our  way  that  does  not  harbor  them.  There  is  a  secret  instinct  in  men  which 
tells  them  from  whence  come  the  dangers  that  threaten  them,  and  rarely  are 
they  mistaken  in  listening  to  it. 

Mr.  Seward  was,  and  may  continue  to  be,  as  he  still  lives,  the  second 
person,  the  second  thought  of  LINCOLN — the  incarnation  with  him  of  the  liberal 
opinion  and  progress  of  his  country;  of  that  country  the  most  enlightened,  the 
richest,  the  most  indomitable,  the  most  powerful  of  the  earth  now  and  hence 
forward.  Seward  has  been  able  to  do  much  for  the  republican  liberty  of  the 
continent,  and  he  was  a  terror  also. 

But  they  are  sadly  mistaken  who  think  of  checking  in  the  United  States 
of  the  north  the  inevitable  course  of  events  long  since  marked  out  by  opinion, 
for  opinion  is  the  true  despotic  queen  of  the  American  Union.  It  wills  and 
does  everything  in  spite  of  those  who  govern.  There  the  people  command ; 
the  people  give  impulse  and  make  themselves  obeyed  by  their  chiefs  and 

leaders. 

******** 

We  cannot  but  feel  deeply  pained  and  an  indefinable  indignation  at  the 
sorrowful  event.  Sympathizing  for  four  years  past  with  Mr.  LINCOLN  and  his 
Secretary,  admiring  their  ability  and  patriotism,  we  are  overwhelmed  with  grief 
at  the  immense  loss,  which  is  a  loss  so  great  to  the  cause  of  America.  Our 
brothers  of  the  North  receive  our  deepest  and  most  sincere  condolence. 

If  LINCOLN  and  Seward  have  died,  their  glory,  their  splendid  glory,  sur 
vives  them;  and  that  glory  is  and  will  be  the  glory  of  a  gigantic  people. 


824  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

[Translated  from  El  Tiempo  do  Bogota  of  June  21,  1865.] 
OFFICIAL   MOURNING. 

To-day  lias  been  set  apart  for  the  purpose  of  honoring  officially  in  this  city 
the  memory  of  the  deceased  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
Incited  by  the  honorable  Allan  A.  Burton,  the  government  of  Colombia,  that 
of  the  State  of  Cundinamarca,  the  diplomatic  ministers,  and  the  members  of 
the  consular  body  residing  in  the  capital  of  the  republic,  have  raised  their  Hags 
at  half-mast,  as  a  manifestation  of  their  respect  and  admiration  for  the  illustrious 
dead,  and  the  sincere  affliction  caused  by  his  premature  death. 

It  appears  that  some  other  spontaneous  manifestations  of  sympathy  in 
honor  of  the  great  deceased  statesman  have  been  prepared  ;  but  be  these  what 
they  may,  the  honorable  Mr.  Allan  A,  Burton  must  be  convinced  already  that 
the  deplorable  loss  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  profoundly  wounded  the  Colombia 
people,  who  have  long  looked  to  him  as  the  bulwark  of  the  world  of  Columbus 
and  of  the  glories  of  democratic  America. 

(The  two  foregoing  articles  from  El  Tiempo  are  written  by  the  honor 
able  Mr.  Lleras,  ex-secretary  of  foreign  relations  and  late  chief  justice  of  the 
republic.) 


[Translation.] 

UNITED    STATES    OF   COLOMBIA — SOVEREIGN    STATE    OF   BOLIVAR — PRESIDENCY  OF 
THE  MUNICIPAL  COUNCIL  OF  THE  DISTRICT. 

No.  335.]  BANANQUILLA,  June  26,  1 865. 

SIR:  The  municipal  council,  at  its  session  of  the  17th  instant,  adopted  the 
printed  resolution,  duly  authenticated  by  its  secretary,  which  I  have  the  honor 
to  send  you  upon  that  unhappy  event,  the  death  of  the  citizen  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

In  fulfiling  this  most  honorable  duty  my  heart  is  overwhelmed  by  the 
greatest  and  most  glowing  pain,  which  can  only  be  felt  by  true  republicans  at 
the  sad  end  of  that  great  man. 

I  am  your  most  obsequent  servant, 

MANUEL  MOLINARES. 

The  VICE-CONSUL  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


RESOLUTION. 


The  municipal  council  of  Bananquilla,  faithful  interpreter  of  the  people  it 
represents,  declares  that  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  merited  the  sympathies  of 
society  for  his  eminent  services  lent  to  humanity,  by  returning  to  the  condition 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       825 

of  freemen  four  millions  of  beings  held  by  shameful  avarice  in  the  catalogue  of 
beasts,  condemned  to  labor  night  and  day  to  uphold  in  idleness  and  luxury 
their  oppressors. 

That  it  disapproves  and  condemns  the  horrifying  crime  committed  on  the 
14th  of  April  of  this  year  on  the  person  of  the  enlightened  citizen  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  by  the  treacherous  hand  of  the  partisans  of  the  traffic  in  human  flesh. 
That  the  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN*  is  touching  and  painful  to  the  people  of 
Bananquilla,  and  the  council  performs  a  duty  in  inscribing  this  resolution  on  its 
records  as  a  testimonial  to  his  memory. 

Let  this  be  communicated  to  whom  it  may  concern. 

MANUEL  MOLINARES,  President. 

RAFAEL  P.  FONNEGRA,  Vice- President. 

D.  MALABET. 

JUAN  DE  D.  ROCHA. 

JUAN  SANTRICH. 

JOSE  G.  NUBIO. 

MANUEL  PREN. 

J.  M.  DE  LA  PENA,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

Resolution  of  the  municipal  council  of  the  district  of  Corozal  to  the  memory 
of  the  illustrious  citizen  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America. 

COROZAL,  June  6,  1865. 

The  liberty  of  the  world  has  lost  its  most  fervent  defender,  civilization  its 
most  gallant  representative,  humanity  its  most  generous  protector,  the  American 
nation  a  type  of  civil  valor  and  heroic  self-denial  which  ought  to  characterize 
the  first  magistrate  of  a  republic,  the  principle  of  constitutionality  its  must 
enthusiastic  sustainer,  and  the  sympathetic  and  progressive  republic  of  the 
United  States  of  America  its  enlightened  son,  twice  called  to  guide  it — the 
citizen  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  who  died  on  the  15th  of  April  last,  at  the  hands  of 
men  who  prefer  vileness  and  degradation  to  human  liberty  and  independence. 

A  crime  of  such  magnitude  is  to  be  justly  execrated  by  this  generation  and 
consigned  to  posterity  as  an  act  without  parallel,  and  the  most  atrocious  in  the 
annals  of  nations. 


*  My  hand  refuses  to  translate  the  word  "  lefiador,"  as  it  was  intended.  It  is  here  used  with 
perfect  respect,  as  it  is  in  the  resolution  of  the  constituent  assembly  of  Bolivar,  where  I  translate 
it  ''  woodsman,"  at  the  expense  of  fidelity.  What  a  change  in  its  signification  from  I860  to  1865 ! 

ALLAN  A.  BURTON. 
104 


826  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Th(;  municipal  council  of  the  district  of  Corozal  participates  in  the  grief 
which  has  befallen  the  North  American  nation  in  the  solemn  moments  when 
that  extraordinary  man  was  waving  the  flag  of  his  country  in  triumph ;  and 
tender  the  expression  of  their  grief  at  so  unhappy  an  event  to  the  consul  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Bolivar,  through  the 
deputy  to  the  state  convention  for  this  province,  citizen  Juan  Manuel  Grau. 

Let  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  sent  to  1^e  secretary  general  of  state,  for 
the  information  of  the  executive  power,  and  two  copies  to  citizen  Grau,  that 
one  may  be  presented  to  the  American  consul. 

PEDRO  J.  DE  VIVERO  DE  LA  TORRE, 

President. 

AUGUSTIN  MOGOLLON,  Vice- President. 
JOSE  ANDRES  SIENA, 
J.  DE  LA  R.  TORRES, 

Councilmcn. 


[Translation.  ] 

UNITED  STATES  OF  COLOMBIA — SOVEREIGN    STATE  OF  BOLIVAK — THE    PRESIDENTE 

OF  THE  STATE. 

No.  27.]  CARTHAGENA,  May  12,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  sudden  and  violent  death  of  the  citizen  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  was  an  event  so  unhappy  that  it 
could  not  otherwise  than  have  produced  a  deep  sensation  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  of  this  capital,  justly  and  truly  expressed  in  the  resolution  of  the 
constituent  assembly,  which  the  undersigned  has  the  honor  to  send  to  your 
excellency,  duly  authenticated  by  the  secretary  general  of  the  state. 

In  performing  the  very  honorable  duty  of  serving  as  the  organ  for  com 
municating  this  resolution  to  your  excellency,  the  undersigned  obeys  one  of  the 
sincere  inspirations  of  his  heart  by  expressing  his  particular  grief  at  that  sad 
event,  whose  immense  magnitude,  arising  from  the  very  high  importance  of  the 
magistrate  and  citizen,  he  prays  Heaven  may  in  no  wise  affect  the  flattering 
future  of  the  great  republic. 

With  sentiments  of  the  most  distinguished  consideration  the  undersigned 
has  the  honor  to  subscribe  himself  his  excellency's  attentive  and  obedient 
servant, 

A.  GONZALEZ  CARAZO,  President. 

His  Excellency  ALLAN  A.  BURTON,  fyc.,  Sfc.,  $c. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       827 

Resolution  of  the  convention  of  the  sovereign  State  of  Bolivar  to  the  memory 
of  tlie  excellent  and  illustrious  citizen  Abraham  Lincoln,  twice  President  of 
the  United  States  of  America. 

The  convention  of  the  sovereign  State  of  Bolivar  recalls  with  profound 
feelings  of  gratitude  and  respect  the  great  and  eminent  services  rendered  to  the 
cause  of  liberty  and  independence  to  the  human  race,  and  particularly  to  the 
descendants  of  Ham,  the  populator  and  civilizer  of  Africa,  by  the  enlightened 
and  illustrious  citizen  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  who  was  twice  elected  President  of 
the  United  States  of  America. 

The  convention  laments,  with  tokens  of  public  mourning,  the  sad  event  of 
the  14th  of  April  last,  when  the  honest  and  upright  woodsman  was  assassi 
nated — a  man  who  by  industry  and  the  study  of  law  reached  the  high  position 
of  President  and  savior  of  the  American  Union,  by  the  votes  of  his  fellow- 
citizens — and  requests  the  towns,  as  well  as  the  inhabitants  of  the  State,  to 
organize  funeral  ceremonies  in  commemoration  of  the  unfortunate  event. 

Let  this  be  communicated  to  the  executive  power,  that  he  may  make  it 
known  to  the  town  authorities  of  the  State,  to  the  consul  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  this  city,  and  to  the  minister  of  that  nation  in  Bogota. 

CAKTHAGENA,  May  18,  1865. 


Moved  in  the  convention  by  the  following  members,  from  the  provinces  of 
Magangue,  Mompos,  Lorica,  Carmen,  Sincelejo,  Sabanalarga,  Baranquilla,  Chinu, 
Cartajena,  and  Corozal : 

C.  Benedeti,  R.  Santodomingo  Vila,  J.  D.  Carmen  Bula,  Francisco  de  P. 
Ribon,  Juan  N.  Ballesteros,  Fernando  Sanchez,  Ramon  Torres  Anjel,  Manuel 
C.  Bello,  Manuel  Espinosa,  Facundo  Madrid,  Pablo  Hernandez,  Manuel  M. 
Nunez,  jr.,  Pedro  A.  Polo,  Avelino  Manotas,  Jose"  Martin  Blanco,  J.  Anjel 
Benavides  Z.,  A.  Samper  Llanos,  M.  Antonio  Pineda,  Ignacio  Navas,  M.  M.  de 
Bustos,  Celso  de  la  Puente,  F.  G.  Carazo,  Juan  Manuel  Grau. 

The  above  resolution  was  unanimously  approved  by  the  members  present 
at  the  session  of  to-day. 

MANUEL  URUETA, 

Secretary  of  tlie  Convention. 

A  true  copy  :  ^ 

M.  AMADOR  FIERRO, 

Secretary  General  of  State. 


828  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

UNITED  STATES  OF  COLOMBIA — PRESIDENCY  OF  THE  SOVEREIGN  STATE  OF  PANAMA, 

No.  4. 

SIR  :  Your  note  of  yesterday,  imparting  to  me  the  official  information  of  the 
death  of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  would  have  produced  the  most  heartfelt  and  painful  feelings  of  sur 
prise,  if  I  had  not  already  become  aware  through  the  press,  by  private  letters, 
and  by  the  loud  and  public  expressions  of  sympathy  in  this  city,  of  this  most 
lamentable  occurrence. 

I  was,  sir,  one  of  the  first  to  receive  the  sad  news,  and  without  loss  of  time 
I  directed  the  flag  of  Colombia  to  be  unfurled  at  half-mast  for  the  period  of  one 
week,  to  demonstrate  the  lively  sympathy  with  which  will  be  received  the  news 
of  this  event  throughout  the  territory  under  my  jurisdiction,  as  well  as  the  rest 
of  this  republic. 

The  untimely  and  cruel  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  by  the  assassin's 
hand  is  a  great  calamity,  falling  not  alone  on  the  eminent  nation  of  whom  he 
was  the  chief,  but  also  upon  humanity  at  large,  who  must  and  will  yield  their 
tribute  of  admiration  to  the  eminent  virtue  which  adorned  the  illustrious  man. 
I  consider  myself  greatly  honored  in  uniting  my  voice  with  those  of  his  com 
patriots  who  so  sincerely  deplore  their  great  and  irreparable  loss. 

To-morrow  at  noon  I  shall,  in  union  with  the  principal  officers  of  the 
State,  comply  with  the  sad  duty  of  paying  you  a  visit  of  condolement  at  the 
lamentable  event. 

In  the  mean  time  permit  me  once  more  the  honor  of  subscribing  myself 
your  obedient  servant, 

JIL  COLUNJE. 

The  CONSUL  of  the  United  States  of  America. 


CONSUL  :  The  virtues  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  were  so  prominent,  that  the  news  of  his  tragic  death  could 
not  have  been  received  otherwise  than  with  feelings  of  sincere  sorrow. 

His  constancy  and  firmness  in  bringing  to  a  happy  end  one  of  the  greatest 
of  rebellions  of  the  civilized  world,  made  his  life  precious  and  inestimable  to  the 
American  nation,  which  deserves  the  sympathy  of  all  for  this  unfortunate  event. 

The  government  and  people  of  Peru  will  lament  this  deplorable  event, 
and  I  am  sure  will  be  filled  with  the  same  lively  sympathy  which  I  now  have 
the  honor  to  express  to  you,  in  replying  to  those  words  of  kindness  with  which 
you  have  honored  me  in  your  official  communication  of  yesterday. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       829 

Allow  me  to  offer  the  affectionate  consideration,  with  which  I  have  the 
honor  to  be,  your  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

MANUEL  GENERO  CARILLO, 

Peruvian  Consul. 
A.  R.  McKEE,  Esq., 

United  States  Consul. 


BRITISH  CONSULATE, 

Panama,  May  3,  18C5. 

MY  DEAR  COLLEAGUE  :  It  was  with  the  deepest  sorrow  that  I  learned  the 
death  of  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  by 
the  hand  of  an  assassin,  as  communicated  to  me  in  your  note  of  yesterday,  and 
I  take  the  liberty  of  expressing  to  you  my  respectful  sympathy  with  the  family 
and  friends  of  the  late  President,  and  with  the  government  and  people  of  the 
United  States,  in  their  bereavement,  a  sympathy  which  will  be  universally  felt 
all  over  the  world. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  my  dear  colleague,  yours,  faithfully, 

C.  A.  HENDERSON. 
Colonel  ALEXANDER  R.  McKEE, 

United  States  Consul,  Panama. 


UBUGUAY, 


[Translation.] 

MINISTRY  OF  FOREIGN  RELATIONS, 

Montevideo,  June  5,  1865. 

SIR  VICE-CONSUL  :  The  undersigned,  minister  of  foreign  relations,  has  the 
honor  to  inform  you  that  he  has  received  special  instructions  from  the  superior 
provisional  government  to  manifest  its  profound  sentiments,  and  the  part  they 
have  taken  in  the  just  mourning  produced  by  the  deplorable  loss  of  the  unfortu 
nate  President  LINCOLN,  whose  precious  existence  has  been  cut  short  by  the 
dagger  of  the  homicide. 

In  proof  whereof,  the  undersigned  accompanies  legalized  copy  of  (he 
decree  issued  by  the  superior  government,  that  you  may  transmit  the  same  to 
the  United  States. 

God  guard  you  many  years. 

C.  DE  CASTRO. 
CHARLES  PARSONS, 

Vice-  Consul  of  the  United  States. 


830  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

DEPARTMENT  OF  FOREIGN  RELATIONS, 

Montevideo,  June  3,  1865. 
DECREE. 

Whereas  a  most  horrid  crime  has  been  perpetrated  upon  the  person  of  the 
worthy  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States,  a  sister  republic,  to  the  sorrow 
of  its  inhabitants  and  regret  of  all  civilized  nations  of  the  world,  and  the  pro 
visional  government  wishing  to  make  a  public  demonstration  of  its  sentiments, 
resolves  and  decrees : 

ARTICLE  1.  At  sunrise,  on  the  5th  of  this  month,  the  national  flag  and  the 
United  States  flag  shall  be  hoisted  at  half-mast  on  the  fortress  of  San  Jose,  to 
remain  till  sunset,  and  cannons  shall  be  fired  every  half  hour  during  the  day. 

ART.  2.  The  national  flag  shall  be  hoisted  at  half-mast  from  sunrise  to 
sunset  on  all  the  public  departments  of  the  capital. 

ART.  3.  The  ministers  of  state  are  charged  with  the  execution  of  this 
decree  in  their  respective  departments. 

ART.  4.  Let  this  be  communicated,  published,  &c. 

FLORES. 

FRANCISCO  A.  VIDAL. 
JUAN  RAMON  GOMEZ. 
CARLOS  DE  CASTRO. 
LORENZO  BATTLE. 

A  true  copy : 

ALBERTO  FLANGINI, 

Chief  Official  of  Foreign  Relations. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  resident  in  the  city  of 
Montevideo,  held  at  the  residence  of  Dr.  Peter  Bourse,  No.  200  Calle  25  de 
Mayo,  on  the  7th  instant,  for  the  purpose  of  manifesting  their  profound  grief  at 
the  receipt  of  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  the  illustrious  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  and  of  testifying  their 
gratitude  to  the  government  of  this  republic  for  its  demonstrations  of  sympathy 
towards  the  American  nation,  after  some  discussion  regarding  the  objects  of  the 
meeting,  Dr.  Peter  Bourse  having  been  called  to  the  chair,  and  Mr.  B.  Whitman 
appointed  secretary  of  the  meeting,  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted: 

Whereas  we,  the  American  citizens  resident  in  Montevideo,  have  received 
the  melancholy  intelligence  which  places  beyond  doubt  the  sad  fact  of  the  assassi 
nation  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  our  country  :  Therefore, 

Resolved  1.  That,  as  loyal  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America,  we  sin 
cerely  lament  and  deplore  the  .untimely  death  of  our  late  President,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  whose  memory  we  revere  as  one  of  the  noblest  patriots  of  the  age. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       831 

Resolved  2.  That  we  tender  to  the  bereaved  family  of  our  beloved  President 
the  expressions  of  our  profound  grief  and  unlimited  sympathy. 

Resolved  3.  That  we  tender  our  heartfelt  thanks  to  the  provisional  govern 
ment  of  the  Oriental  republic  for  its  sympathy  with  us  in  our  cause  and  in  our 
bereavement,  as  expressed  in  the  public  official  demonstrations  of  grief,  by 
causing  the  national  and  American  flags  to  be  hoisted  at  half-mast  on  the  public 
offices  on  the  5th  instant,  and  half-hour  guns  to  be  fired  from  sunrise  to  sunset 
during  the  day. 

Resolved  4.  That  our  gratitude  is  also  due  to  the  public  press  of  this  city, 
which,  without  exception,  expressed  its  sorrow  and  indignation  at  the  fiendish 
deed  which  deprived  us  of  our  Chief  Magistrate,  and  also  placed  its  columns  in 
mourning  as  a  token  of  respect  to  the  illustrious  dead. 

Resolved  5.  That  we  thank  Almighty  God  for  preserving  to  us  the  life  of 
William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  and  at  the  same  time  we  extend  to  that 
eminent  statesman  our  sympathy  and  our  best  wishes  for  his  speedy  recovery. 

Resolved  6.  That  to  our  fellow-citizens  in  the  United  States  we  renew  our 
pledge  of  continued  and  unfaltering  fidelity  to  the  Union  and  to  the  federal  gov 
ernment  as  constitutionally  organized  at  Washington. 

Resolved  1.  That  three  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  presented  to  the  consul 
of  the  United  States  in  this  city,  with  a  request  that  one  copy  be  forwarded  to 
the  bereaved  family,  one  to  the  Department  of  State  at  Washington,  and  one 
to  the  provisional  government  of  the  Oriental  republic. 

Resolved  8.  That  these  resolutions  be  published  in  the  daily  papers  of  this 
city,  in  the  Standard  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  be  also  forwarded  to  the  United 
States  for  publication. 

PETER  BOURSE,  Chairman. 

B.  WHITMAN,  Secretary. 

MONTEVIDEO,  June  9,  1865. 


VENEZUELA. 


[Translation.] 

UNITED  STATES  OP  VENEZUELA — DEPARTMENT  OF  FOREIGN  RELATIONS CENTRAL 

BUREAU,  NO.  10(>. 

CARACAS,  second  year  of  the  Law  and  seventh  of 

the  Confederation,  June  2,  1865. 

CITIZEN  MINISTER  :  I  have  read  to  the  citizen  the  first  designated  in  the 
exercise  of  the  presidency  of  the  republic  a  note  which  the  legation  of  the 
United  States  of  America  addressed  to  this  department  on  the  31st  of  May, 


832  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

and  in  which  it  communicates  already,  and  upon  official  information,  the  assassin 
ation  of  the  President  of  that  nation,  the  wounds  inflicted  upon  the  Secretary 
and  his  Assistant,  mid  the  entrance  of  the  Vice-President  upon  the  functions 
of  the  executive  power. 

On  replying  to  you,  and  according  to  the  orders  which  I  have  received,  I 
must  bear  in  mind  that  your  legation,  understanding  perfectly  the  spirit  of  its 
instructions,  and  interpreting  with  fidelity  the  sentiments  and  principles  of 
the  government  of  the  republic,  anticipated  of  its  own  motion,  at  the  earliest 
opportunity,  the  taking  of  a  part  in  the  mourning  produced  by  the  immense 
misfortune ;  and  upon  the  arrival  here  of  this  information,  the  government 
commissioned  me  to  make  a  visit,  in  its  name,  to  Mr.  Culver,  at  which  I  should 
make  known  the  grief  and  horror  with  which  it  had  learned  the  very  afflicting 
event. 

Now  the  citizen  President  ad  interim  has  ordered  the  sympathies  of  the 
people  and  government  of  Venezuela  to  be  reiterated  to  the  United  States  of 
America  for  the  loss  it  has  just  experienced.  Those  crimes,  atrocious  in  all 
their  circumstances,  and  which  demonstrate  on  the  part  of  their  authors  the 
extremity  of  wickedness ;  unavailing  to  the  object  which  they  propose  to  them 
selves,  if  any  ;  always  condemned  by  universal  opinion,  even  when  they  may 
seem  pardonable  by  causes  of  great  magnitude,  acquire  extraordinary  proportions 
on  this  occasion,  in  which  a  virtuous  man,  tenacious  of  the  fulfilment  of  his 
duty,  and  who  triumphantly  sustained  the  cause  of  the  Union  and  the  extirpa 
tion  of  slavery  in  the  great  democracy  of  the  New  World,  fell  by  the  hands  of 
an  infamous  perfidy.  Formed  by  himself  in  the  practical  school  of  life,  and 
amidst  the  severities  of  fate,  his  deserts  were  the  result  of  his  own  effort,  and 
through  them  he  twice  reached  the  presidency  of  the  American  federation. 
The  integrity,  the  moderation,  the  energy  with  which  he  discharged  that  office 
in  the  most  calamitous  times  of  his  country,  contending  with  obstacles  of  every 
kind,  which  his  sagacity  foresaw  and  his  ability  overcame,  will  ever  do  honor 
to  his  political  qualities  and  to  the  country  which  produces  such  men ;  and  his 
opinions,  permanently  inimical  to  slavery,  which  in  the  end  he  succeeded  in 
seeing  suppressed  by  a  constitutional  amendment  now  very  nearly  consum 
mated,  place  him  among  the  benefactors  of  his  fellow-creatures.  All  these 
talents,  if.  on  the  one  hand,  they  assign  to  him  an  eminent  position  in  the  esti 
mation  of  his  contemporaries  and  of  posterity,  on  the  other  hand  but  redouble 
the  grief  of  his  death,  and  of  the  attempt  which,  adding  to  the  injuries  of  nature 
those  of  human  wickedness,  increased  the  dangers  of  the  wise  statesman  who, 
in  so  high  a  degree,  was  the  sharer  of  his  toil  and  measures,  and  which  were 
extended  even  to  his  Assistant  Secretary. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  of  Venezuela,  which,  scarcely  installed, 
commissioned  a  minister  to  Washington  to  represent  the  sympathies  of  this  fed 
eration  to  that  of  the  north,  during  the  cruel  trials  through  which  it  was  pass- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       833 

• 

ing,  by  using  its  efforts  to  cultivate  the  friendship  and  multiplying  the  rela 
tions  of  both  countries,  proves  itself  faithful  to  its  antecedents,  if  it  to-day 
equally  participates  in  the  grief  of  that  nation  for  the  loss  of  its  President, 
snatched  from  life  when  about  to  reach  the  end  of  his  hopes  and  toils,  and 
condemns  an  offence  which  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  present  generation 
will  transmit  to  the  future  ones  under  the  appellation  of  execrable. 

Furthermore,  Venezuela  feels  assured  that  the  United  States,  whose  robust 
vitality  events  so  grave  and  unexpected  have  not  been  able  to  curtail  in  the 
least  degree,  will  thus  continue  in  their  career  of  greatness  and  glory,  under 
the  enlightened  guidance  of  him  who,  through  the  confidence  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  was  named  to  take  the  place  of  the  President  in  certain  cases.  The 
government  of  Venezuela,  while  it  conveys  to  him  these  wishes,  will  at  the 
same  time  consider  it  a  very  agreeable  duty  to  maintain  the  good  understanding 
which  existed  during  the  administration  of  his  predecessor. 

You  will  be  pleased  to  communicate  to  the  honorable  Secretary  of  State 
the  present  note,  which,  as  you  see,  approves  of  the  one  which  your  legation 
addressed  to  him  voluntarily  on  the  same  subject. 

God  and -the  federation! 

RAFAEL  SEIJAS. 

A  true  copy : 

F.  RIBAS,  Secretary. 


[Translation.] 

No.  181.]  CARACAS,  second  year  of  the  Law  and  seventh 

of  Federation,  July  20,  1865. 

The  undersigned,  minister  of  the  department  of  foreign  affairs  of  the  United 
States  of  Venezuela,  replies  to  the  note  of  the  17th  instant,  in  which  the  hon 
orable  minister  resident  is  pleased  to  communicate  to  the  government  of 
Venezuela  the  fact  that  his  Excellency  William  II.  Seward  had  so  far  recov 
ered  from  his  wounds  as  to  have  resumed  the  discharge  of  his  duties  at  the 
head  of  the  Department  of  State. 

This  most  welcome  intelligence  has  gratified  extremely  the  citizen  Presi 
dent  of  the  republic,  and  for  the  same  he  congratulates  also  the  people  and 
government  of  the  United  States,  not  less  than  its  representative  in  Caracas. 

The  far-seeing  statesman  who  has  contributed  so  largely  to  obviate  the 
effects  of  the  insurrection  which  at  one  time  threatened  to  destroy  the  United 
States,  and  completely  subdue  that  rebellion,  is  doubtless  one  of  the  men  best 
fitted  for  carrying  to  perfection  the  plan  which  the  late  unfortunate  President 
conceived  with  such  matchless  good  sense,  and  which  embraced  not  only  the 
measures  of  overcoming  the  partisans  of  separation,  but  also  the  means  of 
assuring  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  Union,  to  which  the  marvellous  advance 


834  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

• 

of  the  country  is  due,  and  whereby  that  country,  fully  recovered  from  the  great 
evils  of  the  war,  will  return  to  occupy  in  the  world  the  elevated  position  to 
which  she  is  entitled. 

It  is  gratifying,  moreover,  to  perceive  that  the  hopes  of  new  calamities 
which  the  assassination  was  to  fasten  on  the  country  have  all  been  frustrated, 
while  the  preservation  of  the  associate  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  his  return  to  the 
Department  of  State,  must  now  become  the  sting  and  punishment  of  those  who 
attempted  his  life. 

Such,  in  brief,  are  the  sentiments  of  the  government,  and  such  those  of 
the  undersigned,  and  in  communicating  them  to  Mr.  Culver  he  begs  to  renew 
to  him  the  protests  of  assurance  of  distinguished  consideration. 

RAFAEL  SIEJAS. 

Mr.  E.  E.  CULVER,  fyc ,  &fc.,  Sfc. 


[Translation.] 

LEGATION  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES  OP  VENEZUELA, 

New  York,  35  West  Thirty-third  street,  Second  year  of  the 
Constitution  and  seventh  of  Independence,  April  16,  1865. 

SIR  :  1  was  lulled  by  the  most  flattering  hopes  for  the  termination  of  the 
civil  wrar  that  threatened  to  sever  this  great  republic,  when  the  echo  of  the 
people's  lamentation  brought  to  my  ears  the  sad  news  of  the  most  horrid  crime 
that  perverse  humanity  ever  committed  upon  earth. 

The  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  of  his  Prime 
Secretary  at  a  time  when  the  cabinet  was  applying  the  balm  of  generosity  and 
clemency  to  the  wounds  that  perverted  reason  had  inflicted  upon  the  bosom  of 
the  country,  is  a  crime  unheard  of  and  unexampled  in  the  history  of  the  world. 

The  grief  which  that  crime  has  caused  my  heart  is  as  intense  as  the  afflic 
tion  of  the  American  people  for  the  loss  of  their  second  benefactor,  the  eminent 
magistrate  who  has  guided  the  ship  of  state  through  the  most  critical  storm  of 
its  national  existence,  with  so  much  patriotism,  intelligence,  and  abnegation. 

And  the  sorrow  of  the  government  and  people  I  represent  will  be  equally 
as  great  when  they  receive  the  news  of  the  horrid  event  that  has  just  cast  the 
gloom  of  mourning  over  the  nation  to  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  accredited. 

Please  receive  for  yourself,  and  communicate  to  his  Excellency  the  Presi 
dent,  Mr.  Andrew  Johnson,  my  most  sincere  condolence  for  the  death  of  that 
excellent  man  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  whose  great  virtues  have  enshrined  him  in 
the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  by  the  side  of  the  father  of  his  country. 

With  sentiments  of  the  most  high  consideration,  I  have  the  honor  to  remain 

vour  attentive  and  most  obedient  servant, 

B.  BRUZUAL. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER,  Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       835 

[Translation.  1 

LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  VENEZUELA, 

New  York,  35  West  Thirty-third  street,  April  17,  18G5, 
Second  year  of  the  Constitution  and  seventh  of  Federation. 

SIR  :  I  have  just  received  your  note  of  the  15th  instant,  informing  me  of 
the  great  misfortune  that  has  put  an  end  to  the  important  existence  of  that  most 
excellent  man,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  brought  the  Hon.  William  H.  Seward, 
Secretary  of  State,  and  Mr.  Frederick  W.  Seward,  Assistant  Secretary,  to  a 
bed  of  pain  and  suffering.  A  note  of  condolence,  on  account  of  this  horrid  and 
lamentable  event,  was  sent  to  you  yesterday  by  me. 

You  also  inform  me  that  the  Hon.  Andrew  Johnson  has  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  the  presidency,  and  has  appointed  you  Secretary  of  State  pro  tempore. 
I  am  sure  that  judgment,  reason,  and  benignity  will  form  the  torch  to  illuminate 
the  administration  of  the  new  President  and  guide  him  in  the  terrible  crisis 
through  which  the  republic  must  pass. 

I  embrace  the  occasion  to  repeat  to  you  the  sentiments  of  consideration 

with  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  humble  servant, 

13.  BRUZUAL. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


Mr.  Culver  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  113.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Caracas,  May  8,  1865. 

SIR  :  It  was  but  yesterday  that  the  mournful  intelligence  readied  Vene 
zuela  of  the  death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  critical 
condition  of  yourself  and  son,  by  reason  of  violence  at  the  hands  of  an  assassin. 
The  entire  community  was  shocked  at  the  intelligence,  while  the  grief  at  the 
death  of  the  President  is  profound,  and  the  solicitude  for  yourself  is  universal. 
The  Acting  President  here,  General  Guzman,  and  his  minister  of  foreign  affairs, 
Mr.  Scijas,  have  been  pleased  to  express  themselves  in  terms  of  tcnderest  sym 
pathy  for  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  this  their  hour  of  affliction. 

Our  news  only  reaches  to  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  April.  Of  course 
we  can  know  nothing  of  the  effect  produced  by,  or  the  agencies  that  contributed 
to,  this  terrible  calamity.  As  I  have  received  no  official  notice  of  the  event,  I 
have  not  thought  proper  to  bring  it  officially  to  the  notice  of  this  government. 
I  shall  await  with  painful  and  mournful  anxiety  the  receipt  of  despatches  of  a 
date  subsequent  to  the  sad  event.  My  own  feelings  are  too  much  saddened 
and  overwhelmed  to  add  more. 


836  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

I  beg  the  department  will  accept  the  assurances  of  my  deepest  sympathy 
for  its  distinguished  head  in  the  afflictions  visited  upon  him  and  upon  the  nation. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

E.  D.  CULVER. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD,  Secretary  of  State. 


Mr.  Culver  to  Mr.  Hunter. 

[Extract.] 

No.  116.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Caracas,  June  3,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  despatches  Nos. 
104  and  105,  together  with  copies  of  the  proclamations  enclosed  in  the  latter. 

I  have  lost  no  time  in  communicating  officially  to  the  government  of  Vene 
zuela  the  melancholy  intelligence  conveyed  in  your 'No.  104,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  I  shall,  at  the  proper  time,  receive  the  appropriate  reply. 

Deep  sorrow  pervades  the  hearts  of  all  loyal  Americans  residing  here, 
and  sincere  sympathy  seems  everywhere  to  be  expressed  in  Venezuela  for  the 
people  of  the  United  States. 

Suitable  demonstrations  of  mourning  have  been  made  at  the  different 
consulates  and  at  the  legation. 

Since  commencing  this  despatch  I  am  gratified  to  say  the  minister  of 
foreign  affairs  has  called  upon  me  to  say  that  he  came,  by  special  order  of  his 
government,  to  express  to  me  verbally,  what  he  is  preparing  to  do  in  writing, 
the  deep  sorrow  and  sympathy  felt  by  the  President  and  people  of  Venezuela 
for  the  people  of  the  United  States,  by  reason  of  the  death  of  their  President. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  sentiments  of  highest  respect,  your  obedient 

servant, 

E.  D.  CULVER. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER,  Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


WtJKTEMBERG. 


Mr.  Von  Bierwirth  to  Mr.  Seward. 

CONSULATE  GENERAL  OF  WURTEMBERG, 

New  York,  June  2,  1865. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  respectfully  to  submit  to  you  a  copy  of  a  letter 
received  this  day  from  his  excellency  Baron  de  Varnbuler,  minister  of  foreign 
affairs  of  his  Majesty  the  King  of  Wiirtemberg,  and  I  avail  myself  of  this 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       837 

opportunity  to  assure  you,  sir,  that  nobody  can  feel  greater  satisfaction  than  the 
undersigned  at  your  recovery  from  the  assassin's  blow.  The  feeling  of  horror 
excited  by  the  assault  upon  your  life  was  as  general  and  as  strong  as  the  con 
sternation  at  the  atrocious  murder  of  the  good  President,  and  as  general  and 
sincere  are  the  wishes  for  your  restoration  to  perfect  health. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

LEOPOLD  BIERWIRTII, 

Consul  General  of  Wiirtemberg. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD,  Secretary  of  State. 


[Translation.] 

STUTTGART,  May  9,  1865. 

SIR:  I  thank  you  for  your  despatches  of  the  15th  and  20th  ultimo,  in 
relation  to  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  ABRA 
HAM  LINCOLN.  This  deplorable  event  has  called  forth  from  the  people  of 
Wiirtemburg,  as  it  has  done  elsewhere,  the  greatest  consternation  and  sincercst 
sympathy,  and  his  Majesty  the  King,  himself  most  painfully  affected  by  the 
atrocious  deed,  has,  immediately  after  the  receipt  of  the  news  thereof,  gra 
ciously  commissioned  me  to  express  for  himself  and  in  the  name  of  his  govern 
ment,  to  the  present  representative  of  the  United  States,  Consul  Klauprecht, 
their  sincere  condolence  in  the  great  loss  which,  in  this  death,  the  United  States 
and  the  entire  civilized  world  have  sustained,  a  commission  which  I  have  lost 
no  time  to  execute. 

Requesting  you  to  make  the  proper  use  of  this  communication,  I  avail 
myself,  &c. 

VARNBULER,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

LEOPOLD  BIERWIRTH,  Consul  General  of  Wiirtemberg. 


[Translation.] 
CHAMBER  OF  DEPUTIES. 

[Extract  from  the  records  of  the  session  of  April  29,  1865.] 

Address  of  the  President  to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  report  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  North 
American  republic,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  is  now  confirmed.  Trusting  that  the 
whole  Chamber  stand  united  in  their  judgment  on  this  political  murder,  and 
that  I  meet  the  sentiment  of  all  of  you,  I  request  you  to  rise  from  your  seats 
in  proof  of  your  sympathy  with  this  disaster  that  befell  not  alone  America,  but 
which  concerns  the  whole  civilized  world. 

The  members  rise  from  their  seats. 


838  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

UNITED  STATES  OF  AMEEICA, 


IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

December  18,  1865. 

Whereas  the  melancholy  event  of  the  violent  and  tragic  death  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States,  having  occurred  during  the  recess 
of  Congress,  and  the  two  houses  sharing  in  the  general  grief,  and  desiring  to 
manifest  their  sensibility  upon  the  occasion  of  the  public  bereavement:  There 
fore, 

Be  it  resolved  by  the  Senate,  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring,) 
That  the  two  houses  of  Congress  will  assemble  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  on  Monday,  the  12th  day  of  February  next,  that  being  his  anni 
versary  birth  day,  at  the  hour  of  12  meridian ;  and  that  in  the  presence  of  the 
two  houses  then  assembled  an  address  upon  the  life  and  character  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States,  be  pronounced  by  the  honorable 
Edwin  M.  Stanton,  and  that  the  President  of  the  Senate  pro  tempore  and  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  be  requested  to  invite  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  the  heads  of  the  several  departments,  the  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  the  representatives  of  foreign  governments  near  this  govern 
ment,  and  such  officers  of  the  army  and  navy  as  have  received  the  thanks  of 
Congress,  who  may  then  be  at  the  seat  of  government,  to  be  present  on  the 
occasion. 

And  be  it  further  resolved,  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be 
requested  to  transmit  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  to  assure 
her  of  the  profound  sympathy  of  the  two  houses  of  Congress  for  her  deep 
personal  affliction,  and  of  their  sincere  condolence  for  the  late  national  bereave 
ment. 

Attest:  J.  W.  FORNEY,  Secretary. 


IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  UNITED  STATES, 

December  18,  1865. 

Resolved,  That  the  House  concur  in  the  foregoing  resolution  that  the  two 
houses  of  Congress  will  assemble  in  the  hall  of  Representatives  on  Monday, 
the  12th  day  of  February  next,  being  the  anniversary  of  the  birthday  of  the 
late  President,  to  hear  an  address  upon  his  life  and  character,  and  participate 
in  such  other  commemorative  exercises  as  may  be  proper  on  that  occasion, 
recited  in  said  resolution. 

Attest:  EDWARD  McPHERSON,  Clerk. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY. 


839 


Official  arrangements  at  Washington  for  the  funeral  solemnities  of  the,  late 
Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States,  who  died  at  (lie  neat  of 
government  on  Saturday,  the  ~\.5th  (lay  of  April,  1865. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  ADJUTANT  GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 

Washington,  April  17,  18G5. 
The  following  order  of  arrangement  is  directed : 

ORDER  OF  THE  PRCESS10N. 

FUNERAL  ESCOET,  IN  COLUMN  OF  MARCH. 

One  Regiment  of  Cavalry. 
Two  Batteries  of  Artillery. 

Battalion  of  Marines. 

Two  regiments  of  Infantry. 

Commander  of  Escort  and  Staff. 

Dismounted  officers  of  Marine  Corps,  Navy,  and  Army,  in  the  order  named. 

Mounted  Officers  of  Marine  Corps,  Navy,  and  Army,  in  the  order  named. 

All  military  officers  to  be  in  uniform,  with  side-arms. 


CIVIC   PROCESSION. 


Marshal. 

Clergy  in  attendance. 
The  Surgeon  General  of  the  United  States  army  and  physicians  to  the  deceased. 


PALL-BEARERS. 


On  flu;  part  of  the  Senate. 

Mr.  FOSTER,  of  Connecticut. 
Mr.  MORGAN,  of  New  York. 
Mr.  JOHNSON',  of  Maryland. 
Mr.  YATES,  of  Illinois. 
Mr.  WADE,  of  Ohio. 
Mr.  CONNESS,  of  California. 

Army. 

Lieutenant  General  U.  S.  GRANT. 

Major  General  II.  \V.  HALLECK. 

Brevet  Brigadier  General  W.  A.  NICHOLS. 


a 
02 


w 


FALL-BEAR  i;i:s. 


On  tltc  part  of  (Jtc  House. 

Mr.  DAWES,  of  Massachusetts. 
Mr.  COFFROTII,  of  Pennsylvania. 
Mr.  SMITH,  of  Kentucky. 
Mr.  COLFAX,  of  Indiana. 
Mr.  AVoRTHiNGTON,  of  Nevada. 
Mr.  WASHBURN,  of  Illinois. 

Navy. 

Vice- Admiral  D.  G.  FARRAGUT 
Rear-Admiral  W.  B.  SHUBRICK. 
Colonel  JACOB  ZEILIN,  Marino  Corps. 


Civilians. 


O.  II.  BROWNING. 
GEORGE  ASHMON. 


THOMAS  CORWIN. 
SIMON  CAMERON. 


840  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Family. 

Relatives. 

The  Delegations  of  the  States  of  Illinois  and  Kentucky,  ns  mourners. 

The  President. 
The  Cabinet  Ministers. 
The  Diplomatic  Corps. 

Ex-Presidents. 
The  Chief  Justice, 

And  Associate  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

The  Senate  of  the  United  States,  preceded  by  their  officers. 

Members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States. 

Governors  of  the  several  States  and  Territories. 

Legislatures  of  the  several  States  and  Territories. 

The  Federal  Judiciary, 

And  the  Judiciary  of  the  several  States  and  Territories. 

The  Assistant  Secretaries  of  State,  Treasury,  War,  Navy,  Interior,  and  the 

Assistant  Postmasters  General,  and  the 

Assistant  Attorney  General. 
Officers  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

The  members  and  officers  of  the  Sanitary  and  Christian  Commissions. 
Corporate  Authorities  of  Washington,  Georgetown,  and  other  cities. 

Delegations  of  the  several  States. 

The  Reverend  the  Clergy  of  the  various  denominations. 

The  clerks  and  employes  of  the  several  departments  and  bureaus, 

Preceded  by  the  heads  of  such  bureaus  and  their  respective  chief  clerks. 

Such  societies  as  may  wish  to  join  the  procession. 

Citizens  and  strangers. 

The  troops  designated  to  form  the  escort  will  assemble  in  the  avenue, 
north  of  the  President's  house,  and  form  line  precisely  at  11  o'clock  a.  m.,  on 
Wednesday,  the  19th  instant,  with  the  left  resting  on  Fifteenth  street.  The 
procession  will  move  precisely  at  2  o'clock  p.  m.,  on  the  conclusion  of  the  reli 
gious  services  at  the  Executive  Mansion,  (appointed  to  commence  at  12  o'clock, 
meridian,)  when  minute  guns  will  be  fired  by  detachments  of  artillery,  stationed 
at  St.  John's  church,  the  City  Hall,  and  at  the  Capitol.  At  the  same  hour  the 
bells  of  the  several  churches  in  AVashington,  Georgetown,  and  Alexandria  will 
be  tolled. 

At  sunrise  on  "Wednesday,  the  19th  instant,  a  federal  salute  will  be  fired 
from  the  military  stations  in  the  vicinity  of  Washington,  minute-guns  between 
the  hours  of  twelve  and  three  o'clock,  and  a  national  salute  at  the  setting  of 
the  sun. 

The  usual  badge  of  mourning  will  be  worn  on  the  left  arm  and  on  the  hilt 
of  the  sword. 

By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War : 

W.  A.  NICHOLS, 
Assistant  Adjutant  General. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  841 

HEADQUARTERS  ALBANY  ZOUAVE  CADETS, 
Co.  A,  Wth  Jteg'f  N.  G. S.N.  Y.,  Albany, N.  K,  April  18, 18G5. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  this  organization,  held  this  evening,  the  following 
expression  of  its  sentiments  was  unanimously  adopted: 

A  strong  column  in  the  nation's  defence  is  fallen !  Liberty  mourns  a 
champion — humanity  a  friend.  The  great  head  of  the  republic  has  passed 
away ;  and  as  citizens  and  soldiers  we  desire  to  publicly  record  our  sorrow  and 
give  expression  to  the  admiration  we  cherish  for  the  spotless  purity  of  the 
character  of  the  departed,  the  singular  originality  of  his  mind,  the  firmness  of 
his  resolution,  the  courage  of  his  temper,  and  the  success  which  has  crowned 
his  efforts  to  preserve  unimpaired  the  integrity  of  our  federal  Union.  We 
solemnly  renew  our  allegiance  to  the  sacred  cause  for  which  he  died,  and  pledge 
ourselves  to  cherish  in  grateful  remembrance  the  virtues  lie  illustrated  and  the 
principles  of  government  he  held  so  dear. 

"Nothing  can  cover  his  high  fame  but  heaven; 
No  pyramid  set  off  his  memory 
But  the  eternal  substance  of  his  greatness." 

In  his  life,  without  a  stain  or  blemish  to  disfigure  his  private  fame,  he  was 
crowned  with  glory  in  his  public  career ;  through  every  casualty  and  round  of 
action  he  stood  a  model  and  exemplar  to  the  human  race.  In  the  disinterested 
ness  of  his  acts,  the  nobleness  of  his  designs,  and  purity  of  his  motives,  he  stands 
without  a  rival  or  an  equal — ornatus  Dei.  The  unrivalled  accuracy  of  his 
judgment  is  demonstrated  in  the  extraordinary  success  of  his  eventful  career. 
Knowing  the  power  of  truth,  he  renewed  his  strength  day  by  day  with  the 
consciousness  of  being  right.  Without  a  doubt  of  the  issue — placing  entire 
confidence  in  the  strong  arm  which  had  upheld  the  nation  through  a  succession 
of  dangers  and  disasters,  aided  by  the  prayers  and  support  of  millions  scattered 
all  over  the  world — he  pushed  on  unerringly  in  his  great  purpose,  and  was 
enabled  to  see  the  dawn  of  universal  victory  and  peace.  Alas!  that  the  bright 
dream  of  reconciliation  and  restored  brotherhood  should  be  disturbed  and  the 
page  of  history  contain  the  recital  of  the  "taking  off"  of  a  character  so  benefi 
cent,  so  firm,  and  so  mild,  so  enthusiastic  and  yet  so  rational.  "Wherever 
among  men  a  heart  shall  be  found  that  beats  to  the  transports  of  patriotism  and 
liberty,  its  aspiration  shall  be  txvclaim  kindred  with  thy  spirit." 

To  his  family  and  friends,  upon  whom  this  affliction  falls  so  heavily,  we 
would  give  assurance  of  our  heartfelt  sympathy,  with  the  hope  that  the  Divine 
Comforter  may  pour  His  healing  balm  into  their  hearts. 

The  usual  badge  of  mourning  is  assumed  for  the  period  of  sixty  days. 
L.  IT.  LENNOX,  Captain.  WM.  A.  HAMILTON, 

D.  8.  BEXTON,  }*t  Lieutenant.  WM.  II.  BUUHAXS,    .    ,, 

H.  M.  WATSON,  2d  Lieutenant.          0.  C.  NICHOLS, 
A.  McllOBERTS,  Onlerly  Sergeant.      J.  H.  HASWELL, 
10G 


842  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

To  the  honorable  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  United  States  of 

America. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  of  the  city  of  Albany,  State  of  New  York,  the  following  expression 
was  adopted  with  reference  to  the  rece-nt  national  calamity : 

I.  God  has  laid  his  hand  on  us,  as  a  nation,  sorely,  in  removing  by  a  sud 
den  and  terrible  death  our  beloved  Chief  Magistrate,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.     We 
bow  beneath  the  stroke  with  resignation,  yet  with  deep  sorrow.     We  suppli 
cate  His  grace  to  sanctify  the  mysterious  dispensation  to  our  people,  that  we 
may  be  enabled  to  look  unto  Him  in  the  hour  of  darkness,  and  confide  the 
interests  of  this  great  nation  to  His  paternal  care. 

II.  The  hand  of  the  assassin  has  sought  also  to  lay  low  the  President's 
chief  adviser,  William  II.  Seward,  the  honored  son  of  our  own  State.     We  see 
in  these  crimes  the  legitimate  fruit  of  that  treason  whose  seed  was  planted  in 
secession,  and  whose  growth  it  has  cost  the  nation  four  years  of  bitter  struggle 
to  uproot.     We  believe  that  God  has  a  great  work   for  Christians  to  do,  in 
educating  the  rising  generation  to  right  sentiments  of  loyalty  to  our  government 
and  its  free  institutions. 

III.  As  members  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  we  renew  to 
President  Johnson  the  pledge  we  made  to  his  lamented  predecessor.     We  will 
pray  God  to   sustain  him  in  the  arduous  duties  of  his  office,  and  give  him 
wisdom  so  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the  government  in  this  time  of  peculiar  per 
plexity,  that  our  nation's  integrity  may  be  secured,  and  peace  in  righteousness 

once  more  smile  on  our  land. 

JOHN.  E.  PAGE,  President. 

JAMES  II.  THOMAS,  Secretary. 


ALBANY   YOUNG   MEN  8   ASSOCIATION. 


At  a  meeting  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Young  Men's  Association 
held  at  their  rooms,  April  17,  1865,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were 
unanimously  adopted : 

Whereas,  in  the  very  hour  of  our  restored  nationality,  after  the  complete 
and  glorious  triumph  of  our  armies,  at  a  time  when  perplexing  difficulties  of 
policy  were  vanishing  before  a  generous  and  magnanimous  statesmanship,  and 
when  the  glad  heart  of  the  country,  full  of  passionate  longing  for  reconciliation, 
was  about  to  find  expression  in  a  grand  jubilee  of  enthusiasm,  the  President  of 
the  United  States  and  the  Secretary  of  State  have  been  made  the  victims  of 
most  cruel  and  inhuman  assassins,  whereby  the  national  joy  is  turned  to  sadness, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       843 

and  the  white  robe  of  returning  peace  stained  by  a  crime  unparalleled  in  atrocity 
and  infamy  :  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  while  we  bow  in  submission  to  the  mysterious  dispensation 
of  Providence,  which  in  the  death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  has 
afflicted  our  country,  we  desire  to  express  the  grief  and  sorrow  that  fill  our 
hearts  in  this  our  national  bereavement,  and  our  detestation  of  the  crime  which, 
in  the  person  of  ABRAHAM  LIXCOLN,  was  perpetrated  upon  the  whole  nation. 

Resolved,  That  we  believe  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  as  a  ruler,  to  have  been 
governed  by  patriotic  motives  and  honesty  of  purpose  ;  and  when  we  remember 
that  in  the  darkest  days  he  never  despaired  of  the  republic,  but  in  the  last  acts 
of  his  life  showed  that  he  was  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  charity  and  conciliation 
toward  the  enemies  of  his  country,  the  exercise  of  which  gave  promise  of  the 
speedy  restoration  of  the  Union,  we  cannot  but  regard  his  sad  and  untimely 
death  as  a  misfortune  to  the  whole  country. 

Resolved,  That  the  wicked  murder  of  the  President  while  he  was  endeavor 
ing  to  force  obedience,  on  the  part  of  the  South,  to  the  laws  and  government  of 
our  common  country,  and  to  restore  peace  and  union  once  more  to  our  land,  has 
but  .strengthened  our  love  for  our  country,  and  given  us  renewed  assurances,  by 
the  common  sympathy  of  all  good  citizens,  that  the  Union  must  be  again  restored, 
and  the  national  authority  asserted  and  maintained  over  the  whole  land. 

Resolved,  That  the  rooms  of  the  association  be  draped  in  mourning,  as  a 
testimony  of  respect  to  the  deceased,  for  thirty  days,  and  this  committee,  and 
the  association  at  large,  will  unite  with  the  city  authorities  or  citizens  of  this 
city  in  solemnities  suitable  to  the  occasion. 

Resolved,  That  the  president  be,  and  is  hereby,  authorized  to  call  a  meeting 
of  the  members  of  the  association  and  make  the  necessary  arrangements  tor 
properly  attending  any  funeral  obsequies  of  the  late  President  of  the  United 
JStates,  or  otherwise  taking  part  in  the  day  set  apart  as  a  day  of  mourning  for 
our  national  bereavement. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  published  in  the  city  papers. 

FRANKLIN  EDSON, 
President  Young  Mf.n's  Association. 


Proceedings  of  the  city  council  of  Boston,  April  17,  18G5,  on  occasion  of  the 
death  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States. 

CITY  OF  BOSTON,  April  17, 18(J5. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  city  council  of  Boston  was  convened  at  12  o'clock 
this  day,  by  order  of  his  honor  Frederick  W.  Lincoln,  jr.,  mayor,  for  the  purpose 
of  expressing  their  respect  to  the  memory  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  late  Pres 
ident  of  the  United  States. 


844  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

PROCEEDINGS    OF    THE    BOAKD    OF    ALDERMEN. 

There  were  present  tit  this  meeting  the  mayor  and  all  the  aldermen. 
The  board  having  been  called  to  order  by  the   mayor,  the  following  pre 
amble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

RESOLVES. 

Whereas,  in  the  providence  of  God,  the  shadow  of  a  great  grief  is  now 
resting  on  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  the  sudden  death,  by  the  hand 
of  violence,  of  their  beloved  and  honored  Chief  Magistrate,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
now  officially  announced  to  the  city  council  by  his  honor  the  mayor :  Therefore, 
resolved — 

1.  That  in  this  early  hour  of  the  nation's   bereavement  and  sorrow,  the 
greatness  of  our  loss  cannot  be  adequately  expressed  by  words,  but  it  is  evinced 
by  the  unspoken  and  unutterable  language  of  the  heart,  and  the  tears  of  millions 
of  our  loyal  countrymen,  telling  how  truly  and  affectionately  he  who  was  from 
the  people  and  loved  the  people,  was  loved  by  them. 

2.  That  we  devoutly  thank  God  for  the  noble  work  our  loved  and  honored 
President  was  permitted  to  do  for  the  nation,  guiding  it  with  consummate 
sagacity  and  skill  through  the   most  difficult  epoch  of  its  existence ;  that  we 
recognize  especially  his  great  wisdom  and  foresight  in  issuing  his  proclamation 
of  emancipation,  which  will  entitle  him  to  the  gratitude  of  the  lovers  of  liberty 
throughout  the  world  in  all  future  ages,  and  give  him  a  place  in  his  country's 
lame  by  the  side  of  the  immortal  Washington. 

3.  That  we  accord  to  the  family  of  our  late  Chief  Magistrate  our  heartfelt 
and  tender  sympathy  in  their  irreparable  loss,  assuring  them  that  we  cherish  as 
one  of  our  country's  priceless  legacies  the  memory  of  him  whom  the  nation 
mourns. 

4.  That  the  atrocious  attempt  to  take  the  life  of  our  Secretary  of  State, 
the   honorable  William   II.  Seward,  and  the  assaults  on   the   members  of  his 
household,  have  excited  the  liveliest  interest  for  his  preservation,  and  we  trust 
that  his  life   may  long  be  spared,  and  his  valuable  counsels  continue  to  benefit 
his  country. 

5.  That  we  assure  President  Johnson  of  our  cordial  support  in  the  great 
task  devolved  upon  him  by  this  horrible  crime,  entreating  him  to  believe  that 
the  nation,  instructed  by  this  last  bitter  experience,  will  sustain  the  government 
more  unitedly  than  ever  in  vigorous  and  effective  measures  for  suppressing  a 
wicked  and  unnatural  rebellion,  in  meting  out  justice  to  all  its  abettors,  and 
securing  the  amplest  guarantees  for  peace  in  all  coming  time ;  trusting  that  he 
will  not  pause  until  every  seed  of  its  possible  life  is  destroyed,  and  our  whole 
country  rests  on  the  sure  basis  of  full  and  impartial  liberty. 

6.  That  as  a  proper  mark  of  respect,  Faneuil  Hall  and  the  City  Hall   be 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       845 

draped  in  mourning  for  the  period  of  thirty  days,  and  that  on  the  day  of  the, 
funeral  ceremonies  in  Washington  his  honor  the  mayor  order  all  public  offices, 
schools,  and  places  of  amusement  to  be  closed,  and  request  an  entire  suspension 
of  business  on  the  part  of  our  citizens. 

7.  That  a  delegation  from  the  city  government,  consisting  of  his  honor 
Mayor  Lincoln,  two  aldermen,  the  president  and  three  members  of  the  common 
council,  attend  the  obsequies  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States. 

8.  That  a  eulogy  on  the  character  and  services  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  be 
pronounced  before  the  city  government  at  an  early  da}',  and  that  a  joint  com 
mittee  be  appointed  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements. 

9.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  the  heads  of  the  different  departments  at  Washington,  and  the  family  of 
the  deceased. 

The  passage  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  having  been  advocated  by  Alder 
man  Nathaniel  C.  Nash,  with  some  appropriate  remarks,  they  were  unanimously 
adopted  by  the  board,  each  member  rising  in  his  place. 

The  Chair  having  appointed  Aldermen  John  S.  Tyler  and  Charles  F.  Dana 
as  a  committee,  in  behalf  of  this  board,  to  attend  the  funeral  obsequies  in  Wash 
ington;  and  Aldermen  George  W.  Messinger,  John  S.  Tyler,  and  Thomas 
Gaffield,  upon  the  committee  of  arrangements  for  a  eulogy  on  the  deceased,  as 
contemplated  in  the  eighth  resolve,  said  resolutions  were  sent  down  to  the 
common  council  for  concurrence,  and  the  board  of  aldermen  then  adjourned. 

Attest :  S.  F.  M.  CLEARY,  City  'Clerk 

PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  COMMON  COUNCIL. 

The  members  of  the  common  council  were  called  to  order  by  the  presi 
dent,  William  B.  Fowle,  esq.  The  message  of  the  mayor  having  been  read, 
the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  board  of  aldermen  were  then  submitted  to  the 
common  council.  Their  passage  by  this  branch  of  the  city  council  was  advo 
cated  by  Messrs.  Clement  Willis,  of  ward  8,  Joseph  Story,  of  ward  5,  Benjamin 
Dean,  of  ward  12,  and  Solomon  B.  Stebbins,  of  ward  10,  who  spoke  most 
earnestly  and  appropriately  on  the  subject.  The  resolutions  were  then  passed 
unanimously,  in  concurrence,  each  member  present  rising  in  his  place. 

The  Chair  appointed  Messrs.  Solomon  B.  Stebbins,  of  ward  10,  Benjamin 
Dean,  of  ward  12,  and  Moses  W.  Richardson,  of  ward  11,  delegates,  on  behalf 
of  the  common  council,  to  attend  the  funeral  obsequies  at  Washington,  and  the 
president  of  the  common  council,  together  with  Mr.  Joseph  Story,  of  ward  5, 
John  C.  Ilaynes,  of  ward  9,  Summer  Crosby,  of  ward  12,  William  D.  Park, 
of  ward  7,  and  Solomon  B.  Stebbins,  of  ward  10,  were  joined  to  the  committee 
of  arrangements  for  the  proposed  eulogy  on  the  illustrious  deceased. 

The  common  council  then  adjourned. 

Attest.  W.  P.  GREGG,  Clerk. 


846  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

BOSTON,  April  16,  1865. 

At  a  vestry  meeting  held  this  day  by  the  Hebrew  congregation  Ohabei 
Shalom,  worshipping  in  Warren  street  synagogue,  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  draw  up  resolutions  in  regard  to  the  kite  lamentable  national  calamity,  and 
the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  drawn  up  and  passed  unanimously: 

Whereas  it  has  pleased  an  all-merciful  Father  to  remove  from  our  midst 
his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  these  United  States  of  Amer 
ica,  by  death,  at  a  moment  when  the  whole  nation  rejoiced  in  the  promised 
peace  of  our  distracted  country  ;  and 

Whereas  this  death  has  been  caused  by  the  foul  hand  of  an  assassin,  who 
came  unawares  upon  his  illustrious  victim  while  enjoying  relaxation  from  his 
arduous  duties,  in  the  company  of  the  partner  of  his  bosom;  and 

Whereas,  feeling  that  this  calamity  concerns  every  individual,  not  alone  in 
this  country  but  throughout  the  civilized  world,  affecting  as  it  does  the  capa 
bility  of  mankind  to  govern  themselves,  and  dealing  a  fearful  blow  against 
republican  institutions :  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  congregation  "  Ohabei  Shalom,"  of  the  city  of 
Boston,  deeply  deplore  this  sad  event,  and  we  humbly  bow  to  our  Heavenly 
Father,  praying  that  this  last,  this  "greatest  sacrifice"  of  all  will  suffice  "the 
rnonstcr,moloch,"  and  that  the  Lord  our  God  will  be  pleased  to  sanctify  the 
death  of  our  Chief  Magistrate  to  the  end  that  no  more  victims  shall  be  required 
to  end  this  unholy  war. 

Resolved,  That  with  grief  and  horror  we  noticed  the  attempted  double 
assassination  of  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Seward,  and 
his  family,  one  ripe  in  years,  wisdom  and  honor ;  that  this  attempted  assassi 
nation  is  scarcely  less  to  be  deplored  than  that  of  the  Chief  Magistrate,  whose 
death  the  nation  now  mourns,  and  that  no  words  can  convey  the  deep  sorrow 
which  we  feel  within  us  that  the  first  officer  of  the  country  should  thus  be  cut 
oil'  from  among  us  at  the  moment  when  his  wisdom  and  prudence  were  about 
to  lead  us  out  of  the  chaos  of  war  to  the  paradise  of  peace. 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  bereaved  family  of  the  late 
most  worthy  Chief  Magistrate,  and  that  no  words  of  ours  can  convey  the  deep 
shock,  the  thrill  of  horror,  the  unspeakable  agony  with  which  the  sad  tidings 
were  received  by  our  community.  But  we  hope  that  He  who  tempers  the 
winds  to  the  shorn  lamb — He  who  was  from  the  "beginning"  "the  protector" 
of  the  "  widow  and  orphan,"  will  also  vouchsafe  to  be  the  protector  of  the  family 
of  the  lamented  dead ;  (dead  in  the  flesh,  but  living  in  the  hearts  of  his  coun 
trymen.)  May  he  temper  their  grief,  and  let  them  remember,  and  let  us  hope, 
that  the  good  deeds  done  by  him  whilst  on  earth  will  intercede  for  him  before 
the  throne  of  Almighty  God,  and  that  the  crown  of  martyrdom  be  sanctified 
unto  him. 

Resolved,  That  the  synagogue  shall  be  draped  in  mourning  for  thirty  days, 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  847 

and  that  a  prayer  for  the  dead  shall  be  chanted  every  Sabbath  day  and  Mondays 
and  Thursdays  during  that  time. 

Resolved,  That  on  the  day  of  the  funeral  of  the  lamented  dead,  a  funeral 
sermon  shall  be  preached  in  the  synagogue,  and  that  we,  the  members  of  this 
congregation,  unanimously  resolve  to  close  our  places  of  business  on  that  day, 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  it  as  a  day  of  mourning. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  above  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  the  widow 
of  the  lamented  President,  as  also  to  the  family  of  the  Secretary  of  State;  that 
they  be  sealed  with  the  seal  of  the  congregation  and  signed  by  the  president 
and  vice-president  and  secretary. 

Resolved,  That  the  above  resolutions  be  entered  on  the  minutes  of  the 
congregation  and  published  in  the  Post,  Journal,  and  Herald  newspapers  of 
this  city. 

Done  this  19th  day  of  Nisam,  of  the  year  of  the  creation  562G — April 
1C,  1865. 

[SEAL.]  S.  MYERS,  President. 

S.  STEINBURG,    Vice-President . 
N.  EIIRL1CH,  Secretary. 


BOSTON,  April  20,  18G5. 

SIR  :  The  undersigned  takes  the  liberty  to  send  you  a  copy  of  the  resolu 
tions  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  German  citizens  of  Boston,  held  on  Wednesday 
evening,  April  19,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  expression  to  their  feelings  in  rela 
tion  to  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN  : 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  German  citizens  of  Boston,  have  learned  the 
tidings  of  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  the  attempted  murder 
of  Secretary  Seward  with  a  mixture  of  the  highest  surprise,  alarm,  grief,  and 
indignation. 

Resolved,  That  we  mourn  fa  the  murdered  victim  a  man  who  was  placed  at 
the  helm  of  the  state  under  the  most  trying  and  difficult  circumstances;  who,  hi 
spite  of  the  enmities  from  one  and  importunities  from  the  other  side,  continued 
his  straight  course  without  haste  or  passion ;  who  employed  the  liberal  means 
offered  by  the  people  wisely,  for  the  restoration  of  the  Union  and  the  validity 
of  the  laws  of  this  great  republic;  who  by  his  proclamation  of  emancipation 
has  acted  in  the  spirit  of  the  time,  and  thereby  crushed  the  main  pillar  of 
rebellion,  but  who  at  all  times  was  ready  to  grant  to  rebels  a  peaceful  return  to 
the  old  Union,  provided  they  would  return  to  their  old  allegkuice,  and  who  has 
met  with  surprising  leniency  all  those  who  in  the  chances  of  war  have  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  our  armies  and  authorities. 

Resolved,  That  we  condemn  the  perpetrators  of  this  double  crime  as  com- 


848  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

mon  murderers,  and  that  we  eagerly  and  confidently  hope  they  will  soon  be 
handed  over  to  a  just  and  severe  punishment. 

Resolved,  That  this  horrible  crime,  even  if  only  a  few  should  be  implicated 
in  the  direct  conspiracy,  nevertheless  must  be  traced  in  its  origin  and  object  to 
the  rebel  chief  Jefferson  Davis  and  his  traitorous  consorts. 

Resolved,  That  we  hereafter  regard  leniency  and  indulgence  as  a  wrong 
to  the  victims  of  this  crime,  as  a  criminal  exposure  of  our  highest  civil 
and  military  authorities,  and  as  treason  against  the  welfare  and  honor  of  the 
nation. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the  Secretary  of 
State,  at  Washington,  and  another  to  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts. 

F.  GELDOWSKY,  President. 

CH.  BECK,  H.  LAUTERBACH, 

A.  KREISSMANN,  E.  HABECH, 

G.  FLALLICH,  DR.  WESSELHCEFT, 

E.  HEIDENREECH,  C.  ZENAIIN, 

CH.  HESS,  DR.  BIRNSTIEL, 

R.  LANGERLELDT,  F.  HERCHENRODEN, 

G.  PASSENDRIEK,  A.  F.  WONDRER, 

C.  KRAMER,  E.  C.  F.  KRAUSS, 

J.  ELSON, 

Vice-Presidents. 

L.  WEISSBEIN, 
C.  KNAPPE, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

LOUIS  WEISSBEIN,  Secretary. 
The  ACTING  SECRETARY  OF  STATE,  Washington. 


JACKSON    LITERARY   ASSOCIATION. 

METAMORA  HALL,  ROOM  No.  1, 

Baltimore,  April  20,  1865. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  "  Jackson  Literary  Association,"  held  this  evening, 
the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Whereas,  in  view  of  the  awful  calamity  that  has  befallen  the  whole  nation 
in  the  violent  and  sudden  death  of  its  honored  and  illustrious  Chief  Magistrate, 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  who  has  been  stricken  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin  in 
the  midst  of  his  untiring  and  profoundly  patriotic  endeavors  to  sustain  the  law 
fully  constituted  authorities  of  his  country  against  the  assaults  of  those;  in  arms 
against  it,  we  bow  with  resignation  to  this  sad  calamity,  and  trust  in  the  inscru- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        849 

table  wisdom  of  Providence  to  bring  light  out  of  darkness,  and  sanctify  this 
deep  affliction  to  the  welfare  of  the  nation  :    Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  officers  and  members  of  the  "Jackson  Literary  Associa 
tion"  have  heard  with  horror  and  indignation  of  the  foul  assassination  of  Presi 
dent  LINCOLN,  and  add  their  voice  to  the  general  mourning  of  the  nation  over 
the  great  calamity. 

Resolved,  That  in  token  of  our  grief  for  the  nation's  loss,  the  members  of 
this  lyceum  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning  for  thirty  days,  and  that  these 
resolutions  be  placed  among  the  regular  business  of  the  association,  and  that  a 
copy  thereof  be  sent  to  the  Secretary  of  State. 

SAMUEL  I.  MORGAN,  President. 

JAMES  S.  COURTNEY,  Corresponding  Secretary. 


AGED  GUARD  OF  THE  CITY  OF  BALTIMORE. 

SIK:  I  have  the  honor  to  present  you  the  following  declaration  adopted 
by  the  "Aged  Guard  of  1862,  of  the  city  of  Baltimore,"  at  a  meeting  held  at 
the  old  City  Hall,  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  instant: 

An  atrocious  crime  has  been  committed  in  our  midst.  The  great,  the 
noble,  the  magnanimous,  kind-hearted,  and  too  forgiving  President,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  has  been  in  a  most  cowardly  and  dastardly  manner  murdered  by  the 
order  and  with  the  connivance  of  traitors. 

While  we  acknowledge  the  retributive  hand  of  an  Almighty  and  righteous 
God  in  thus  afflicting  us  for  our  national  sins,  we  also  recognize  our  national 
duty  to  drive  from  our  soil  the  men  who  have  been  mainly  instrumental  in 
bringing  on  this  great  people  this  heart-crushing  calamity. 

We  hereby  tflnder  to  the  deeply  afflicted  widow  of  our  late  beloved  Presi 
dent,  and  to- all  the  bereaved  members  of  his  highly  honored  family,  our  heartfelt 
condolence,  hoping  and  praying  that  the  Father  of  mercies  and  God  of  all  con 
solation  and  grace  will  sustain  and  comfort  them  in  their  overwhelming  sorrow. 

With  the  honorable  Secretary  of  State  and  witli  his  suffering  family  we 
would  sympathize,  and  would  affectionately  express  our  deep  sorrow  for  the 
portion  of  this  great  crime  inflicted  upon  them,  praying  to  Him  with  whom  are 
the  issues  from  death,  to  grant  unto  them  a  speedy  and  perfect  restoration. 
May  Hie  highly  valued  life  of  the  honorable  William  II.  Seward  be  preserved 
for  many  years,  an  honor  and  blessing  to  his  country. 

We  must  here  congratulate  the  loyal  citizens  of  our  whole  country  on 
having  such  a  worthy  successor  to  the  lamented  President  LINCOLN  as  Andrew 
Johnson,  who  said  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  in  1861,  in  the  face  of 
traitors,  "  Let  it  be  engraven  on  every  heart  that  treason  is  a  crime,  and  traitors 
should  suffer  the  penalty."  And  further,  "the  halter  to  the  intelligent  and 
107 


850  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

influential  traitor;  but  to  the  honest  boy,  the  deluded  man,  who  has  been 
deceived  into  the  rebel  ranks,  I  would  extend  leniency."  The  stability  and 
future  permanency  of  our  Union  demand  the  rigid  enforcement  of  these  prin 
ciples,  and  no  better  man  is  needed  than  Andrew  Johnson  to  carry  them  out. 

Pledging  ourselves  in  conformity  with  and  obedience  to  law  to  do  whatever 
is  necessary  and  in  our  power  to  crush  out  this  wicked  rebellion,  and  to  put 
down  all  who  give  aid  and  comfort  to  those  engaged  therein,  we  order  that  these 
our  sincere  expressions  of  condolence  and  sympathy,  and  this  our  firm  resolu 
tion,  be  most  respectfully  presented  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  family,  to  the  honorable 
William  II.  Seward,  and  to  his  Excellency  Andrew  Johnson,  President  of  the 
United  States. 

Signed  by  order  and  on  behalf  of  the  Aged  Guard  of  1862  of  the  city  of 
Baltimore,  on  the  20th  day  of  April,  anno  Domino  one  thousand  eight  hundred 

and  sixty-five. 

SAMUEL  CHILD,  Captain, 

From  the  record.     A  true  copy : 

JOHN  W.  WOODS,  Secretary. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


BOONE   COUNTY,  MISSOURI 

At  a  large  meeting  of  the  loyal  citizens  of  Boone  county,  Missouri,  holden 
at  the  court-house  in  Columbia,  on  the  22d  April,  1865,  on  motion  of  Hon. 
James  S.  Rollins,  Professor  J.  H.  Lathrop,  LL.  D.,  was  elected  president,  Rev. 
Isaac  Jones  and  General  Joseph  B.  Douglass  vice-presidents,  and  John  F. 
Baker  and  Robert  L.  Todd  secretaries. 

On  motion  a  committee,  consisting  of  Hon.  J.  S.  Rollins,  Elder  F.  M.  Allen, 
Dr.  M.  R.  Arnold,  Judge  David  Gordon,  and  Colonel  James  R.  Shields,  was 
appointed  to  submit  resolutions  for  the  action  of  the  meeting. 

Major  Rollins,  on  behalf  of  the  committee,  submitted  the  following,  accom- 
•  panying  the  same  with  an  earnest,  eloquent,  feeling  tribute  to  the  memory  and 
worth  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  after  which  the  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unani 
mously  adopted : 

Whereas  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  on  the 
night  of  the  14th  instant,  was  stricken  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  and 
removed  by  a  violent  death  from  his  exalted  position  of  usefulness  and  honor ; 
and  whereas  the  simultaneous  attempt  to  take  the  lives  of  other  eminent 
public  men  indicates  concert  of  action  with  a  traitorous  as  well  as  a  murderous 
intent;  and  whereas  it  becomes  a  great  people,  whom  God  has  set  up  as  an 
example  to  the  nations  of  the  earth,  to  purge  themselves  from  all  taint  of  sym- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       851 

pa  thy  with  this  crime  against  civilization,  and  also  to  give  utterance  to  their 
sense  of  the  national  bereavement:  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we,  in  common  with  our  fellow-citizens  throughout  the 
country,  hold  up  to  present  execration  and  perpetual  infamy,  as  enemies  of  the 
human  race,  the  procurers  and  the  perpetrators  of  the  savage  and  revolting 
murder  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  American  republic,  and  other  like  crimes 
simultaneously  attempted  but  mercifully  averted. 

Resolved,  That  our  gratitude  is  due  to  Almighty  God  for  the  leadership  of 
the  distinguished  dead  in  the  period  of  our  country's  peril;  for  the  exemplary 
purity  of  Jiis  private  and  public  life;  for  his  just  appreciation  of  the  national 
crisis;  for  the  admirable  temper  with  which  he  met  its  exigencies  in  defeat  as 
well  as  in  victor}' ;  for  his  heroic  faith  in  the  exalted  destiny  of  the  American 
people ;  for  his  self-devotion  to  the  cause  of  human  liberty,  even  unto  death, 
and  for  the  consolation  which  we  cherish  that  now,  in  the  triumphant  moment 
of  his  eminent  public  service,  the  hand  of  the  assassin  has  failed  to  impair  the 
value  of  his  official  work,  and  has  been  only  able  to  commit  to  the  historic  page 
the  name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  as  the  second  founder  of  the  great  republic. 

Resolved,  That,  although  this  attempt  has  been  made  by  traitorous  hands 
to  reach  the  life  of  the  country,  through  the  assassination  of  its  distinguished 
public  men,  we  have  unshaken  confidence  in  the  speedy  restoration  of  the 
national  authority  over  every  acre  of  its  soil,  and  the  termination  of  the  shock 
of  arms  in  the  formation  of  a  still  closer  union;  in  the  establishment  of  a  more 
comprehensive  and  authoritive  justice  ;  in  the  assurance  of  an  enduring  domestic 
tranquillity;  in  a  more  effective  provision  for  the  common  defence;  in  a  more 
vigorous  promotion  of  the  general  welfare;  in  the  immovable  security  of  the 
blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  and  in  the  extension  of  the 
benefit  of  our  great  example  to  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  in  Andrew  Johnson  the  chosen  instrument  of 
the  American  people  Ibr  the  promotion  of  these  great  national  ends,  a  patriot 
statesman, 

"Amoiiif  the  1'iiithlcss,  faithful  found," 

and  commend  his  incoming  administration  to  the  generous  and  persistent  support 
of  every  steadfast  heart  that  tempers  the  sorrow  of  our  national  bereavement 
by  an  undying  confidence  in  the  intcgity,  the  perpetuity,  and  the  ever  progress 
ive  greatness  of  our  American  Union. 

Resolved,  That  in  testimony  of  our  respect  for  the  memory  of  our  fallen 
chief,  the  public  buildings  of  Columbia  be  draped  in  mourning  for  thirty  days; 
and  to  this  end  the  resident  curators  of  the  State  University  and  the  county 
court  of  Boone  county  are  respectfully  requested  to  carry  into  effect  this  reso 
lution. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  widow  and  family  of  the  illustrious  dead 


852  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

our  heartfelt  sympathies  for  the  great  loss  which,  in  common  with  the  nation, 
they  have  sustained;  and  request  the  chairman  of  this  meeting  to  communicate 
a  copy  to  them  of  the  foregoing  resolutions. 

Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  signed  by  the  officers 
thereof,  and  that  the  newspapers  of  the  State  be  requested  to  publish  the 
same. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  St.  George's  Benevolent  Society, 

Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  St.  George's  Benevolent  Society,  held  in  their  room, 
No.  102  Walnut  street,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  on  Thursday,  April  20,  Mr.  Daniels, 
president  of  the  society,  in  the  chair,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions 
were  unanimously  adopted : 

Whereas,  while  rejoicing  over  the  victories  which  have  crowned  the  arms 
and  secured  the  triumph  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  over  the 
rebellion,  we  were  astounded  by  the  news  of  the  assassination  of  the  President: 
Therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  with  unfeigned  sorrow,  under  this  national  calamity,  we  bow 
before  this  mysterious  dispensation  of  Divine  Providence,  and  with  unfaltering 
faith  in  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  God,  we  pray  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States  may  have  the  assistance  of  His  grace  to  bear  this  heavy  trial  with  forti 
tude  and  patience. 

Resolved,  That  we  record  our  testimony  to  the  exemplary  integrity,  patriot 
ism,  sagacity,  and  goodness  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  deplore  his  death  as  a 
calamity,  not  only  to  the  United  States,  but  to  the  cause  of  human  progress 
and  freedom  throughout  the  world. 

Resolved,  That  amidst  our  mourning  we  are  pleased  to  find  that  our  coun 
trymen  all  over  the  United  States  and  Canada  have  manifested  their  sorrow  and 
abhorrence  of  this  diabolical  act,  and  with  them  we  sincerely  hope  that  the 
future  of  this,  our  adopted  country,  will  be  peace,  unity,  and  prosperity. 

Resolved,  That  owing  to  this  national  calamity  we  postpone  our  annual 
celebration  until  further  notice. 
Signed  by  the  committee  : 

J.  A.  DANIELS. 

REV.  RICHARD  GREY. 

E.  WOODELTON. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        853 

Devolutions  paused  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  city  council  of  the  city  of  Columbus, 

Ohio. 

SUNDAY,  April  1G,  1865. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  city  council  of  the  city  of  Columbus,  held  this 
day,  all  the  members  thereof  being  present,  the  following  preamble  and  resolu 
tions  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

For  the  first  time  in  this  country  has  our  Chief  Magistrate  fallen  by  the 
hand  of  an  assassin.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  Slates,  has 
thus  fallen.  For  the  first  time  with  us  has  the  life  of  a  cabinet  minister  been 
assailed.  That  crime  that  has  cursed  and  blighted  other  lands  has  been 
inaugurated  in  this.  That  practice  that  ever  has  produced,  and  that,  if 
unchecked,  ever  must  produce,  first  anarchy  and  then  despotism,  has  begun 
here.  The  example  has  been  set  of  removing  a  magistrate,  not  by  the  consti 
tutionally  expressed  will  of  the  people,  but  by  murder.  Let  this  example  grow 
into  use  and  there  will  be  an  end  of  free  government  among  us.  There  can  be 
no  Irue  liberty  where  life  is  insecure;  there  can  be  no  stable  or  beneficent  gov 
ernment  where  the  dagger  of  an  assassin  overthrows  or  usurps  the  national  will. 
To  these  general  truths,  of  vital  importance  to  society,  the  occasion  presents 
other  and  most  painful  reflections.  In  the  midst  of  the  universal  rejoicings 
over  the  success  of  our  arms  and  the  prospects  of  peace,  the  Chief  Magistrate, 
during  whose  administration  the  rebellion  had  been  crushed,  and  from  whose 
power,  influence,  and  patriotism  the  most  sanguine  hopes  of  a  speedy  pacifica 
tion  were  entertained,  has  been  violently  taken  from  our  midst.  The  banners 
that  yesterday  morning  proudly  and  joyously  floated  from  the  mast-head,  now 
hang  in  the  drapery  and  gloom  of  mourning;  and  where  but  lately  universal 
gratulations  were  exchanged,  there  are  now  seen  and  heard  universal  greetings 
of  sorrow. 

In  this  most  painful  hour  of  a  nation's  distress,  it  is  most  meet  and  proper 
that  all  official  bodies  and  all  citizens  should  solemnly  express  their  abhorrence 
of  the  deeds  of  murder  that  have  caused  this  distress;  that  they  should  deter, 
by  their  unanimity,  a  repetition  of  such  deeds,  and  should  manifest  clearly  to 
the  world  that  the  people  of  these  States  are  not,  and  do  not  mean  to  be, 
involved  in  the  horrors  of  anarchy,  and  that  they  will  never  give  up  the  blessings 
of  law,  order,  and  free  government.  And  it  is  also  most  meet  and  becoming 
that  the  sympathy  of  the  nation  for  the  bereaved  family  of  the  late  President, 
and  for  the  surviving  and  suffering  victims  of  the  tragedy,  should  be  expressed. 

Be  it,  therefore,  resolved  by  the  city  council  of  the  city  of  Columbus: 

1.  That  this  council  and  the  people  of  Columbus  view  with  abhorrence  the 
deeds  of  murder  that  have  deprived   the  country  of  its   President,  and   have 
endangered  the  lives  of  the  Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretary  of  State. 

2.  That  this  council  and  the  people  of  this  city  most  deeply  deplore  the 


854  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

death  of  President  LINCOLN,  and  regard  it  as  a  great  public  calamity,  and  hereby 
tender  their  sincerest  sympathy  to  his  bereaved  and  afflicted  family. 

3.  That  we  desire,  on  this  solemn  occasion,  to  place  upon  record  our  appre 
ciation  of  the  high  and  commanding  qualities  of  the  late  President  LINCOLN,  as 
a  man  of  integrity  and  a  patriot  statesman,  one  who  lived  and  labored  for  what 
he  deemed  to  be  the  honor  and  best  interests  of  his  country,  who  united  mild 
ness  and  kindness  of  heart  with  firmness  of  purpose,  and  whose  character,  on 
the  whole,  fitted  him  peculiarly  for  the  great  work  of  pacification  and  recon 
ciliation  upon  which  he  had  entered. 

4.  That  the  warm  sympathy  of  this  council  and  community  is  felt  for  the 
suffering  Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretary  of  State. 

5.  That  a  committee  of  nine  of  this  council  (one  from  each  ward)  be 
appointed  to  act  in  conjunction  with  such  committees  as  may  be  appointed  by 
the  State  authorities  and  the  citizens  generally,  to  make  suitable  preparations 
for  the  reception  here  of  the  remains  of  the  late  President,  should  they  be  con 
veyed  through  this  city. 

G.  That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  by  the  president  of  the 
council  to  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Seward. 

J.  REINIIARD, 

President  of  the  Council. 
Attest : 

JOSEPH  DOWDALL,  City  Clerk. 


IN  COMMON  COUNCIL,  CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS, 

April  17,  1865. 

Whereas  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  a  citizen  of  Illinois,  a  man  eminent  for  the 
purity  of  his  life  and  his  unselfish  devotion  to  his  country,  and  for  four  years 
President  of  the  United  States,  while  still  performing  the  duties  of  that  office  to 
which  he  had  been  re-elected  by  a  confiding  people,  has  been  stricken  down  by 
the  hand  of  a  muderer;  and  whereas  his  honored  remains  are  now  lying  in 
state  at  Washington,  and  the  funeral  ceremonies  will  take  place  on  Wednesday 
next :  Therefore, 

Be  it  resolved  by  the  mayor  and  aldermen  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  That  we 
have  received  the  news  of  this  terrible  calamity  with  the  deepest  emotions  of 
horror  and  of  grief. 

Resolved,  That  the  deceased  will  stand  among  the  foremost  of  the  brightest 
names  of  history,  and  will  be  forever  remembered  with  admiration  and  honor, 
not  only  by  his  countrymen,  but  by  the  good  and  true  of  all  countries  and  of  all 
times. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  deplore  our  own  and  the  nation's  loss,  our  warm- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       855 

est  sympathies  and  sincere  condolence  are  extended  to  the  bereaved  widow  and 
fatherless  children  of  the  late  President. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  from  this  city  he  appointed  to  visit  Washing 
ton,  and  in  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  Chicago  take  part  in  the  funeral  ceremonies ; 
also  to  accompany  the  remains  to  Springfield. 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  the  family  of 
the  deceased,  and  to  each  member  of  his  cabinet,  and  be  furnished  for  publica 
tion  to  the  press. 

Resolved,  That  the  eminent  statesman,  William  H.  Seward,  now  suffering 
from  wounds  received  from  one  of  the  same  band  of  assassins  who  murdered 
the  late  President,  has  our  deepest  sympathy  and  respect,  and  our  most  earnest 
wishes  for  his  speedy  restoration  to  health. 

Approved  : 

F.  C.  SHERMAN,  Mayor. 

STATE  OF  ILLINOIS,  City  of  Chicago,  ss : 

I,  H.  W.  Zimmerman,  clerk  of  the  city  of  Chicago  aforesaid,  do  hereby 
certify  that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  copy  of  resolutions  adopted  this  day  by  the 
common  council  of  said  city. 

Witness  my  hand  and  the  corporate  seal  of  said  city  of  Chicago,  the  17th 
day  of  April,  A.  D.  18G5. 

[SEAL.]  II.  W.  ZIMMERMAN,  City  ClerJ;. 


IN  MEMORY  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Resolutions    of  the    city   of  Concord,   New    Hampshire,  '/expecting    the    recent 

national  bereavement. 

Resolved  by  the  city  councl  of  the  city  of  Concord,  as  follows : 

1.  That  in  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  we  deplore  the  loss  of  a  great 
and  good  man;  an  able,  faithful,  and  honest  President,  a  sagacious  and  pure- 
minded  statesman,  a  guileless  patriot:  in  his  life  the  God-appointed  champion 
of  Union  and  liberty,  and  in  his  death  their  sacred  martyr. 

2.  That  in  the  manner  of  his  death  we  recognize  a  natural  manifestation 
of  the  fiendish  barbarism  of  slavery,  which,  having  sought  in  vain  the  nation's 
life  in  four  years  of  bloody  rebellion,  culminated  in  world-astounding  murder, 
striking  down  the  people's  chiefest  and  most  beloved  servant,  and  -spreading  a 
pall  over  the  whole  land. 

3.  That  with  humble  reliance  upon  God,  in  whose  hands  arc  the  destinies 
of  men  and  nations,  we  would  take  to  heart  the  lesson  of  this  deplorable  event 
as  solemnly  enforcing  the  imperative  duty  of  the   utter  extirpation  of  human 


856  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

slavery  from  our  land,  and  the  execution  of  full  justice  upon  slavery-engendered 
treason  as  mercy  to  the  nation. 

4.  That  we  rejoice  that  the  life  of  the  honored  and  faithful  Secretary  of 
State  has  been  spared  from  the  assassin's  knife  to  the  service  of  his  country; 
and  that  the  murderers'  plot  so  far  failed  as  it  contemplated  within  its  fell  scope 
the  death  of  other  high  executive  and  military  officers  of  the  government. 

5.  That  we  have  entire  confidence  in  the  ability,  integrity,  and  patriotism  of 
Andrew  Johnson  as  a  worthy  successor  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  in  the  presidency 
of  these  United  States,  and  we  pledge  him  our  earnest  and  hearty  support  in  the 
performance  of  his  high  and  onerous  duties,  and  bid  him,  and  all  those  engaged 
with  him  in  the  administration  of  our  national  affairs,  God-speed  in  the  great 
work  of  reconstruction  upon  the  basis  of  justice,  liberty,  and  equal  rights. 

6.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  the  heads  of  the  several  departments  at  Washington. 

In  common  council,  April  29,  1865.     Passed  unanimously. 

ISAAC  N.  ABBOTT,  President. 

IN  BOARD  OF  MAYOR  AND  ALDERMEN,  April  29,  1865. 
Passed  unanimously. 
[SEAL  ]  MOSES  HUMPHREY,  Mayor. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  citizens  of  Erie,  Pennsylvania. 

The  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  reported  to  an  adjourned 
meeting  of  citizens  of  Erie,  held  at  Farrar  Hall  on  Tuesday  evening.  April  18, 
and  unanimously  adopted. 

The-  committee  through  which  they  were  reported  consisted  of  Charles 
W.  Kelso,  Andrew  Scott,  George  "W.  Starr,  Irvin  Camp,  George  W.  De  Camp, 
Joseph  M.  Sterrett,  John  P.  Vincent,  and  M.  R  Barr. 

Whereas,  after  four  years  of  terrible  and  destructive  war,  waged  by  traitors 
lor  the  purpose  of  subverting  our  government  and  destroying  our  Union,  the 
people  of  the  United  States  were  celebrating  with  joy  anil  thanksgiving  the 
success  of  our  arms,  and  the  speedy  return  of  peace  and  fraternal  concord 
through  these  successes,  due,  under  God,  to  the  wise  administration  of  the 
Chief  Magistrate  of  the  nation,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  ;  and  whereas,  in  the  midst 
of  these  rejoicings,  the  sudden  and  terrible  calamity  of  the  death  of  our  revered 
and  beloved  President  by  the  hand  of  a  traitorous  assassin  has  fallen  upon  us, 
turning  our  paeans  of  joy  and  thanksgiving  into  dirges  of  sorrow  and  anguish; 
and  whereas  it  is  proper  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  everywhere  should 
manifest  their  sense  of  this  their  great  bereavement,  as  well  as  their  confidence 
in  the  patriot  and  statesman  who,  through  the  inscrutable  dispensation  of  Provi- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        857 

dence,  is  called  upon  to  administer  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and 
their  determination  to  sustain  him  in  his  great  and  important  duties  as  they 
have  in  the  past  sustained  his  lamented  predecessor :  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  people  of  the  city  of  Erie,  while  bowing  with  sub 
mission  to  the  will  of  God  and  His  inscrutable  decrees,  do  hereby  express  our 
deep  and  unfeigned  grief  at  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of 
the  United  States,  a  magistrate  so  pure,  so  upright,  and  so  clear  in  his  great 
office  as  to  have  won  the  admiration  and  esteem  even  of  his  political  enemies, 
and  the  affection  and  love  of  all  who  faithfully  and  truly  loved  their  country  and 
its  integrity — a  man  so  honest  in  all  his  intercourse  with  man,  so  kind-hearted 
in  all  the  relations  of  life,  that  no  man  who  knew  him  could  be  his  personal 
enemy  unless  rilled  with  passions  so  barbarous  as  to  unfit  him  for  intercourse 
with  civilized  humanity. 

Resolved,  That,  severe  as  the  affliction  is,  we  bow  in  humble  submission 
to  the  will  of  that  Being  who  has  in  his  inscrutable  wisdom  permitted  the  deed 
to  be  done,  saying,  "  Not  our  will  but  thine  be  done." 

Resolved,  That  this  affliction  comes  with  peculiar  severity  at  this  time  of 
our  country's  trial,  when  the  consummate  wisdom  and  undoubted  patriotism  of 
our  good  President  was  about  arranging  the  disordered  condition  of  our  coun 
try's  affairs,  and  that,  while  life  shall  last,  we  will  cherish  the  memory  of  the 
great  and  good  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN'  as  one  of  the  most  precious  of  our  country's 
possessions. 

Resolced,  That  we  have  entire  confidence  in  the  patriotism,  integrity,  and 
ability  of  Andrew  Johnson,  now  President  of  the,  United  States,  fully  believ 
ing  and  hoping  that  he  will  carry  out  the  wise  and  judicious  policy  of  our  late 
lamented  President,  and  spare  no  effort  to  crush  this  infamous  rebellion,  which 
shows  its  legitimate  character  in  the  employment  of  base  assassins  to  effect 
that  wlfich  their  want  of  manly  courage  could  not  effect — the  destruction  of  our 
civil  rulers,  and  that  we,  one  and  all,  "pledge  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our 
sacred  honors"  to  maintain  and  defend  the  government  of  our  fathers,  whether 
assailed  by  armed  traitors  in  rebellious  States,  or  skulking  assassins  in  the 
national  capital. 

Resolved,  That  we  arc  gratified  at  the  evidence  already  given  by  Andrew 
Johnson  of  his  disposition  to  carry  out  the  views  and  policy  of  our  late  beloved 
President  by  the  retention  of  his  counsellors  in  the  cabinet,  believing  that  they 
were  the  hearty  and  able  co-operators  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  in  his  most  wise  and 
successful  administration  of  the  government. 

Rcwlved,  That  we  sincerely  and  deeply  sympathize  with  our  Secretary  of 

State,  Hon.  William  II.  Seward,  in  his  multiplied  afflictions,  and  are  thankful 

for  his  escape  with  his  life  from  the  poniard  of  the  assassin,  and  we  pray  most 

heartily  that  he  may  be  spared  and  restored  to  health  and  activity,  when,  by 

108 


858  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

his  matchless  ability,  he  may  continue  to  confound,  as  he  has  in  the  past,  the 
infamous  machinations  of  foreign  governments  to  involve  our  country  in  ruin. 

Resolved,  That  we  sympathize,  from  the  very  depths  of  our  hearts,  with 
Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  other  members  of  her  family  in  their  deplorable  bereave 
ment,  and  that  we  most  heartily  commend  her  and  them  to  the  tender  mercies 
of  that  God  who  does  not  willingly  afflict  the  children  of  men,  and  has  promised 
to  lie  the  protector  of  the  widow  and  the  fatherless,  carnesly  praying  that  from 
behind  this  dark  and  heavy  cloud  they  may  yet  discern  the  smile  of  a  merciful 
and  gracious  God. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  above  resolutions,  signed  by  the  officers  of 
this  meeting,  be  transmitted  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  his  Excellency  Andrew  Johnson, 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  lion.  William  II.  Seward,  Secretary 

of  State. 

F.  F.  FARRAR,  President. 

J.  B.  GARRA,  Secretary. 


PUBLIC  MEETING. 

Pursuant  to  previous  notice,  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Huntsville  and 
Madison  county,  Alabama,  was  held  in  the  court-house  at  12  in.  on  the  18th 
instant,  which  was  very  largely  attended. 

On  motion  of  Hon.  Nicholas  Davis,  Hon.  D.  C.  Humphreys  was  called  to 
the  chair.  He  explained  the  object  of  the  meeting  to  be  to  give  expression 
to  the  sentiments  of  the  community,  and  the  citizens  generally,  in  regard  to  the 
death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  by  the  hands  of  the  assassin.  His 
remarks  evinced  deep  feeling,  and  were  forcible  and  judicious. 

On  motion  of  Hon.  D.  P.  Lewis,  W.  B.  Figures  was  requested  to  act  as 
secretary  of  the  meeting. 

Judge  P.  M.  Dox  then  moved  that  a  committee  of  fifteen  be  appointed  by 
the  Chair  to  draught  resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  assemblage, 
which  was  carried. 

The  Chair  appointed  the  following  gentlemen  as  said  committee,  viz  :  P.  M. 
Dox,  chairman,  D.  P.  Lewis,  F.  A.  Saunders,  Smith  Adams,  Nicholas  Davis 
Joseph  Ward,  Britton  Frank,  B.  M.  Lowe,  jr.,  Thos.  Bibb,  A.  J.  Johnson,  C.  E 
Douglass,  S.  M.  Weaver,  Thos.  U.  Green,  Jas.  M.  Venable,  and  Theo.  Lacy. 

The  committee  retired  for  a  short  while,  and  then  reported  the  following 
preamble  and  resolutions,  which  were  read  and  unanimously  adopted,  viz : 

Whereas  official  information  has  been  received  in  this  community  that 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  has  been  killed 
by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  and  that  an  attempt,  by  assassination,  has  been  made 
on  the  life  of  William  II.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State ;  and  whereas  civilization 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE    AND    SYMPATHY.  859 

and  Christianity  alike,  the  laws  of  God  and  the  laws  of  man,  regard  such  acts 
with  unmixed  horror  and  execration  ;  the  citizens  of  Huntsville.  in  primary 
meeting  assembled,  and  without  distinction  of  parties,  do  resolve — 

1.  That  they  can  view  the  acts  of  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and 
the  attempt  to  assassinate  Mr.  William  II.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  only  with 
emotions  of  unmixed  grief  and  destestation  ;  and  that  the  assassins  are  the  ene 
mies  of  civilization  and  humanity. 

2.  That  the  acts  and  the  actors  can  find  parallels  alone  in  the  calendars  of 
the  most  flagitious  crimes  and  the  most  fiendish  criminals.     They  can  only  be 
classed  in  infamy  with  the  savage  and  the  cannibal,  the  guerilla  of  Spain,  the 
carbonari  of  Italy,  and  thugs  of  India 

3.  That  copies  of  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  laid  before  Brigadier 
General  R.  S.  Granger,  commanding  the  district  of  northern  Alabama.     That 
copies  of  the  same  be  sent  to  Andrew  Johnson,  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America;  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  relict  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the 
United  States;   and  to  Hon.  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State  of  the 
United  States  of  America. 

4.  That  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting  be  signed  by  the  president  and 
secretary,  and  that  the  same  be  forwarded  to  the  newspapers  in  the  cities  of 
Nashville  and  Washington,  D.  C.,  with  the  request  that  they  publish  the  same. 

On  motion  of  Judge  Lewis,  a  committee  of  three  was  appointed  by  the 
Chair,  consisting  of  Messrs.  D.  P.  Lewis,  William  B.  Figures,  and  J.  W.  Scraggs, 
to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  meeting  expressed  in  the  resolutions. 

In  response  to  loud  calls  from  the  multitude,  feeling,  appropriate  and  elo 
quent  remarks  were  made  by  Judge  Dox,  Hon.  Nicholas  Davis,  Judge  Lewis, 
and  the  chairman  of  the  meeting,  which  were  received  with  hearty  applause. 

On  motion,  the  meeting  then  adjourned. 

U.  C.  HUMPHREYS,  Chairman. 
WM.  B.  FIGURES,  Secretary. 

HUNTSVILLE,  Alabama,  April  18,  18G5. 


SYNOD  OF  MICHIGAN. 

Whereas  it  has  pleased  Almighty  God,  since  the  last  meeting  of  the  Synod, 
to  remove,  by  death,  the  late  Chief  Magistrate  of  our  nation,  whom  w^c  believe 
to  have,  been  peculiarly  guided  by  Divine  wisdom  in  the  discharge  of  the  great 
responsibilities  devolving  upon  him  in  the  terrible  crisis  of  civil  war  through 
which  we  have  passed;  and  whereas  we  believe  him,  in  answer  to  prayer,  to 
have  been  greatly  supported  and  strengthened  in  his  efforts,  as  well  as  by  the 
assurance  repeatedly  given  him  that  he  had  the  sympathies  of  Christian  peo 
ple  :  Therefore, 


860  ASSASSINATION   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  Synod  of  Michigan,  hereby  respectfully  assure  the 
present  Chief  Magistrate  of  this  nation,  Andrew  Johnson,  that  we  fully  appre 
ciate  the  difficulties  of  his  position,  and  the  weight  of  responsibility  resting  upon 
him  in  the  work  of  completely  restoring  the  Union,  and  in  removing  the  chief 
causes  of  future  national  disturbance ;  and  that  he  has  our  warmest  sympathies, 
and  shall  have  our  most  earnest  prayers  to  the  Throne  of  Heavenly  Grace  that 
he  may,  in  the  performance  of  all  his  duties,  be  sustained  and  directed  by  the 
hand  of  Him  in  whose  support  and  guidance  individuals  and  nations  can  alone 
securely  trust. 

W.  S.  TAYLOR,  Moderator. 

KALAMAZOO,  Michigan,  October  28,  1865. 


HEADQUARTERS  FIRST  BRIGADE,  THIRD  DIVISION, 

DEPARTMENT  OP  WEST  VIRGINIA, 

Martinsburg,  Va.,  April  17,  1865. 

At  a  meeting  held  at  the  headquarters  first  brigade,  third  division,  depart 
ment  of  West  Virginia,  on  this  the  17th  day  of  April,  1865,  composed  of  the 
regimental  and  detachment  commanders  of  the  brigade  as  aforesaid,  in  pursu 
ance  of  an  invitation  to  that  effect  from  Captain  C.  S.  Ilsley,  acting  assistant 
adjutant  general,  convened  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  more  especially  their 
feelings  of  profound  sympathy  with  Brigadier  General  Seward,  their  esteemed 
commanding  officer,  in  the  recent  affliction  that  has  befallen  him,  the  following 
resolutions  were  adopted  : 

Whereas  it  has  pleased  an  all-wise  Providence  to  visit  a  terrible  calamity 
upon  the  nation  through  the  death  of  our  Chief  Magistrate ;  and  whereas,  in 
conjunction  with  the  sad  tidings  of  the  assassination  of  that  honored  and 
i  eve  red  President  and  patriot,  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  we  have 
heard  of  the  dastardly  attempt  to  assassinate  the  honorable  William  H.  Seward, 
Secretary  of  State,  the  father  of  our  commanding  general ;  and  whereas  it  is 
eminently  proper  that  we,  the  commanding  officers  of  the  different  organizations 
comprised  in  this  brigade,  and  as  the  legitimate  mediums  of  the  same,  should 
exhibit  more  especially  some  evidence  of  the  profound  sympathy  which  this 
entire  command  feel  for  their  beloved  commanding  general  in  this  the  hour  of 
his  tribulation :  Therefore,  be  it  resolved — 

1st.  That  the  wicked,  unprecedented,  and  inhuman  murder  of  the  nation's 
Chief  Magistrate  and  most  honored  son  is  a  crime  the  most  horrible  that  has 
ever  disgraced  our  country's  history. 

2d.  That  as  the  representatives  of  the  first  brigade,  third  division,  de 
partment  of  West  Virginia,  we  take  this  method  to  exhibit  to  our  commanding 
general  those  feelings  of  respect  and  admiration  in  which  his  person  is  held  by 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       861 

this  command,  and  which  he  has  merited  by  his  uniform  justice,  equity,  and 
kindness  toward  them. 

3d.  That  we  extend  to  our  beloved  commanding  general  and  his 'afflicted 
family  the  most  heartfelt  and  unfeigned  sympathy. 

4th.  That  it  shall  be  our  prayer  that  the  honorable  Secretary  and  his 
children  may  be  restored  to  full  health  and  happiness,  and  to  many  long  years 
of  future  usefulness. 

5th.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  and  proceedings  be  signed  by  the 
officers  of  this  meeting,  and  be  transmitted  without  delay  to  Brigadier  General 
W.  II.  Seward,  and  also  that  they  be  published. 

Captain  Andrews,  upon  seconding  the  motion  to  adopt  the  resolutions, 
delivered  a  most  solemn  and  impressive  address. 

The  preamble  and  resolutions  were  then  unanimously  adopted.  Upon 
motion  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Vcruon,  the  meeting  then  adjourned  sine  die. 

II.  K.  COOK, 
Colonel  First  P.  II.  B.  Md.  Vol.  Inf.,  President. 

C.  S.  ILSLKY, 
Captain  and  A.  A.  A.  General,  Secretary. 


MATTAPOISETT,  MASS., 'April  19,  180"). 

Whereas,  in  the  mysterious  providence  of  Almighty  God,  ABRAHAM  LIN- 
COLN,  the  revered  and  beloved  Chief  Magistrate  of  these  United  States,  has 
been  stricken  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  and  the  nation  has  thus  been 
robbed  of  its  chosen  and  cherished  head;  and  whereas  the  blow  thus  struck 
falls  with  the  same  suddenness  and  seventy  on  the  whole  country,  making  it 
incumbent  on  every  community  to  give  public  expression  to  their  sentiments 
respecting  this  appalling  event :  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  regard  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN,  at  the  moment 
when  the  results  of  his  first  administration,  sustained,  as  it  was,  through  a  period 
of  reckless  rebellion,  and  a  civil  conflict  unparalleled  for  its  atrocities,  were  rap 
idly  ripening  into  increased  national  glory,  prosperity,  and  peace,  as  altogether 
too  great  a  calamity  to  be  fully  estimated  at  the  present  time. 

Resolved,  That  the  murder  of  the  President,  while  it  immensely  aggra 
vates  our  sorrow  for  our  great  loss,  fills  us  with  humiliation  and  shame,  as  the 
darkest  and  most  indelible  blot  ever  yet  fastened  upon  the  American  name. 

Resolved,  That  we  regard  the  killing  of  President  LINCOLN,  in  connection 
with  the  attempted  assassination  of  the  head  of  the  Department  of  State — him 
self  one  of  the  most  distinguished  statesmen  of  the  age — as  unquestionably  the 


862  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

fruit  of  that  spirit  of  southern  devotion  to  slavery  and  hatred  to  northern  free 
dom  which  has  already  plunged  the  South  into  the  guilt  of  the  blackest  treason 
ever  known  to  the  civilized  world,  and  the  whole  republic  into  the  horrors  of 
an  unprovoked  and  terrible  warfare. 

Resolved,  That  we  regard  the  lamented  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  as  a  man  of 
rare  endowments  for  conducting  this  great  nation  through  an  unforeseen  and 
perplexing  crisis  in  public  affairs ;  and  that  we  deem  ourselves,  as  a  people, 
deeply  indebted,  under  God,  to  his  united  wisdom  and  strength,  foresight  and 
firmness,  serenity  and  courage,  high  statesmanship  and  incorruptible  integrity, 
for  the  preservation  of  the  country  from  fatal  dismemberment,  aud  for  the  pros 
pect  of  approaching  union  and  peace. 

Resolved,  That  we  bless  God  for  having  raised  up  just  such  a  man  as 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  was,  to  become  the  discreet  and  successful  emancipator  of 
more  than  four  millions  of  bondmen,  and  for  the  utter  extinction  of  a  system  of 
oppression  and  wrong  wholly  incompatible  with  a  republican  government,  with 
national  prosperity,  and  the  fundamental  law  of  the  Christian  religion. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  surviving  companion  and  family  of  our 
deceased  President  our  heartfelt  sympathy  in  their  great  sorrow  and  bereave 
ment,  fervently  commending  them  to  the  gracious  care  and  protection  of  their 
Father  in  heaven. 

Resolved,  That  we  likewise  offer  to  William  H.  Scward,  the  prostrated  but 
highly  honored  Secretary  of  State,  our  affectionate  congratulations  on  his  well- 
nigh  miraculous  escape  from  the  same  brutal  death  which  was  indicted  on  his 
noble  friend,  and  which  was  equally  intended  for  himself;  and  we  join  with 
every  loyal  man  in  the  country  in  devout  thanksgivings  for  the  prospect  of  his 
speedy  return  to  the  post  of  duty  and  of  honor,  which  he  has  so  ably  filled  and 
adorned. 

Resolved,  That  we  present  our  most  respectful  and  sincere  assurance  to  the 
Hon.  Andrew  Johnson  of  the  cordiality  and  confidence  with  which  we  greet 
his  accession  to  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  nation,  and  of  our  earnest  prayer 
that  he  may  be  enabled  to  carry  out,  to  a  triumphant  consummation,  the  great 
work  so  auspiciously  begun  by  his  lamented  predecessor. 

Resolved,  That  we  reverently  invoke  the  continued  favor  of  Heaven  for 
our  beloved  but  distracted  country,  firmly  trusting  that,  as  Jehovah  was  our 
fathers'  God,  He  will  be  ours  and  our  children's  God,  to  the  latest  generation. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  signed  by  the  chairman  and 
secretary,  be  forwarded  to  the  family  of  the  deceased  President,  to  the  Secre 
tary  of  State,  and  to  the  new  President. 

HENRY  BARSTOW,  Chairman. 
W.  E.  SPARROW,  Secretary. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  863 

CITY  OF  MANCHESTER,  N.  H., 

Mayors  Office,  April  18,  1S(!5. 

GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CITY  COUNCIL  :  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  those 
United  States,  died  at  Washington  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  instant,  between 
the  hours  of  seven  and  eight  o'clock. 

The  death  of  the  great  and  good  must  always  bring  sorrow  to  the  heart ; 
and  when  the  honored  Chief  Magistrate  of  a  great  nation — one  who,  through 
all  the  trials  and  vicissitudes  of  such  a  four  years'  experience  as  our  country 
has  never  before  seen,  has  labored  and  waited,  watched  and  endured,  patient 
and  serene  alike  under  malignant  attacks  of  enemies  and  the  mistaken  zeal  of 
friends  ;  pursuing  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances  the  even  tenor  of  his 
way,  looking  to  Heaven  for  his  guidance  and  the  promotion  of  the  best  welfare 
of  the  whole  country  as  the  end  to  be  sought — when  such  a  man,  at  such  a 
time,  is  suddenly  stricken  down  by  the  ruthless  hand  of  the  assassin,  well  may 
the  great  heart  of  the  nation  throb  with  an  anguish  too  terrible  for  words  to 
express.  The  anchor  of  our  hopes  at  such  a  time  is  trust  in  Almighty  God. 

That  President  LINCOLN  was  eminently  fitted  to  guide  the  ship  of  state 
through  the  stormy  period  of  the  past  four  years  must  be  apparent  to  all.  His 
abiding  faith  in  the  final  triumph  of  our  government  over  rebellion  was  won 
derful.  Even  in  the  darkest  days  of  the  struggle,  when  some  of  the  wisest  and 
best  of  our  statesmen  were  almost  if  not  quite  ready  to  abandon  the  contest, 
he  never  faltered  or  wavered  ;  but,  strong  in  the  might  of  a  holy  cause,  and  firm 
in  his  reliance  on  a  righteous  God  and  the  great  heart  of  the  people,  he  pressed 
steadily  on  till  the  prize  for  which  he  labored,  PEACE  and  UNION,  was  almost 
within  his  grasp.  But  while  his  eyes  saw  it,  his  hand  was  not  permitted  to 
grasp  it;  he  has  been  taken  from  us  and  gone  to  his  reward. 

In  view  of  this  great  national  bereavement  I  think  it  fit  and  proper  that 
we  should  place  upon  our  city  records,  in  some  form,  an  expression  of  the  feel 
ings  which  I  believe  animate  the  hearts  of  all  our  citizens. 

D.  J.  DANIELS,  Mayor. 

The  communication  of  his  honor  the  mayor  was  read  and  referred  to  a 
joint  special  committee,  who  subsequently  reported  the  following  preamble  and 
resolutions : 

RESOLUTIONS. 

Whereas  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  has  sud 
denly  been  removed  from  the  scene  of  his  earthly  labors  by  the  hand  of  an 
assassin ;  and  whereas  we  desire  to  place  upon  the  records  of  our  city  some 
expression  of  the  feelings  which  animate  the  hearts  of  our  citizens:  Therefore, 

Rewired,  That  we  deplore  his  untimely  death  as  one  of  the  most  stupen 
dous  calamities  which  has  ever  befallen  the  nation 


864  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolved,  That  by  this  sad  event  the  country  has  lost  a  sagacious  and 
enlightened  statesman,  an  incorruptible  magistrate,  a  benefactor  to  the  friendless 
and  unfortunate,  a  pure  and  devoted  patriot,  and  an  ardent  defender  of  the 
rights  of  man. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  we  recognize  the 
same  malignant  spirit  which  struck  down  Charles  Sumner  upon  the  floor  of  the 
United  States  Senate  ;  that  has  driven  free  thought  and  free  speech  from  every 
rebel  State;  that  planned  and  inaugurated  this  unholy  rebellion ;  that  spilled 
the  first  martyr-blood  in  Baltimore ;  that  starved  and  tortured  our  prisoners  of 
war,  and  that  has  destroyed  the  lives  of  the  noblest  and  best  of  the  land. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  would  reverently  bow  in  meekness  before  the 
Supreme  Ruler  of  the  universe,  who  has  suffered  this  great  affliction  to  overtake 
us,  we  declare  our  undying  hostility  to  treason  in  all  its  forms,  and  our  solemn 
determination  to  maintain,  at  whatever  cost,  the  Union  established  by  our 
fathers  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

Resolved,  That  we  will  ever  cherish  the  memory  and  emulate  the  exalted 
virtues  of  our  late  beloved  and  illustrious  President,  and,  like  him,  we  will  labor 
to  effect  the  removal  of  the  cause  of  slavery  from  the  land,  and  establish  free 
dom  to  all,  of  whatever  race  or  color,  that  the  unity,  the  peace,  and  the  glory 
of  the  republic  may  be  secured  and  perpetuated. 

Resolved,  That  we  have  an  abiding  confidence  in  the  ability,  the  integrity, 
and  the  patriotism  of  Andrew  Johnson,  who,  by  the  decree  of  Him  who  doeth 
all  things  well,  has  been  called  to  the  presidency  of  the  United  States;  and,  in 
view  of  the  great  responsibilities  he  assumes  and  the  trials  he  may  encounter, 
we  extend  to  him  our  warmest  sympathies,  and  pledge  to  him  our  unfaltering 
support  in  consummating  the  patriotic  designs  and  in  the  completion  of  the  just 
and  beneficent  work  of  his  lamented  predecessor. 

Resolved,  That  the  intelligence  of  the  murderous  assault  on  the  honorable 
William  II.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  awakens  in  our  minds  the  most  painful 
anxieties,  and  we  ardently  hope  that  his  life  may  be  spared,  and  that  the  nation 
may  continue  to  be  blessed  by  his  great  experience  and  profound  statesmanship. 

Resolved,  That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  heads  of  the  several  departments  at  Washington,  and  the 
family  of  the  deceased. 

IN  COMMON  COUNCIL,  April  18,  1865. 

Passed  unanimously. 

I.  H.  RUSSELL,  President. 

IN  BOARD  OF  MAYOR  AND  ALDERMEN,  April  18,  1865. 
Passed  unanimously. 
[SEAL.]  D.  J.  DANIELS,  Mayor 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  805 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  Inj  the  Sf.  George  s  Society  of  Madison, 

Wisconsin. 

MADISON,  WISCONSIN,  April  21,  1865. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  St.  George's  Society  of  the  city  of  Madison, 
the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Whereas  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  has  sud 
denly  fallen  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  and  been  called  to  eternity — 

Resolved,  By  the  St.  George's  Society  of  the  city  of  Madison,  that  we 
deeply  and  sincerely  sympathize  with  the  family  of  the  illustrious  deceased  and 
our  fellow-citizens  throughout  the  Union  in  their  sad  bereavement. 

Resolved,  That  although  we  regard  the  death  of  an  able  and  devoted  Presi 
dent  at  this  time  as  a  great  calamity,  yet  that  we  have  abiding  faith  in  the  power 
and  determination  of  the  American  people  to  preserve  their  nation  and  honor, 
thus  erecting  the  most  substantial  and  appropriate  monument  to  the  worth  and 
character  of  their  deceased  leader. 

JOSEPH  HOBBINS,  President. 

Attest :  EDWARD  BARBER,  Secretary. 


"One  shall  be  taken  and  the  other  left." 

RESPECTED  SIR  :  Amid  the  throes  of  our  beloved  afflicted  land,  when  the 
loyal  millions  put  on  sackcloth  and  were  bowed  to  the  earth  in  sadness  ;  when 
the  heart  of  the  nation  beat  with  one  universal  and  weighty  impulse  for  the 
memory  of  the  immortal  LINCOLN,  the  lightning  flashed  the  dire  intelligence 
that  the  curtains  of  thy  secret  chamber  had  been  rent  by  the  assassin,  thy  couch 
blood-stained  by  the  villainous  hireling,  thy  sons  maimed,  and  oh,  horrible,  that 
thou,  too,  had  suffered  deatli ;  and  we  mourned  for  thce  as  lost  to  our  suffering 
country,  for  thy  wisdom,  thy  prudence,  thy  firmness,  and  llie  wealth  of  thy 
patriotism,  all  doubly  needed  now.  But — joyful,  grand  truth — the  subtle  fluid 
reveals  to  us  thou  art  not  dead,  and  that  thy  forethought  and  thy  God  hath  made 
thce  live. 

Then  live,  live;  guide  the  nation  through  the  comiftg  crisis,  for  her  orphans, 
her  widows,  her  maimed,  her  future,  and  for  humanity's  sake,  live. 

In  testimony  whereof,  please  receive  this  as  a  memento  of  our  love,  and 
allow  the  humble  attendants  and  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  of  Harvey  United 
States  Army  General  Hospital  to  subscribe  their  names. 

0.  M.  ROCKWELL,  V.  7?.  C.  C.  W.  BERRY,  'Mlh  Wis.  Infant,-/,. 

IVER  JOHNSON,  23d  JFw.  Infantry.      II.  S.  ABBOTT.  :J2rf  U'w.  Infantry. 
O.  J.  BORN,  'Mtli  Wis.  Iiifnnlri/.  C.  H.  TALLAIII),  IK/.v.  Battery. 

AND  FOl'R  IIUNDRKD  AXII  TWKXTY-FIVE  OT11ERS. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWAKD,  Sccn'lunj  of  State. 
109 


866  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

[Translation.] 

Resolutions  on  the  death  of  President  Lincoln  offered  by  Professor  Vincenzo 
Botta,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Italian  residents  of  New  York,  held  at  the 
Cooper  Institute,  April  23,  1865,  and  unanimously  approved. 

In  pursuance  of  a  call  from  the  duke  of  Licignano,  the  consul  general  of 
Italy,  the  Italian  residents  of  New  York  held  a  meeting  on  Friday  night,  the 
23d  April,  at  the  Cooper  Institute,  to  express  their  sympathy  for  the  American 
people  in  their  national  bereavement.  The  meeting  was  well  attended,  and 
composed  of  all  classes  of  the  Italian  immigration. 

The  following  resolutions,  submitted  by  professor  Botta,  were  unanimously 
approved  : 

Resolved,  That  the  meeting  share  with  heartfelt  sympathy  the  deep  sorrow 
in  which  this  nation  has  been  plunged  by  the  sudden  death  of  its  Chief 
Magistrate. 

Resolved,  That  they  share  with  ecpjal  intensity  of  feeling  the  horror  which 
the  infamous  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  has  awakened 
in  all  hearts  not  entirely  dead  to  all  genuine  sentiments  of  human  nature. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN  they  deplore  the  loss 
of  an  eminent  statesman,  who,  issuing  from  the  people,  and  educated  in  the 
school  of  free  labor,  has  throughout  the  whole  course  of  his  administration 
shown  himself  the  faithful  exponent  and  true  representative  of  the  people. 
Simple  in  his  life,  modest,  affable,  meek,  and  generous,  President  LINCOLN, 
living  in  an  age  of  corruption,  was  a  lofty  example  of  sterling  integrity;  placed 
at  the  helm  of  state  in  an  unparalleled  crisis,  in  all  his  political  career  he  proved 
himself  governed  by  the  purest  patriotism.  He  stood  the  unflinching  champion 
of  union  and  liberty ;  preserved  free  institutions ;  restored  to  the  nation  the 
territory  which  had  been  usurped  by  traitors,  and  erased  the  dark  stain  of  sla 
very  which  for  a  century  has  sullied  the  glories  of  the  country.  His  memory, 
as  the  defender  of  the  American  nationality  and  of  constitutional  liberty,  as  the 
emancipator  of  the  African  race,  and  the  redeemer  of  the  southern  people, 
deserves  the  unbounded  veneration  and  the  gratitude  of  all  the  world. 

Resolved,  That  while  they  deprecate  assassination,  even  when  committed 
under  the  pretext  of  promoting  the  cause  of  liberty,  they  do  not  find  words  to 
express  their  sense  of  the  iniquity  of  the  murder  of  the  late  President  of  the 
United  States ;  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  of  whom 
he  was  the  legitimate  representative,  perpetrated  in  revenge  of  his  glorious 
achievements  in  upholding  the  American  Union  and  promoting  the  emancipa 
tion  of  the  slaves.  The  crime  has  no  parallel  in  history,  and  deserves  the 
unqualified  abhorrence  of  all  civilized  people. 

Resolved,  That  in  admiring  the  unanimous  sentiment  of.  loyalty  which  the 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       867 

national  bereavement  has  awakened  in  the  breasts  of  all  the  American  people, 
they  cordially  unite  with  them  in  pledging  themselves  to  stand  by  the  govern 
ment,  faithful  to  the  laws  of  the  country,  devoted  to  the  Union,  and  ready  to 
give  their  unflinching  support  to  those  measures  which  his  worthy  successor 
may  consider  expedient  in  order  to  accomplish  his  work,  to  restore  order  and 
peace,  and  to  extirpate  from  all  the  territory  of  the  republic  slavery,  which  has 
brought  on  this  nation  the  calamity  of  civil  war,  and  prompted  the  foul  crime 
by  which  it  is  now  appalled. 

Resolved,  That  they  extend  their  cordial  sympathy  to  the  honorable  Sec 
retary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward,  and  his  family,  victims  also  of  the  cowardly  attack  ; 
and  that  they  offer  their  heartfelt  condolence  to  the  widow  and  the  family  of 
the  deceased  Chief  Magistrate. 

Resolved,  That  the  Italian  immigration  will  attend  the  funeral  of  President 
LINCOLN  to  take  place  in  this  city  on  Tuesday  next. 


At  a  meeting  of  Portuguese  citizens,  held  at  the  consulate  general  of  Por 
tugal,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  26th  April,  1865,  to  give  expression  to  their 
feelings  at  the  atrocious  act  committed  on  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
the  following  resolutions  were  passed  : 

1.  That  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LIXCOLN  has  awakened  the  highest 
indignation  among  the  Portuguese  population  of  the  United  States. 

2.  That  we,  Portuguese,  hereby  offer  to  the  people  of  the  United  States 
our  sincerest  sympathy  on  the  loss  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  country. 

3.  That  to  the  family  of  the  late  President  we  also  offer  a  tribute  of  our 
deepest  grief  for  the  irreparable  loss  they  have  sustained. 

4.  That  we  profoundly  regret  the  attempt  made  on  the  lives  of  the  Secre 
tary  of  State,  Mr.  William  H.  Seward,  and  that  of  his  son,  Mr.  F.  W.  Seward, 
offering  our  sincerest  wishes  for  the  recovery  of  both. 

f>.  That  we  also  offer  our  ardent  wishes  for  peace  and  prosperity  to  the 
United  States  under  its  new  administration. 

6.  That  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  the  legation  of  Portugal,  to  be 
transmitted  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  to  the  family  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  William  II.  Seward,  and  to  his  son. 


[Translation.] 

Record  of  proceeding*. 

CONSULATE  OF  SPAIN,  New  York. 

In  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  22d  day  of  the  month  of  April,  1865,  the 
Spanish  residents  of  said  city  assembled  at  the  Lafarge  Hotel,  to  bear  witness 


808  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

publicly  to  the  part  they  take  in  the  sorrow  of  this  republic  of  the   United 
States,  by  reason  of  the  tragical  and  lamentable  events  of  the  14th  instant. 

The  meeting  having  come  to  order,  and  Don  Rafael  Alvarez  being  appointed 
secretary  thereof,  the  consul  of  her  Majesty  delivered  the  following  address: 

GENTLEMEN  :  This  meeting  has  for  its  object  to  give  a  public  demonstra 
tion  of  the  sorrow  and  indignation  which  have  been  caused  to  all  of  us  by  the 
horrible  outrages  committed  at  Washington,  on  the  night  of  the  14th  instant,  on 
the  person  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States,  with 
which  our  country  is  in  the  best  relations  of  peace  and  friendship ;  to  condemn 
in  the  most  solemn  manner  the  wicked  attempt  at  assassination  made  against 
the  persons  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward,  and  his  son;  to  manifest  our 
sympathies  with  the  American  people;  to  associate  ourselves  in  the  public 
sorrow  for  the  loss  which  the  country  has  just  suffered,  and  to  offer  our  most 
sincere  condolence  to  the  family  of  the  deceased  Mr.  LINCOLN. 

It  is  a  mournful  duty  of  humanity  that  we  arc  called  on  to  discharge,  with 
out  being  in  any  manner  influenced  by  the  spirit  of  party,  being,  as  we  have 
been  and  are,  strangers  to  the  untoward  war  which  has  for  more  than  four  years 
afflicted  this  country. 

The  secretary,  Don  Rafael  Alvarez,  then  read  the  following  resolutions : 

The  Spaniards  resident  in  the  city  of  New  York  have  this  day  assembled 
to  bear  witness  publicly  to  the  indignation  and  sorrow  which  have  been  caused 
to  them  by  the  horrible  crime  committed  on  the  person  of  President  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  which  has  filled  the  people  of  the  United  States  with  grief,  and  have 
agreed  to  adopt  the  resolutions  following: 

That  they  energetically  condemn  the  horrible  and  cowardly  assassination 
of  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

That  they  sincerely  sympathize  with  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and 
participate  with  them  in  the  sorrow  produced  by  the  great  loss  they  have  just 
suffered  in  the  death  of  their  Chief  Magistrate. 

That  they  offer  the  most  earnest  wishes  for  the  close  of  the  war  which  now 
afflicts  the  United  States,  and  that  peace  and  prosperity  may  be  re-established 
among  them. 

That  they  offer  the  most  sincere  condolence  to  the  family  of  the  deceased 
Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  share  in  the  profound  grief  in  which  they  are  plunged  by  the 
great  loss  they  have  just  suffered. 

That  they  lament  and  solemnly  condemn  the  iniquitous  attempt  at  assassin 
ation  made  on  the  person  of  the  honorable  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of 
State,  and  on  that  of  his  son,  Mr.  F.  W.  Seward,  and  pray  the  Almighty  for 
the  prompt  restoration  of  the  health  of  both,  that  they  may  again  take  charge 
of  the  Department  of  State,  which  they  have  so  ably  and  with  such  good  results 
conducted  during  four  years. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       809 

That  for  such  cause  they  earnestly  press  upon  Mr.  Scvvanl  and  his  son  the 
offer  of  their  sympathies,  to  which  they  are  so  well  entitled. 

That  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  to  his  excellency  the  minister  of 
Spain  at  Washington,  that  he  may  please  to  communicate  them  officially  to  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  to  the  family  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  that  of  the 
Secretary  of  State,  as  the  true  expression  of  the  feelings  of  the  Spaniards  resi 
dent  in  New  York,  who  do  not  hesitate  to  make  assurance  that  they  are  also 
those  of  all  the  people  of  Spain. 

JUAN  PICO  Y  VILLANUEVA, 

Consul  of  her  Majesty. 

RAFAEL  ALVAREZ,  Secretary. 


CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK INSTITUTED  A.  D.   17GS. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  held  on  the  22d  day 
of  April,  18G5,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions,  submitted  by  Mr.  A.  A. 
Low,  president,  were  unanimously  adopted: 

IN    MEMORIAM. 

The  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  on  Saturday,  the  loth  day  of' April  instant,  by  its  suddenness  and 
attendant  circumstances  overwhelming  the  people  of  the  whole  laud  with  a 
feeling  of  profound  grief,  this  chamber  deems  it  proper,  in  assembling  at  the 
present  time,  to  make  record  on  its  book  of  minutes  of  the  loss  sustained  by 
the  nation  at  a  very  important  juncture  in  its  affairs,  a  loss  the  magnitude  of 
which  is  made  manifest  in  the  most  wide-spread  demonstration  of  sorrow  by 
the  suspension  of  business  for  the  space  of  six  days,  during  which  our  fellow- 
citizens  have  voluntarily  withdrawn  from  their  customary  secular  avocations, 
on  Wednesday  and  Thursday,  the  18th  and  19th  instant,  in  obedience  to  the 
proclamation  of  the  civil  authorities,  closing  their  places  of  business,  and  resort 
ing  very  generally  to  houses  of  public  worship  in  a  spirit  of  humiliation  and 
prayer.  The  whole  city  draped  in  mourning  testified  as  no  language  can  to 
the  universal  sentiment  that  a  great  and  good  man  had  departed  this  life. 
Sharing  deeply  in  the  nation's  grief,  and  feeling  deeply  the  greatness  of  the 
nation's  loss,  it  is  hereby 

Resolved,  That  this  chamber  will  earnestly  co-operate  in  any  measures  that 
may  be  suggested  by  the  city  authorities  to  receive  and  attend  with  due  respect 
the  remains  of  the  late  President  of  the  United  States  in  their  passage  through 
this  city  on  Monday  and  Tuesday  next. 

Resolved,  That  this  chamber  will  cherish  and  honor  the  memory  of  ABRA 
HAM  LINCOLN  as  of  one  who  was  wise  in  council  and  remarkable  for  his 


870  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

singleness  of  purpose;  in  practical  good  sense,  upright  aim,  and  devotcdness 
of  life  resembling  the  immortal  Washington  ;  who,  throughout  four  years  of 
civil  war,  so  conducted  and  guided  the  administration  of  public  affairs  as  to 
lead  up  the  minds  of  our  people  to  a  higher  and  still  higher  estimate  of  his 
character  for  sagacity,  combined  with  utmost  simplicity  ;  for  firmness  tempered 
by  moderation  ;  for  justice  allied  with  a  spirit  of  conciliation ;  and  that  in  death 
all  parties  are  united  in  his  praise,  and  vie  with  each  other  in  their  undivided 
homage ;  of  whom  it  may  be  justly  said  that  if  not  "  first  in  war,''  in  his  day  and 
generation,  he  was  "  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  " 

In  testimony  whereof  this  chamber  orders  that  the  foregoing  be  entered 
at  length  on  its  book  of  records,  and  that  a  copy  of  the  same  be  sent  to  the 
family  of  the  deceased,  with  whom  it  is  the  nation's  privilege  to  sympathize 
and  mourn  as  for  a  common  and  irreparable  loss. 

Attest : 

JOHN  AUSTIN  STEVENS,  JR., 

Secretary. 


Resolutions  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  Neiv  York. 

Whereas  God,  in  His  providence,  has  removed  from  tins  earth  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  a  man  simple  and  childlike,  truth 
ful  in  intercourse,  earnest  in  purpose,  meek  in  spirit,  pure  in  heart,  illustrious 
in  deeds,  and  Christian  in  all  his  ways;  and  whereas  God  has  likewise  permitted 
to  be  stricken  down  our  chief  counsellor  of  state — 

Resolved,  That  we  bow  to  His  high  purpose  in  perfect  faith,  knowing  that 
our  Heavenly  Father  doeth  all  things  well,  and  that  we  mourn  for  the  good 
man  who  has  gone  before  as  children  mourn  for  their  father,  and  that  we  offer 
our  fervent  prayers  for  the  recovery  of  our  Secretary  of  State. 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  in  these  assaults  the  familiar  hand  of  that 
system  of  assassination  which  for  eighty  years  lias  embittered  the  councils  of 
our  country,  stricken  down  senators  in  Congress,  repressed  free  speech,  bought 
and  sold  and  whipped  the  laboring  class,  starved  to  death  prisoners  of  war,  and 
deluged  a  nation  in  blood ;  and  that  we  will  never  rest  till  that  sum  of  all  vil- 
lanies  is  extirpated  in  the  land. 

Resolved,  That  we  humble  ourselves  in  contrition  for  the  assent  by  us 
given,  in  times  past,  to  this  system  of  sin,  and  devoutly  promise  for  the  future 
a  more  perfect  conformity  to  that  freedom  wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  succession  to  the  presidency  of  the  late  Vice-Presi- 
dent,  a  man  of  the  people,  who  has  suffered  deeply  by  this  rebellion,  we  see  the 
hand  of  a  just  God,  and  we  offer  our  prayers  that  the  Ruler  of  nations  will  give 
him  grace,  wisdom,  and  firmness  of  purpose  to  fulfil  aright  the  duties  of  his 
exalted  office. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        871 

Resolved,  That  when  we  reflect  that  this  act,  by  which  a  nnlion  is  thrown 
into  mourning  and  a  government  threatened  with  confusion,  was  effected  through 
the  instrumentality  of  young  men,  we  profoundly  feel  the  necessity  for  a  more 
united  and  earnest  effort  on  the  part  of  our  associations  to  care  for  the  morals 
and  habits  of  the  young  men  of  America. 

CHARLES  E.  WHITEHEAD, 

Corresponding  Secretary. 


At  a  special  meeting  of  the  vestry  of  Trinity  church,  called  by  the  rector 
upon  the  arrival  of  the  news  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  held  at  three  o'clock  p.  m.  on  Saturday,  the  15th  day  of  April,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-five,  the  following 
preamble  and  resolutions  were  adopted  : 

Whereas,  on  the  evening  of  the  14th  day  of  April,  1865,  being  Good 
Friday,  by  an  assassin  as  yet  unknown,  the  venerated  and  beloved  President  of 
the  United  States.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  was  suddenly  assaulted  and  slain ;  and 
whereas  the  announcement  of  that  appalling  crime  has  just  been  made  to  this 
community,  filling  all  hearts  with  a  grief,  astonishment,  and  indignation  which 
cannot  be  described ;  and  whereas  this  vestry  has  been  called  together  by  the 
rector  to  take  such  action  as,  in  their  judgment,  may  be  fit  and  becoming: 
Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  this  vestry,  as  sharers  in  the  common  distress  and  affliction, 
unite  in  the  public  lamentation  over  the  untimely  death  of  the  honored  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  Union,  and,  shocked  beyond  measure  at  the  intelligence  which 
has  just  been  received,  remain  without  words  adequate  to  express  their  sorrow. 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  in  this  calamitous  event  one  of  those  visita 
tions  permitted  by  Almighty  God,  before  which  a  nation  can  but  bow  in  silence 
and  awe,  with  the  prayer  that  they  may  be  overruled  for  the  good  of  our  country. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  regard  the  act  by  which  our  beloved  country  has 
thus  been,  through  indescribable  malice  and  fury,  plunged  into  the  deepest 
affliction,  as  one  of  those  crimes  of  which  no  language  can  adequately  paint  the 
atrocity — of  which  the  history  of  Europe  has  not  for  many  centuries  furnished 
a  parallel — of  which  our  own  history  has  afforded  thus  far  no  example,  and 
than  which  no  history  presents  a  more  detestable  and  infamous  act  to  the  view— 
we  cannot  but  hold  it  to  have  been  dictated  by  the  spirit  which,  from  the  com 
mencement  of  our  national  troubles,  has  sympathized  with  the  enemies  of  the 
public  peace,  and  aided  and  abetted  the  rebellion  now,  as  we  trust,  subdued;  a 
spirit  whose  tendencies  and  essential  character  had  previously  been  manifested 
in  the  July  riots  in  this  city  in  18G3,  in  the  attempt  to  destroy  this  city  by 
incendiarism  in  November  last,  and  in  the  systematic  outrages  inflicted  on  our 
captured  soldiers  in  the  prisons  of  the  South. 


872  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABKAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolved,  That  this  vestry  hereby  record  their  tribute  of  respect  to  the 
memory  of  the  late  President,  with  profound  sorrow  for  his  loss,  recognizing  in 
him  a  singleness  of  purpose,  an  honesty  of  intention,  an  ardent  patriotism,  a 
fidelity  to  duty,  and  a  growing  mastery  of  the  circumstances  of  his  position, 
which  enabled  him,  under  Providence,  to  fulfil  and  bring  to  successful  comple 
tion  a  work  almost  unprecedented  for  difficulty ;  and  that  in  his  removal,  at  the 
moment  in  which  the  labors  of  his  last  four  years  had  culminated  in  the  triumph 
of  the  national  authority,  and  the  evident  approach  of  the  blessings  of  peace,  we 
see  the  completion  of  a  career  which  the  nation  will  ever  look  back  to  with 
thankfulness,  and  hold  in  affectionate  and  tender  remembrance. 

Resolved,  That  the  rector  be  requested  to  take  order,  that  the  churches  of 
this  parish  be  draped  in  mourning,  in  token  of  our  sympathy  with  the  distress 
and  anguish  which  have  been  caused  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land  by  the  murder  of  our  venerated  and  beloved  Chief  Magistrate. 

Attested  by  order  of  the  corporation  of  Trinity  church,  in  the  city  of  New 
York. 

MORGAN  DIX,  Rector. 
Gr.  M.  OGDEN,  Clerk. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  trustees  of  Columbia  College,  New 

York. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  Columbia  College,  in  the  city  of  New  York 
on  the  seventeenth  day  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-five,  the  following  resolutions  were  passed: 

Whereas,  in  the  midst  of  universal  exultation  and  gladness  at  the  brilliant 
success  of  the  national  arms,  and  at  the  prospect  of  the  speedy  extinction  of  the 
existing  great  rebellion,  and  of  the  restoration  of  Union  and  peace  to  our  dis 
tracted  country,  the  nation  has  been  suddenly  shocked,  and  the  hearts  of  Hie 
people  have  been  wrung  with  anguish,  by  the  foul  assassination  of  our  venerated 
and  beloved  Chief  Magistrate,  and  by  a  simultaneous  attempt  upon  the  liftyjf 
the  honored  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States :  Therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  By  the  board  of  trustees  of  Columbia  College,  that  by  the  death 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  the  American  nation  has  lost  a  man  whose  simplicity  and 
native  energy  of  character,  honesty  and  tenacity  of  purpose,  pure  and  disinter 
ested  patriotism,  and  a  rare  combination  of  justice  and  humanity,  made  him 
honored,  beloved  and  revered,  and  whose  career  as  a  Magistrate  of  a  free 
people  will  render  him  illustrious,  wherever  free  institutions  and  universal 
emancipation  shall  exist,  through  all  ages. 

Resolved,  That  the  act  by  which  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  been  stricken 
down  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness,  is  one  which,  for  fiendish  atrocity,  is 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       873 

without  a  parallel  in  the  annals  of  history,  and  which  stamps  its  author,  its 
instigators,  and  all  who  approve  the  crime  or  shelter  the  criminal,  as  deserving 
the  detestation  and  abhorrence  of  all  mankind  to  the  latest  generations. 

Resolved,  That  a  like  abhorrence  and  execration  must  pursue  the  wretch 
who  aimed  the  assassin's  dagger  at  the  heart  of  William  H.  Seward,  as  he  lay 
helpless  upon  a  bed  of  suffering,  and  who  only  desisted  from  his  dastardly 
attack  when  he  supposed  that  his  diabolical  purpose  had  been  accomplished. 

Resolved,  That  this  board  recognize  in  these  acts  of  stupendous  and  unpre 
cedented  malignity  only  the  legitimate  manifestations  of  that  spirit  of  hostility 
to  all  law,  human  or  divine,  which  originally  prompted  and  has  since  continued 
to  sustain  the  nefarious  attempt  upon  the  life  of  the  nation  which,  for  four  years, 
has  made  our  once  happy  land  a^cene  of  such  horrors  as  the  world  has  never 
before  witnessed. 

Resolved,  That  a  cause  identified  in  its  inception,  by  the  avowals  of  its  own 
supporters,  with  the  perpetuation  of  the  crudest  form  of  human  bondage;  which 
has  employed  in  its  support  practices  so  shocking  to  humanity  and  so  abhorrent 
to  every  precept  of  religion  as  to  partake  rather  of  the  ferocity  of  wild  beasts 
and  savages  than  of  the  spirit  of  an  enlightened  Christian  civilization — practices 
such  as  the  deliberate  starvation  of  prisoners  of  war,  the  brutal  massacre  of 
prostrate  garrisons,  the  sacrilegious  desecration  of  the  remains  of  the  dead,  the 
persecution,  torture,  and  murder  of  unhappy  recusants,  and  the  inhuman  hunt 
ing  down  with  bloodhounds  of  miserable  refugees;  and  which  finally  sends 
into  the  heart  of  our  populous  towns,  and  into  our  national  capital,  the  midnight 
incendiary  with  his  torch  and  the  dastardly  assassin  with  his  knife,  is  one  which 
cannot  much  longer  continue  to  receive  the  countenance  or  encouragement  of 
any  people  which  calls  itself  Christian,  but  must  compel  all  good  men  and  all 
good  governments  everywhere  to  make  common  cause  against  its  rnaintainers 
and  abettors  as  common  scourges  of  mankind  and  enemies  of  the  human  race. 

Resolved,  That  this  board  tenders  its  most  respectful  sympathy  and  con 
dolence  to  the  bereaved  family  of  the  lamented  Chief  Magistrate,  assuring  them 
that  the  terrible  calamity  which  has  deprived  them  of  their  natural  protector 
and  support  has  only  the  more  endeared  them  to  the  hearts  of  the  American 
people,  and  has  entitled  them  to  receive,  and  made  it  sure  that  they  shall 
receive,  every  tender  care  and  every  generous  provision  in  the  power  of  a  great 
and  magnanimous  nation  to  afford  to  soften  to  them  the  bitterness  of  their 
aflliction. 

Resolved,  That  this  body  extend  also  a  sympathy  equally  sincere  to  the 
suffering  Secretary  of  State,  preserved,  as  by  a  miracle,  from  death  at  the  assas 
sin's  hand,  and  to  his  family,  outraged  by  this  demoniac  violence,  and  soon 
possibly  to  be  shrouded  in  mourning  for  the  loss  of  one  of  its  cherished  mem 
bers  fallen  a  victim  to  his  filial  devotion,  and  earnestly  trusts  and  prays  that 
110 


874  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

God  in  his  mercy  may  soon  restore  to  renewed  strength  and  usefulness  this 
tried  and  faithful  public  servant,  that  he  may  continue  long  in  the  future,  as  he 
has  done  in  the  past,  by  his  sagacity  and  wisdom,  to  guide  our  ship  of  state 
safely  among  the  perils  to  which,  in  the  present  trying  time,  the  complications 
of  diplomacy  are  continually  exposing  it. 

Resolved,  That  the  fiendish  ferocity  which  has  marked  the  conduct  of  the 
people  of  the  insurgent  States  throughout  the  progress  of  this  nefarious  attempt 
to  subvert  the  foundations  of  the  government  and  to  extinguish  popular  liberty 
upon  the  American  continent  is,  in  the  opinion  of  this  board,  but  the  natural 
and  necessary  fruit  of  that  half-barbarous  social  system  which  boasts  as  its 
distinguishing  feature  and  chief  corner-stone  the  hopeless  enslavement  of  a 
weak  and  helpless  race  of  human  beings ;  and  that,  if  upon  this  subject  any 
difference  of  opinion  among  loyal  men  has  heretofore  existed,  this  crowning  act 
of  deliberate,  premeditated,  malignant  atrocity  must,  from  this  hour  henceforth, 
unite  all  sensible  men,  all  good  citizens,  all  honest  patriots,  and  all  sincere 
Christians,  in  the  fixed  and  unalterable  determination  to  wash  out  and  extermi 
nate  from  the  land  every  trace  of  an  institution  which,  after  so  long  disgracing 
our  civilization  and  brutalizing  large  communities  of  our  people,  has  at  length 
generated  crimes  at  which  the  whole  world  must  stand  amazed,  and  whose 
frightful  enormity  will  make  them  forever  fearfully  and  unapproachably  pre 
eminent  in  the  annals  of  human  wickedness. 

HAMILTON  FISH, 
Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

WILLIAM  BETTS,  Clerk. 


HONORED  SIR:  The  following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the 
New  York  Annual  Conference  of  Ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
at  its  session  in  the  city  of  New  York,  commencing  April  19,  1865,  and  ordered 
to  be  engrossed,  and  a  copy  forwarded  to  your  excellency. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

THOS.  W.  CHADWICK,  Secrefary. 
His  Excellency  WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 

Resolved,  That  we  render  to  our  highly  respected  and  able  Secretary  of 
State,  Hon.  W.  II.  Seward,  and  to  the  members  of  his  family  suffering  with 
him  under  the  murderous  blows  of  the  assassin,  our  deep  sympathy  in  their 
sufferings,  and  our  earnest  prayers  that  the  Power  which  so  far  held  the  hand 
of  the  conspirator  that  life  was  saved,  may  be  pleased  to  raise  them  to  health 
again;  and  that  the  trained  mind  which  has  so  wisely  guided  our  foreign  rela 
tions  may  be  permitted  still  to  offer  its  well-considered  counsels  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF   CONDOLENCE  AND   SYMPATHY.  875 

MISSION  ROOMS  OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 

200  Mulberry  Street,  New  York,  April  24,  18C5. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  board  of  managers  of  the  Missionary  Society 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  held  this  day,  D.  L.  Ross,  esq.,  vice-presi 
dent,  in  the  chair,  the  committee  (E.  L.  Fancher,  esq.,  and  Hon.  M.  F.  Odcll) 
on  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN  presented  the  following  peamble  and  reso 
lutions,  which,  on  motion,  were  unanimously  adopted : 

The  board  of  managers  of  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episco 
pal  Church,  reverently  acknowledging  the  ruling  providence  of  Almighty  God 
in  all  the  affairs  of  men,  yet  bowed  with  grief  at  the  recent  horrible  crimes 
which  have  struck  at  the  heart  of  the  nation,  and  by  which  assassins  have  con 
spired  for  the  overthrow  of  our  government,  resulting  in  the  murder  of  our 
much  loved  and  honored  Chief  Magistrate,  have  convened  in  solemn  and  special 
session  to  express  their  sincere  emotions  and  declare  their  sentiments  touching 
the  recent  tragedy  that  has  filled  this  land  with  sorrow  and  mourning.  The 
board,  therefore,  resolve — 

1st.  That  the  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN  and  the  wicked  con 
spiracies  which  have  evolved  a  murder  so  atrocious,  and  sought  to  paralyze  our 
government  by  the  massacre  of  its  chief  officials,  deserve  the  lasting  execration 
of  the  civilized  world,  and  they  increase  our  abhorrence  of  the  spirit  of  rebellion 
which  inspired  the  guilty  instigators  of  such  barbarous  crimes. 

2d.  That  the  board  record  their  profound  admiration  of  the  character  and 
their  high  appreciation  of  the  patriotic  services  of  the  late  lamented  President 
of  the  United  States,  as  also  their  gratitude  to  God  for  the  gift  to  our  country 
of  such  a  Chief  Magistrate  during  the  unparalleled  and  eventful  era  of  his 
administration. 

3d.  That  a  rich  legacy  has  been  left  to  this  age  and  to  posterity  in  the 
example  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  ;  and  while  the  present  and  coming  generations 
will  admire  that  simplicity  of  nature,  and  those  peculiar  characteristics  which 
fitted  him  to  adorn  the  highest  position  in  the  gift  of  a  great  and  free  people, 
the  Christian,  the  patriot,  and  philanthropist  will  delight  to  review  his  career, 
wherein  he  was  enabled,  under  the  guidance  and  blessing  of  Almighty  God,  to 
enfranchise  the  oppressed  bondman  of  his  country,  and  to  conduct  the  govern 
ment  through  the  perils  of  civil  war  to  final  victory  and  security. 

4th.  That  the  board  are  grateful  to  God  for  his  great  mercy  in  sparing  the 
valuable;  life  of  the  honored  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  when 
assailed  on  his  sick-bed  by  an  armed  assassin,  and  they  pray  that  his  wise 
statesmanship  may  be  continued  for  the  advantage  and  defence  of  our  national 
rights. 

5th.  That  at  this  critical,  yet  hopeful,  juncture  of  affairs  the  board  are  glad 
to  believe  the  mantle  of  our  late  illustrious  Chief  Magistrate  has  fallen  upon  a 


876  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

worthy  and  competent  successor,  and  that  they  will  not  cease  to  pray  that  a 
double  portion  of  the  spirit  of  his  predecessor  may  be  upon  him. 

Cth.  That  the  board  deeply  sympathize  with  the  afflicted  family  of  our 
deceased  President;  and,  in  token  of  their  reverent  regard  for  his  memory, 
they  will  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning,  and  will  unite,  so  far  as  practica 
ble,  in  all  appropriate  observances  and  proceedings  intended  to  honor  the  name 
or  to  cherish  the  memory  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  martyred  President  of  the 
United  States. 

On  motion  the  secretary  was  directed  to  furnish  copies  to  all  our  church 
periodicals  for  publication,  and  also  the  family  of  the  deceased  President,  the 
Secretary  of  State,  and  President  Johnson. 

D.  L.  ROSS,  Chairman. 

DAVID  TERRY,  Secretary. 


VETERANS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  GUARD, 

HEADQUARTERS  SEVENTH  REGIMENT  ARMORY, 

New  York,  April  2<),  1865. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  this  association,  held  this  evening,  the  following 
expressions  of  its  sentiments  and  feelings  were  unanimously  adopted: 

The  national  joy  has  been  suddenly  turned  to  mourning.  Exuberant  con 
gratulations  at  the  brilliant  victories  of  the  Union  armies  have  given  place  to 
lamentations  of  grief  and  sadness.  The  glorious  banner  of  our  liberty,  proudly 
floating  from  every  housetop,  emblem  of  our  strength,  now  droops  with  the 
sombre  draperies  of  woe,  at  half-mast.  A  great  and  good  man  has  fallen; 
stricken  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  in  a  moment  of  fancied  security  and 
relaxation  from  cares  of  state,  without  note  of  warning.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
President  of  the  United  States,  is  dead. 

Whereas  the  parricidal  hand  has  been  nerved  by  this  wicked  rebellion 
which,  for  four  years,  has  been  striving  to  overthrow  our  government,  we  desire, 
in  common  with  all  good  and  loyal  citizens,  to  place  upon  record  our  utter 
detestation  of  the  horrid  crime,  and  our  unqualified  condemnation  of  the  cause 
which  induced  or  incites  to  assassination — the  most  odious  means  known  to 
civilization  for  the  removal  of  an  enemy ;  and  whereas  at  a  time  when,  by  the 
surrender  and  dispersion  of  the  rebel  armies  before  the  invincible  hosts  of  the 
Union,  the  so-called  confederacy  was  fast  crumbling  away,  and  the  prospect  of 
speedy  peace  gave  us  the  right  to  expect  no  more  bloodshed,  the  very  head  of 
the  nation — the  highest  representative  of  a  free  people  in  all  the  world — is  called 
at  such  a  time  to  give  his  life's  blood  in  defence  of  the  right :  Now,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That,  in  humble  submission  to  the  decree  of  Almighty  God,  who, 
in  His  own  inscrutable  providence,  permits  this  great  crime  to  be  visited  upon 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       877 

us,  \vc  reverently  and  devoutly  pray  that  the  wisdom  which  governs  the 
universe,  and  permits  not  "even  a  sparrow  to  fall  to  the  ground  without  His 
knowledge,"  may  so  guide  our  hearts  and  direct  our  minds  that  we  may  duly 
realize  the  lesson  intended  to  be  taught  us  as  a  nation  by  this  afflicting  dispen 
sation. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  heartfelt  sympathies  to  the  widow  and 
family  of  the  illustrious  dead.  We  mourn  with  them  for  the  loss  of  a  common 
protector  and  father;  one  whose  heart  ever  beat  with  the  largest  humanity; 
who  wept  with  those  who  wept  over  the  fallen  heroes  of  this  desperate  strug 
gle;  who  expended  his  efforts  to  relieve  the  oppressed;  and  who  succeeded  in 
setting  the  captives  free. 

Resolved,  That  the  eulogy  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  is  already  written  in  the 
hearts  of  the  American  people.  The  mighty  outpourings  of  a  generous  nation 
to  cast  a  look  or  shed  a  tear  upon  the  remains  of  all  that  was  mortal  of  the 
noble  patriot,  testify  to  the  reverence  and  love  with  which  he  was  regarded  by 
all  classes — that  love  which  he  so  magnanimously  reciprocated  and  manifested 
in  all  his  public  acts. 

Resolved,  That,  as  Washington  is  revered  and  honored  as  the  Father  of 
his  Country  and  the  founder  of  our  government,  so  will  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  be 
enrolled  as  the  great  martyr  to  human  liberty,  and  who  gave  his  life  in  support 
and  defence  of  that  government.  Together  their  names  will  be  blended  in  one 
immortal  wreath — both  among  the  names  that  were  not  born  to  die. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  exigencies  of  a  great  struggle  for  the  preservation  of 
its  life,  this  government  puts  into  the  hands  of  its  President  greater  powers 
than  were  ever  before,  in  the  history  of  the  world,  voluntarily  bestowed  upon 
one  man  ;  yet,  in  the  exercise  of  this  power,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  proved  himself 
qualified  for  its  proper  uses.  He  was  wise  in  council,  calm  in  judgment, 
unmoved  by  passion,  actuated  by  considerations  of  public  good,  the  love  of  his 
country,  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  the  protection  and  perpetuity  of  the 
government,  and  the  welfare  of  the  republic. 

Resolved,  That,  although  the  Executive  dies,  the  government  lives.  Our 
Constitution  has  wisely  provided  for  continuous  and  permanent  existence.  By 
this  provision,  the  mantle  of  Elijah  has  fallen  upon  Elisha.  We  believe  that 
in  Andrew  Johnson,  the  representative  head  of  the  government,  the  people 
have  an  earnest,  able,  sincere,  and  tried  statesman  and  patriot.  We  tender  to 
his  administration  of  the  difficult  task  imposed  upon  him  by  this  blow  our  entire 
confidence  and  support.  In  his  exercise  of  the  powers  intrusted  to  him,  we 
have  perfect  faitli  that  he  will  so  temper  justice  with  mercy  that  the  great 
criminals,  the  leaders  of  this  rebellion,  the  authors  and  abettors  of  the  murder 
of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  our  loyal  people,  shall  be  made  to  suffer  the  penal 
ties  that  violated  laws  impose  for  their  crime.  We  calmly  rely  on  his  own 
declaration,  "  that  mercy  to  one  is  cruelty  to  thousands,"  and  that  "  treason  is  a 


878  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

crime,  and  must  be  punished ;"   and,  although  we  advocate  no  measures  for 
revenge,  we  commend  just  punishment  in  vindication  of  outraged  law. 

The  mortal  remains  of  the  beloved  President  have  been  borne  from  the 
national  capital  towards  his  own  home.  The  bitter  grief  of  the  people  has  been 
manifested  in  every  step  of  their  progress.  This  association  has  borne  its  hum 
ble  part  in  the  escort  through  our  metropolis.  The  funeral  knell — the  muffled 
drum — the  sad  and  solemn  procession  of  the  martial  hosts — the  sombre  tread 
of  the  citizen  mourners,  have  accompanied  them  towards  their  final  resting- 
place  ;  and  still  they  are  moving  on.  Soon  they  will  be  deposited  in  their  last 
abode,  there  to  await  the  final  resurrection.  The  ashes  may  remain  in  the 
tomb  that  will  soon  enshroud  them,  but  the  monument  that  will  arise  to  the 
memory  of  the  great  departed  will  be  more  enduring  than  granite  column  or 
marble  urn,  for  it  will  be  in  the  hearts  of  a  grateful  people,  and  bear  on  its 
tablet  the  record  of  a  life  given  for  his  country.  The  highest  honor  of  all 
ascriptions  to  his  memory  is,  that  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  died  a  martyr  to  human 
liberty.  His  spirit  has  ascended  to  the  throne  on  high,  there  to  receive  the 
reward  of  "Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant:  enter  thou  into  the  joy 
of  thy  Lord." 

"Shroud  the  banner!   rear  the  cross! 
Consecrate  the  nation's  loss; 
Gaze  on  that  majestic  sleep; 
Stand  beside  his  bier  and  weep; 
Lay  the  gentle  son  of  toil 
Proudly  in  his  native  soil ; 
Crowned  with  honor,  to  his  rest 
Bear  the  prophet  of  the  west." 

Officers,  1865. 

Colonel — WASHINGTON  R.  VERMILYE. 

Lieutenant  Colonel — JACKSON  S.  SCHULTZ. 

Major — PHILETUS  H.  HOLT. 

Adjutant — EDWIN  R.  TREMAIN. 

Q  uartermaster — ANDREW  HOOGLAND. 

Paymaster — THOMAS  M.  ADRIANCE. 

Chaplain — Rev.  S.  D.  DENISON. 

Commissary — GILBERT  L.  ARROWSMITH 

Captains — H.  C.  SHUMWAY,  W.  A.  POND,  C.  II.  LOUTREL,  E.  A.  BROOKS, 
WILLIAM  D.  BRIGGS,  ALVIN  DENIKE,  CHARLES  CHAMBERLAIN,  I.  B.  DICKINSON. 

Lieutenants — THOMAS  FRANKLIN,  ALBRO  HOWELL,  JOHN  A.  HADDEN, 
CHARLES  B.  BOSTWICK,  HENRY  A.  KERR,  WALDEN  YOUNG,  ASHER  TAYLOR, 
JOHN  W.  SALTER. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF  CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  879 

NEW   YORK    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  held  in  its  hall 
on  Tuesday  evening,  April  25,  1865,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions 
were  adopted  unanimously : 

On  the  evening  of  Good  Friday,  the  fourteenth  day  of  April,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-five,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  sixteenth  President  of  the 
United  States  of  America  was  treacherously  assassinated  in  the  city  of  Wash 
ington. 

It  was  the  anniversary  of  the  day  on  which,  four  years  before,  traitors  in 
open  arms  had  caused  the  Hag  of  the  Union  to  be  struck  from  a  national 
fortress,  in  the  harbor  of  Charleston,  in  South  Carolina.  The  same  day,  under 
President  LINCOLN'S  own  order,  that  same  flag  was  raised  again  on  Fort  Sumter, 
through  the  might  of  the  American  people.  Rebellion  was  surrendering  to  the 
nation.  In  the  very  hour  of  its  victory  over  disunion  the  undivided  republic  is 
called  to  mourn  the  decease  of  its  chief  servant :  It  is,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That,  in  common  with  the  whole  country,  the  New  York  His 
torical  Society  deplores  the  calamity  which  has  befallen  the  nation  in  the  foul 
murder  of  an  honest-minded  Chief  Magistrate,  whose  large  sagacity,  true  love 
of  liberty  and  right,  patriotic  devotion  to  the  public  service,  approved  by  the 
affectionate  voice  of  the  people,  had  just  been  crowned  by  the  triumph  of  the 
national  arms  over  treason,  and  the  near  prospect  of  peace  throughout  the  land. 

Resolved,  That  the  eminent  American  who  has  thus  gone  down  to  the 
grave  has  left  to  his  countrymen  the  legacy  of  a  name  forever  identified  with 
the  era  of  the  salvation  of  the  republic,  through  the  destruction  of  slavery,  and 
of  a  fame  which  universal  history  will  justly  record. 

Resolved,  That  this  society,  cherishing  the  memory  of  President  LINCOLN, 
directs  that  its  hall  be  draped  in  mourning. 

Resolved,  That  attested  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the  family 
of  the  deceased,  and  to  the  Department  of  State. 

Extract  from  the  minutes : 

ANDREW  WARNER 

Recording  Secretary. 
JOHN  ROMEYN  BRODIIEAI), 

Domestic  Corresponding  Secretary. 


At  the  triennial  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  United  States  Life 
Insurance  Company  in  the  city  of  New  York,  held  on  the  15th  day  of  May, 
18G5,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted: 

Whereas,  since  the  last  meeting  of  this  board,  there  has  been  disclosed  to 


880  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

the  horror  and  indignation  of  the  civilized  world  a  diabolical  plot  to  plunge  this 
nation  into  anarchy,  by  the  cruel  and  savage  murder  of  the  chief  executive  and 
administrative  officers  of  the  general  government;  and  whereas  our  beloved 
President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  who  had  become  endeared  to  this  people  by  1he 
tenderest  ties  of  an  ardent  patriotism,  has  fallen  a  victim  to  this  foul  plot,  which 
Las  also  prostrated  and  brought  near  to  death  the  distinguished  Secretary  of 
State  and  his  faithful  son — other  officers  of  the  government  having  narrowly 
escaped  with  their  lives ;  and  whereas  the  unhallowed  passions  aroused  by  the 
leaders  of  the  late  rebellion,  in  their  frenzied  efforts  to  destroy  the  national  life, 
have  culminated  in  other  most  barbarous  cruelties  and  outrages  perpetrated  on 
the  high  seas  as  well  as  on  land,  involving  the  sacrifice  of  multitudes  of  lives  of 
defenceless  prisoners,  and  jeopardizing  the  lives  of  helpless  women  and  children 
in  the  attempted  burning  of  cities  by  incendiaries,  as  well  as  the  sacrifice  of  the 
property  of  non-combatants  :  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  we  mourn  the  loss  of  a 
pure  patriot,  an  honest  man,  an  upright  Chief  Magistrate,  the  memory  of  whose 
private  virtues  and  public  services  will  ever  remain  enshrined  in  the  affections 
of  this  people. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  bereaved  family  of  the  illustrious  deceased 
our  profound  sympathy  in  their  affliction,  assuring  them  that  in  this  sad  hour  of 
their  and  the  nation's  sorrow,  we  mourn  with  them  as  for  the  loss  of  a  father. 

Resolved,  That  we  gratefully  recognize  the  merciful  Providence  that  has 
graciously  preserved  to  the  country  the  eminent  counsels  and  services  of  the 
Secretary  of  State,  and  we  hereby  tender  to  that  distinguished  statesman  the 
assurance  of  our  profound  sympathy  with  him  and  his  family  in  their  afflictions. 

J.  B.  COLLINS,  President. 
JOHN  EADIE,  Secretary. 


IN  MEMORIAM:  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN— ATHEN.EUM  CLUB 

Proceedings  of  the  Afhenceu)?i  Club  in  New  York  city. 

At  the  written  request  of  several  members  of  the  association  an  informal 
meeting  was  held  at  the  club-house  on  the  evening  of  the  18th  day  of  April, 
18G5.  The  president,  Mr.  William  T.  Blodgett,  in  calling  the  meeting  to  order 
addressed  the  members  as  follows: 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  members  of  the  Athenaeum  Club  have  assembled  this 
evening  under  circumstances  of  the  most  painful  and  distressing  character.  A 
national  calamity  has  befallen  us  which  has  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  in  modern  times.  Our  representative  head  has  been  stricken  down  by 
the  hand  of  an  assassin  in  the  hour  of  our  country's  regeneration,  and  has  turned 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       881 

a  nation's  joy  and  jubilee  into  a  nation's  grief  and  woe.  We  have  met  this 
evening  to  take  such  action  as  may  be  meet  and  proper  to  give  expression  to 
the  feelings  of  this  club  at  the  great  calamity  which  has  befallen  us  all  in  the 
loss  of  our  wise  ruler  and  that  good  man  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the 
United  States.  Let  us  as  a  club  mingle  our  sympathies  with  those  of  our  com 
mon  country. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  T.  Bailey  Myers,  the  following  resolution  was  unani 
mously  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  seven  be  appointed  by  the  Chair  to  propose 
and  submit  to  the  club  resolutions  expressive  of  the  profound  grief  felt  by  its 
members  at  the  loss  the  country  has  sustained,  in  the  assassination  of  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  designated  to  compose  such  committee : 

T.  Bailey  Myers,  chairman;  Francis  A.  Stout,  Henry  T.  Tuckerman,  W. 
Gary  Smith,  George  P.  Putnam,  John  H.  Platt,  Richard  Wuint. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  John  A.  C.  Gray,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to  communicate  with  the  authori 
ties  and  make  such  arrangements  as  will  enable  the  club  to  participate  in  any 
funeral  obsequies  that  may  be  instituted  in  honor  of  the  late  President. 

The  chair  announced  the  following  committee  of  arrangements:  John  A. 
C.  Gray,  chairman ;  James  II.  Van  Alen,  William  S.  Constant,  W.  Gracie 
Ullshoeffer,  Horace  M.  Ruggles,  Schuyler  Skaats,  John  II.  Prout. 

Captain  Charles  Pyne  suggested  that  we  should  recommend  to  the  art 
committee  to  secure  from  one  of  the  artist  members  a  portrait  of  the  late 
President,  to  be  hung  in  the  club-house.  The  suggestion  was  approved. 

On  motion,  the  meeting  adjourned  to  meet  on  the  following  evening,  to 
receive  the  reports  of  the  committees. 

GEORGE  V.  N.  BALDWIN, 

Secretary. 


APRIL  19,  1865. 

Pursuant  to  adjournment  the  club  assembled  at  8  o'clock  p.  m.,  the  presi 
dent  in  the  chair.  The  proceedings  of  the  previous  meeting  were  read  and 
approved. 

Mr.  T.  Bailey  Myers,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  resolutions,  prefaced 
their  introduction  with  the  following  remarks: 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  The  duty  has  been  devolved  upon  me  of  submitting  to 

the    club  resolutions   feebly  expressing  our  sympathy  in    this  great  national 

bereavement.     It  would  appear  eminently  proper  that  we  should  participate  in 

the  public  grief  over  our  fallen  leader.     We  have  sympathized  in  his  struggles ; 

111 


882  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

have  appreciated  his  exertions  and  his  sacrifices ;  and  now  that  he  has  crowned 
them  with  his  life,  it  is  just  that  we  should  lay  our  humble  tribute  on  his- 
bloody  tomb.  We  all  recollect  how  doubtfully  his  first  inauguration  was 
received ;  how  many  of  us  distrusted  his  ability  to  cope  with  the  southern 
people,  goaded  into  a  bitter  hatred  of  the  North,  under  the  lash  of  their  unscru 
pulous  leaders.  We  remember,  too,  how  the  heart  of  the  nation  rose  when  he 
proclaimed  that  the  unity  of  the  States  should  be  preserved.  We  had  doubted, 
under  the  feeble  administration  of  his  predecessor,  whether  we  were  a  nation 
or  a  temporary  consolidation  of  communities,  to  be  broken  at  will  by  any  fac 
tious  member.  We  realized  when  the  camion  thundered  before  Sumter  that 
we  still  possessed  the  love  of  country  and  the  disposition  to  save  it  at  any  cost 
which  were  necessary  to  insure  that  end.  We  had  rung  conciliation,  compro 
mise,  and  concession  through  all  their  phases  ;  had  hesitated  at  coercion ;  but 
now  we  recognized  subjugation,  if  necessary,  as  preferable  to  annihilation;  held 
one  more  Union-saving  meeting,  threw  down  the  olive-branch,  and  drew  the 
sword.  Party  preferences  forgotten,  a  whole  people  rushed  to  arms  and  accepted 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  as  their  leader. 

Clubs  are  little  worlds  in  themselves.  Each  member  brings  to  a  common 
centre  his  prejudices  and  his  sympathies,  his  intelligence  in  discussion,  and  his 
candor  in  accepting  conviction.  The  clubs  of  New  York,  as  organized  bodies 
of  intelligent  men,  at  once  became  the  centre  of  patriotic  activity,  and  much 
good  was  done  in  those  early  days,  and  many  a  man  buckled  on  his  sword,  look 
up  his  pen,  or  arrayed  himself  actively  and  usefully  in  the  great  cause,  inspired 
by  the  convictions  ripened  by  club  discussion. 

The  Athenaeum,  sir,  was  not  behind  in  this  great  work,  and  she  can  point 
with  pride  to  a  long  list  of  members  who  have  done  good  service  in  the  field, 
in  the  study,  or  in  the  councils  of  the  nation. 

We  can  recall  how  intensely  those  who  found  no  better  opportunity  in 
active  exertion,  watched  the  struggle  and  followed  the  progress  of  our  armies, 
with  their  flag  markers,  on  the  map,  as  they  slowly  progressed  on  the  borders 
of  the  dark  region  of  secession — grand  enough  to  form  the  area  of  an  empire — 
dark  enough  for  the  ante-chamber  of  Hades.  The  news  from  the  army  was 
received  with  intense  anxiety  ;  we  mourned  over  their  reverses ;  we  rejoiced  iu 
their  triumphs.  We  fought  their  battles  over  again  ;  canvassed  private  informa 
tion  and  private  reports,  and  sometimes  accepted  probabilities  for  results,  and 
rumors  for  facts,  often  to  be  disappointed.  We  had  our  favorite  generals  and 
our  prejudices  against  generals,  and  discussed  the  merits  of  Butler,  (first  in  the 
field,)  McClellan,  FreVnont,  McDowell,  Pope,  Burnside,  Rosecrans,  Sherman, 
Thomas,  Sheridan,  and  Grant,  as  each  in  turn  assumed  a  prominent  place. 
Perhaps  we  had  a  stronger  bias  for  our  own  three  major  generals  in  the  field, 
and  a  warmer  desire  that  opportunity  should  be  given  to  them  than  to  others, 
not  only  because  they  were  Athenaeum  men,  but  because  they  had  distin- 


EXPRESSIONS   OF  CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  883 

guished  themselves  in  many  a  desperate  struggle.  Nor  were  our  naval  heroes 
overlooked  in  the  councils  of  the  club,  or  their  brilliant  achievements  forgot 
ten.  With  them  to  engage  was  to  succeed,  and  a  battle  was  almost  invariably 
a  victory. 

Perhaps  these  easy-chair  criticisms  of  more  earnest  patriots  who  fought 
and  suffered  while  we  were  discussing  their  efforts  in  a  peaceful  seclusion  from 
the  din  of  battle,  for  which  we  were  indebted  to  their  valor,  might  argue  indif 
ference  to  the  mighty  events  which  were  passing  around  us;  but  while  it  was 
not  possible  for  all  to  participate,  it  is  but  just  to  believe  that  many  reluctantly 
accepted  inaction  as  a  necessity.  To  discuss  and  read  the  newspapers  are 
pure  American  characteristics.  The  deliberations  of  the  Athenaeum  were  but 
typical  of  those  of  all  circles  at  home,  and  of  the  cabinets  and  people  of  every 
civilized  nation  of  the  globe.  The  institutions  of  a  mighty  nation  were  on  their 
trial,  and  the  question  of  self-government  to  be  passed  upon.  Well  might  those 
not  battling  for  them  watch  and  pray  ! 

Meanwhile  four  years  were  dragging  slowly  on.  The  hand  on  the  dial 
seemed  leaden  in  its  course.  The  hope  of  peace  often  apparently  near  at  hand, 
still  intangible  and  remote. 

In  all  this  period  there  was  a  patient,  hopeful,  earnest  man,  gifted  with  a 
clear  perception  and  an  honest,  patriotic  heart,  struggling  at  the  national  capital, 
often  within  sound  of  the  enemy's  cannon,  at  once  the  ruler  and  the  servant  of 
the  people.  To  him  years  were  but  as  days  in  preserving  the  life  of  the 
nation;  he  stopped  at  no  labor,  he  complained  of  no  fatigue,  he  shunned  no 
responsibility  ;  his  only  recreation  seemed  to  be  the  indulgence  of  a  quaint 
humor  in  an  occasional  epigram  or  joke,  which  served  to  show  how  light  his 
heart  was  in  his  good  work.  We  have  heard  of  no  jokes  made  by  Jefferson 
Davis  in  the  course  of  this  war.  He  has  lived  to  realize  in  the  very  existence 
of  his  paper  fabric  of  a  confederacy,  the  saddest  burlesque  of  the  century. 

The  exertions  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  the  immense  labors  thrown  upon  him 
in  these  years,  those  who  have  witnessed  them  can  scarcely  realize,  and  they 
will  be  but  faintly  portrayed  when  the  history  of  the  struggle  is  written.  He 
had  to  organize  a  government,  an  army,  a  navy,  a  treasury ;  to  select  his  co- 
laborers;  to  reconcile  their  jealousies;  to  harmonize  discordant  factions;  to  satisfy 
grasping  place-seekers ;  to  decide  on  such  vexed  questions  of  policy  at  home 
and  abroad  as  had  never  been  passed  upon  by  any  of  his  predecessors.  He  had 
to  reward  the  deserving;  encourage  the  desponding ;  temper  the  zeal  of  the 
too  confident ;  replenish  and  protect  the  treasury  ;  claim  the  services  and  (he 
blood  of  new  levies  ;  and  carry  on,  often  upon  his  own  responsibility,  a  war  the 
most  gigantic  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Who  could  wonder  that  he  made 
occasional  errors,  or  that  the  people  sometimes  complained  of  his  policy  ? 

But  when  his  course  was  passed  upon  by  the  people,  his  re-election  proved 
to  the  North  that  his  general  policy  was  sanctioned,  and  that  they  were  ready 


884  ASSASSINATION   OP   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

to  carry  on  the  war  if  it  lasted  four  years  longer,  aye,  or  forty  years  longer, 
until  the  great  result  was  gained. 

It  proved  to  the  South  that  there  was  no  escape  for  them  in  empty  truce 
or  hollow  compromise  ;  that  LINCOLN  had  promised  that  he  would  repossess  our 
forts  and  public  places,  and  restore  every  star  to  our  flag,  and  that  promise  was 
about  to  be  fulfilled.  LINCOLN  was  re-elected  ;  Sherman  was  advancing ;  Grant 
stood  firm  before  Richmond,  after  refusing  to  recognize  defeat,  and  the  anaconda 
was  winding  itself  slowly  around  the  body  of  the  beast. 

At  length  came  the  crowning  success — Richmond  had  fallen  !  and  LINCOLN 
was  in  person  in  the  rebel  capital,  intent,  with  the  generous  impulse  of  a  noble 
heart,  to  check  the  carnage  and  protect  the  fallen  foe.  Scarcely  returned  from 
that  mission  of  mercy,  the  felon  blow  was  struck  which  calls  forth  a  nations' 
grief. 

Had  he  fallen  by  the  hand  of  an  unyielding  rebel  on  his  entry  into  the 
capital  there  would  have  been  some  palliation  for  the  act  in  the  voluntary  risk 
he  assumed,  but  to  strike  him  unarmed  and  unprotected,  in  the  bosom  of  his 
family,  in  a  place  of  amusement,  where  he  had  gone  as  a  simple  American  citi 
zen,  unprotected  by  the  guard  his  rank  could  have  claimed  and  the  value  of 
his  life  to  the  people  required,  was  to  take  advantage  of  his  confiding  nature; 
and  in  his  act  the  assassin  displayed  the  utter  baseness  and  depravity  of  his 
nature,  and  the  horrible  teachings  of  the  fallen  cause  he  sought  to  sustain  by 
murder. 

It  will  be  said,  sir,  that  his  act  was  not  justified  by  the  whole  southern 
people ;  and  there  will  doubtless  be  those  there  who  will  denounce  it  as  a  crime 
and  despise  the  assassin;  but  there  will  be  many  to  exult  in  LINCOLN'S  fall,  and 
would  be  more  if  he  had  not  lived  to  inaugurate  measures  of  forgiveness  which 
they  will  fear  his  successor  may  not  carry  out.  The  claim  of  the  South  to 
represent  the  second  age  of  chivalry  has  departed.  A  gentle  heart  was  as 
necessary  to  it  as  gentle  blood.  Such  a  heart  beat  in  the  bosom  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  and  it  beat  long  enough,  after  humbling  the  haughty  and  setting  their 
bondsmen  free,  in  turn  to  temper  his  treatment  to  the  vanquished  with  mercy, 
and  allow  his  captives  to  depart  in  safety,  each  with  the  free  gift  of  his  charger 
and  his  sword.  Chivalry  had  no  nobler  achievement  or  more  gentle  courtesy 
than  this.  Contrast  it  with  Libby  prison,  and  the  prison  pens  of  the  remote 
south,  where  our  brother  members  have  participated  in  southern  hospitality. 
They  were  not  arranged  after  the  fashion  of  chivalric  receptions  of  a  fallen  foe. 
There  was  little  of  chivalry  in  the  massacre  at  Fort  Pillow.  We  have  no  record 
of  threats  to  "  cut  out  the  hearts ; "  no  minute  descriptions  of  curious  knives  to 
disembowel  an  adversary;  no  shell  hidden  in  coal-bunkers;  no  theory  of  starving 
a  captured  foeman  into  a  non-combatant  in  the  pages  of  Froissart  or  Monstrelet. 
It  is  to  the  savage  teaching  of  secession  and  not  of  chivalry  that  we  are  indebted 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  88f> 

that  we  have  to-day  a  wide  house  of  mourning  in  our  land,  and  a  martyred 
successor  of  Washington  in  our  annals. 

On  behalf  of  the  committee  I  offer  the  following  resolutions: 

Whereas  Providence  has  permitted  in  its  wisdom  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  should  fall  by  an  assassin's  blow,  aimed  at  the  dignity  of  the 
nation,  the  Athenaeum  Club,  recognizing  the  loss  which  they  have  sustained  in 
common  with  their  fellow-citizens,  do 

Resolve,  That  we  recognize  in  the  life  of  our  lamented  Chief  Magistrate 
the  patient  and  untiring  efforts  of  a  noble,  magnanimous,  and  patriotic  heart  to 
restore  to  its  integrity  a  nation  over  which  it  was  his  fortune  to  be  called  to 
preside  when  divided  and  torn  by  a  rebellion  more  savage  and  vindictive  than 
any  known  in  the  history  of  the  world  ;  and  that  in  his  death  we  have  witnessed 
a  martyrdom  to  those  eiforts  which  turned  against  his  life  the  fangs  of  the  ser 
pent  which  lie  had  torn  from  the  heart  of  his  country.  That  in  his  efforts  to 
achieve  this  great  work  he  has  displayed  a  patriotic  perseverance  and  an  ardent 
desire  to  restore  the  Union  with  as  little  distress  as  was  practicable,  even  to 
those  misguided  men  who,  from  motives  of  personal  ambition,  have  striven  with 
a  fiendish  malignity  to  destroy  what  their  fathers  created.  That  at  the  moment 
of  his  death  he  had  fully  accomplished  what  he  had  so  long  struggled  for  with 
varied  success,  earning  a  reward  only  second  to  that  bestowed  upon  the  Father 
of  his  Country,  and  leaving  it  to  his  successor  to  deal  with  the  leaders  of  this 
vile  conspiracy,  and  to  reorganize  and  protect  their  misguided  followers  under 
the  protection  of  the  old  flag. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  manner  of  his  death  we  witness  the  results  of  the 
teachings  of  secession,  and  how  they  have  succeeded  "in  firing  the  southern 
heart,"  as  manifested  in  the  bitter  hatred  which  has  been  displayed  by  the 
rebels  in  all  their  acts;  and  that  in  the  assassination  of  one  so  genial,  so  kindly, 
and  so  generous,  at  the  very  moment  when  he  was  standing  between  the 
defeated  and  prostrate  traitors  and  the  indignation  of  an  outraged  people,  will, 
when  consciousness  returns  to  these  misguided  men,  teach  them  that  they  have 
more  to  regret  in  his  death  than  those  who  have,  under  the  Constitution,  recog 
nized  his  administration  and  strengthened  his  hands.  As  Moses  from  the  top 
of  Pisgah  beheld  the  promised  land,  he  was  permitted  to  view  the  coming 
restoration  of  the  union  of  the  States  and  the  triumph  of  the  laws,  for  which 
he  had  patiently  labored  through  four  tempestuous  years,  before  his  eyes  were 
closed  in  death. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  the  expression  of  our  deep  sympathy  to  the 
family  of  the  late  President  and  to  our  fellow-citizens. 

Resolved,  That  the  club-house  be  draped  in  black,  and  that  the  members 
wear  the  ordinary  badge  of  mourning  for  thirty  days. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  profound  sympathy  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
and  to  the  Assistant  Secretary  in  the  dastardly  assault  committed  upon  them, 


886  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

and  our  contempt  for  the  cowardice  manifested  in  attacking  a  man  while  con 
fined  to  a  bed  of  sickness ;  and  we  trust  that  Providence  will  speedily  restore 
them  to  health  and  to  their  patriotic  duties. 

Mr.  Parke  Godwin,  in  seconding  the  resolutions,  said: 

ME.  PRESIDENT  AND  GENTLEMEN:  How  grand  and  how  glorious,  yet  how 
terrible  the  times  in  which  we  are  permitted  to  live!  How  profound  and  vari 
ous  the  emotions  that  alternately  depress  and  thrill  our  hearts — like  these  April 
skies,  now  all  smiles,  and  now  all  tears.  Within  a  week — the  Holy  Week,  as  it 
is  called  in  the  rubrics  of  our  churches — we  have  had  our  triumphal  entries 
amid  the  waving  of  the  palms  of  peace;  we  have  had  our  dread  Friday  of  cru 
cifixion;  we  have  had,  too,  in  the  recently  renewed  patriotism  of  the  nation,  a 
resurrection  of  a  new  and  better  life !  [Sensation.] 

It  seems  but  a  day  or  two  since  we  listened  to  the  music  of  the  glad  and 
festive  parade ;  we  saw  the  banners  of  our  pride  waving  in  beauty  in  every  air, 
their  stars  bright  as  the  stars  of  the  morning,  and  their  rays  of  white  and  red, 
like  the  beams  of  the  rainbow,  telling  that  the  tempest  was  past.  We  pressed 
hands  and  hurrahed,  and  grew  almost  delirious  with  the  joy  that  peace  had 
come,  that  unity  was  secured,  that  liberty  and  justice,  like  the  cherubim  of  the 
ark,  would  stretch  their  wings  over  the  altars  of  our  country,  and  stand  forever 
as  the  guardian  angels  of  her  sanctity  and  glory.  [Applause.] 

But  now  these  exultant  strains  are  changed  into  the  dull  and  heavy  toll  of 
bells;  these  Hags  are  folded  and  draped  in  the  emblems  of  mourning,  and  our 
hearts,  giving  forth  no  more  the  cheering  shouts  of  victory,  are  despondent  and 
full  of  sadness.  The  great  captain  of  our  cause,  the  commander-in-chief  of 
our  armies  and  navies,  the  President  of  our  civic  councils,  the  centre  and  director 
of  movements — this  true  son  of  the  people — once  the  poor  fiat-boatman,  the 
village  lawyer  that  was,  the  raw,  uncouth,  yet  unsophisticated  child  of  our 
American  society  and  institutions,  whom  that  society  and  those  institutions  had 
lifted  out  of  his  low  estate  to  the  foremost  dignity  of  the  world — ABRAHAM 
L^'COLN,  smitten  by  the  basest  hand  ever  upraised  against  human  innocence,  is 
gone,  gone,  gone!  He,  who  had  borne  the  heaviest  of  the  brunt  in  our  four 
long  years  of  war;  whose  pulse  beat  livelier;  whose  eyes  danced  brighter  than 
any  others  when 

"  The  storm  drew  off, 

In  scattered  thunders  groaning  round  the  hills," 

in  the  supreme  hour  of  his  joy  and  glory  was  struck  down.  That  genial,  kindly 
heart  has  ceased  to  beat ;  that  noble  brain  has  oozed  from  its  mysterious  beds  ; 
that  manly  form  lies  stiff  in  death's  icy  fetters,  and  all  of  him  that  was  mortal 
has  sunk  "  to  the  portion  of  weeds  and  out-worn  faces."  [Sensation.] 

Our  feelings  are  now  too  deep  to  ask  or  warrant  any  attempt  at  an  analysis 
of  the  character  of  the  services  of  the  man  whose  loss  we  deplore.  Standing 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       887 

over  his  bier,  looking  down  almost  into  the  tomb  to  which  he  must  shortly  be 
consigned,  we  are  conscious  only  of  our  grief.  We  know  that  one  who  was 
great  in  himself,  as  well  as  by  position,  has  suddenly  departed.  There  is  some 
thing  startling,  ghastly,  awful,  in  the  manner  of  his  going  off.  But  the  chief 
poignancy  of  our  distress  is  not  for  greatness  fallen,  but  for  the  goodness  lost. 
Presidents  have  died  before ;  during  this  bloody  war  we  have  lost  many  emi 
nent  generals — Lyon,  Baker,  Kearney,  Sedgwick,  Mitchell,  and  others;  we 
have  lost  lately  our  finest  scholar,  publicist,  orator— 

— "  That  when  lie  spoke, 
The  air,  a  chartered  libertine,  was  still, 
To  steal  his  sweet  and  honeyed  sentences." 

Our  hearts  still  bleed  for  the  companions,  friends,  brothers,  that  sleep  the  sleep 
"that  knows  no  waking;"  but  no  loss  has  been  comparable  to  his  who  was  our 
supremest  leader,  our  safest  counsellor,  our  wisest  friend,  our  dear  father. 

Would  you  know  what  LINCOLN  was  ?  Look  at  this  vast  metropolis,  cov 
ered  with  the  habiliments  of  woe.  Never  in  human  history  has  there  been  so 
universal,  so  spontaneous,  so  profound  an  expression  of  a  nation's  bereavement. 
In  all  our  churches,  without  distinction  of  sect ;  in  all  our  journals,  without  dis 
tinction  of  party;  in  all  our  workshops,  in  all  our  counting-houses,  from  the 
stateliest  mansion  to  the  lowliest  hovel,  you  hear  but  the  one  utterance — you  see 
but  the  one  emblem  of  sorrow.  Why  has  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
taken  such  deep  hold  of  every  class  ?  Partly,  no  doubt,  because  of  the  awful 
and  atrocious  method  of  his  death ;  partly  because  he  was  our  Chief  Magis 
trate  ;  but  mainly,  I  think,  because  through  all  his  public  functions  there  shone 
the  fact  that  he  was  a  wise  and  good  man ;  a  kindly,  honest,  noble  man ;  a  man 
in  whom  the  people  recognized  their  own  better  qualities;  whom  they,  whatever 
their  political  convictions,  trusted;  whom  they  respected;  whom  they  loved; 
a  man  as  pure  of  heart  as  patriotic  of  impulse — as  patient,  gentle,  sweet,  and 
lovely  of  nature  as  ever  history  lifted  out  of  the  sphere  of  the  domestic  affec 
tions  to  enshrine  forever  in  the  affections  of  the  world.  [Loud  and  continuous 
applause.] 

Yet  we  sorrow  not  as  those  who  are  without  hope.  Our  chief  has  gone, 
but  our  cause  remains,  dearer  to  our  hearts  because  he  has  now  become  its 
martyr;  consecrated  by  his  sacrifice;  more  widely  accepted  by  all  parties,  and 
fragrant  and  lovely  forcvermorc  in  the  memories  of  all  the  good  and  the  great 
of  all  lands,  and  for  all  time.  The  rebellion,  which  began  in  the  blackest 
treachery,  to  be  ended  in  the  foulest  assassination — for,  as  Sliakspeare  says, 

"  Treason  and  murder  ever  kept  together, 
As  two  yoke  devils  sworn  to  cither's  purpose  " — 

this  rebellion,  accursed  in  its  motive,  which  was  to  rivet  the  shackles  of  slavery 
on  a  whole  race  for  all  the  future  ;  accursed  in  its  means,  which  have  been  "red 


888  ASSASSINATION    OF   A1311A1IAM    LINCOLN. 

ruin  and  the  breaking  up  of  law,"  the  overthrow  of  the  mildest  and  blessedest 
of  governments,  and  the  profuse  shedding  of  brothers'  blood  by  brothers'  hands; 
accursed  in  its  accompaniments  of  violence,  cruelty,  and  barbarism,  is  now  doubly 
accursed  in  its  final  act  of  cold-blooded  murder  [Applause.] 

Cold-blooded,  but  impotent,  and  defeated  in  its  own  purposes.  The  frenzied 
hand  which  slew  the  head  of  the  government  in  the  mad  hope  of  paralyzing 
its  functions,  only  drew  the  hearts  of  the  people  together  more  closely  to 
strengthen  and  sustain  its  power.  All  the  North  once  more,  without  party  or 
division,  clenches  hands  around  the  common  altar  ;  all  the  North  swears  a  more 
earnest  fidelity  to  freedom  ;  all  the  North  again  presents  its  breasts  as  the  living^ 
shield  and  bulwark  of  the  nation's  unity  and  life.  Oh,  foolish  and  wicked 
dream!  oh,  insanity  of  fanaticism!  oh,  blindness  of  black  hate,  to  think  that 
this  majestic  temple  of  human  liberty,  with  its  clustered  columns  of  free  and 
prosperous  States,  and  whose  base  is  as  broad  as  the  continent,  could  be  shaken 
to  pieces  by  striking  off  the  ornaments  of  its  capital !  No ;  this  nation  lives, 
not  in  one  man,  nor  in  a  hundred  men,  however  eminent,  however  able,  however 
endeared  to  us,  but  in  the  affections,  the  virtues,  the  energies,  and  the  will  of 
the  whole  American  people.  It  has  perpetual  succession,  not  like  a  dynasty, 
in  the  line  of  its  rulers,  but  in  the  line  of  its  masses.  They  are  always  alive; 
they  are  always  present  to  empower  its  acts,  and  to  impart  an  unceasing  vitality 
to  its  institutions.  No  maniac's  blade,  no  traitor's  bullet,  shall  ever  penetrate 
that  heart,  for  it  is  immortal,  like  the  substance  of  Milton's  angels,  and  can  only 
"by  annihilating  die."  [Applause.] 

These  sudden  visitations  of  Providence,  these  mysterious  and  fearful 
vicissitudes  in  the  destinies  of  nations  and  individuals,  always  seem  to  our 
short-sighted  human  wisdom  as  inscrutable ;  nor  would  it  be  less  than  pre 
sumption  in  any  one  to  attempt  to  interpret  the  meaning  of  the  Divine  Mind 
in  this  late  and  most  appalling  affliction.  Grod,  as  he  passes,  the  Scriptures  tell 
us,  can  only  be  seen  from  behind — can  only  be  seen  when  events  have  gone  by. 
Until  then  we  grope  in  darkness ;  we  guess  at  best  but  dimly ;  we  more  often 
muse  in  mere  mute  wonder  and  awe.  Yet  it  is  always  permitted  us  to  extract 
such  good  as  we  may  from  His  seeming  frowns  and  judgments.  Thus  I  discern 
in  the  removal  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  lamentable  and  horrible  as  it  was  in  its  circum 
stances,  some  reasons  for  a  calm  and  hopeful  submission  to  the  Divine  will  I 
can  see  how  our  nation  is  cemented  by  its  tears  into  a  more  universal  and  affec 
tionate  brotherhood ;  I  can  see  how  the  proclamation  of  freedom  must  become 
the  eternal  law  of  our  hearts,  if  not  of  the  land,  through  the  martyrdom  and 
canonization  of  its  author ;.  I  can  see  how  the  atrocious  crime  of  assassination 
must  tear  away  from  the  rebellion  every  friend  that  it  had  left  in  the  civilized 
world  abroad ;  and  I  can  see  how  the  successor  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  a  southern 
man,  known  to  the  southern  people  by  the  fact  of  his  origin  and  principles,  not 
amenable  to  the  prejudices  knotted  and  gnarled  about  Mr.  LINCOLN,  shall  under- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        889 

mine  the  supremacy  of  the  southern  leaders,  and  reconcile  the  deluded  masses 
more  rapidly  than  any  acts  of  amnesty  or  promises  of  forgiveness.     [Cheers.] 

But  what  impresses  me  most  forcibly  in  all  this  business  is  the  new 
demonstration  that  it  has  given  of  the  inherent  strength  and  elasticity  of 
democratic  government.  We  have  conducted  the  most  stupendous  war  ever 
undertaken — a  war  that  involved  the  blockade  of  six  thousand  miles  of  sea- 
coast,  the  defence  of  two  thousand  miles  of  frontier,  the  clearing  and  holding 
of  the  second  largest  river  of  the  globe,  and  the  occupation  of  a  territory  greater 
than  all  Europe,  (without  Russia,)  not  only  energetically,  but  successfully.  Wv 
have  done  it  without  abandoning,  or  vitiating,  or  dislocating  any  of  our  funda 
mental  institutions ;  for  in  the  midst  of  this  gigantic  convulsion,  we  carried  on 
a  political  canvass  and  a  presidential  election  as  quietly  as  they  choose  a  beadle 
or  a  churchwarden  elsewhere;  and  now  we  have  our  principal  men  of  office 
killed  or  disabled  and  the  government  goes  on  without  a  jar,  and  society  moves 
in  its  appointed  way  without  a  ripple  of  outbreak  or  disorder.  Oh,  yes,  Ameri 
cans,  our  good  ship  of  state,  which  the  tempests  assail  with  their  wild  fury, 
which  the  angry  surges  lift  in  their  arms  that  they  may  drop  her  into  the 
yawning  gulf,  which  the  treacherous  hidden  rocks  below  grind  and  torture,  yet 
sails  on  securely  to  her  destined  port,  and  when  the  very  prince  of  the  power 
of  the  air  smites  her  captain  at  the  helm  and  the  first  mate  in  his  berth,  she 
still  sails  on  securely  to  her  destined  port,  for  her  crew  is  still  there ;  -they  know 
her  bearings,  and  will  steer  right  oji  by  the  compass  of  eternal  justice  and  und^r 
the  celestial  light  of  liberty. 

Mr.  George  D.  Putnam  sustained  the  resolutions  as  follows : 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  It  may  be  presumptions,  especially  for  one  who  has  no 
power  as  a  speaker,  to  add  anything  to  the  forcible  remarks  of  the  gentlemen 
who  have  already  spoken.  I  would,  with  deference,  merely  refer  to  one  or  two 
thoughts  which  have  been  already  expressed. 

Mr.  Godwin  has  well  said  that  even  in  this  overwhelming  calamity,  and 
amidst  this  deeply  affecting  spectacle  of  a  great  nation  in  tears  for  the  loss  of 
its  loved  and  honored  chief,  we  do  not  sorrow  as  those  who  have  no  hope.  May 
it  not  be,  sir,  that  the  beneficent  Ruler  of  the  universe  has  permitted  this  heavy 
blow  to  be  struck  for  his  own  wise  and  merciful  purposes  of  permanent  good 
to  this  nation ;  that  this  crowning  bereavement,  like  many  lesser  disasters 
throughout  the  great  struggle  of  these  troublous  and  fruitful  years,  may  prove 
to  have  been  needful  for  our  national  salvation  and  national  purification  ?  May 
it  not  prove  that  there  was  danger  of  too  much  leniency  and  forbearance  to 
traitors,  and  that  God  would  teach  us  that  justice  must  not  be  wholly  superseded 
even  by  benignant  mercy?  Is  not  our  new  President  right  in  saying  that,  in 
the  present  position  of  this  nation,  indulgence  to  leading  traitors  may  be  cruelty 
to  the  state  ? 
112 


890  ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

For  one,  sir,  I  must  confess  a  mortal  repugnance  to  bloody  revenge,  and  I 
believe  the  worst  use  you  can  make  of  a  man  is  to  hang  him.  I  would  give 
full  force  to  all  those  considerations  which  arc  rightly  urged  against  vindictive 
retaliation,  even  for  the  crimes  of  the  authors  and  leaders  of  this  foul  rebellion. 
The  spirit  of  our  Saviour's  teachings  should  govern  this  people  as  well  as  the 
law  from  Mount  Sinai.  But,  sir,  what  can  any  one  of  us  ask  or  expect  of  our 
government  in  disposing  of  the  responsible  leaders  of  the  late  audacious  and 
wicked  conspiracy  against  the  life  of  a  nation,  the  torturers  and  butchers  of  our 
prisoners,  and  the  authors  at  least  of  the  teachings  which  have  prompted  the 
attempt  at  midnight  murder  of  thousands  of  peaceable  women  and  children  in 
our  cities,  and  now  the  dastardly  assassination  of  the  great  and  good  chief  of 
the  nation  ?  Can  we  expect  that  these  criminals  (wherever  the  difficult  line 
may  be  drawn)  shall  suffer  less  than  permanent  expatriation  from  the  land  they 
have  steeped  in  blood  and  covered  with  the  graves  of  tens  of  thousands  of 
martyrs  to  their  unholy,  selfish,  reckless  ambition? 

If  we  say  nothing  of  the  shining  marks — the  nobler  victims  of  the  war 
itself — the  Elsworths,  the  Lowells,  the  Sedgwicks,  the  Winthrops,  the  Wads- 
worths — who  have  fallen  in  the  field — can  we  again  welcome  to  honorable 
citizenship  the  men  who  either  directed  or  countenanced  the  doings  at  Fort 
Pillow,  at  Laurence,  at  Salisbury,  and  Andersonville  ? 

Sir,  we  are  glad  to  believe,  whatever  may  have  been  previous  impressions, 
that  in  our  new  President  we  have  a  man  of  nerve,  of  integrity,  and  of  ability, 
who  will  not  shrink  from  the  duties  devolving  upon  him ;  but  will  administer 
justice  in  no  spirit  of  mean  revenge,  but  as  the  executive  agent  of  a  great 
people,  who  have  earned  by  their  best  blood  the  right,  under  God's  blessing, 
of  future  security  and  permanent  peace. 

We  are  willing  to  believe  that  he,  too,  as  well  as  his  martyred  predecessor, 
has  been  fitted  by  the  Almighty,  over  and  above  all  defects  of  education,  or  the 
personal  associations  of  a  slave  State,  for  the  momentous  duties  of  the  hour, 
upon  which  depends  the  future  of  this  continent. 

Glance  back  a  few  years,  nay,  a  few  months ;  the  suggestions  of  experi 
ence,  the  wonderful  teachings  of  Providence,  which  crowd  upon  us  as  we  look  at 
past  events,  would  fill  volumes.  I  do  not  presume  to  detain  you;  but  just  think 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  legally,  rightfully  chosen  though  he  was  for  his  high 
office,  yet  obliged  to  reach  the  capital  almost  as  a  fugitive,  in  disguise.  Think 
of  the  then  current  jeers  about  "  Old  Abe,  the  rail-splitter."  "  the  buffoon,"  "  the 
ape,"  not  so  called  only  by  southern  rebels,  but  openly  in  the  streets  of  New 
York.  Think  of  the  amazing  task  which  lay  before  this  untried  lawyer  of  a 
western  village.  Think  of  his  difficulties  and  discouragements,  not  from  open 
foes  alone,  but  from  professed  friends,  his  own  party  supporters,  almost  desert 
ing  him  as  unequal  to  the  crisis,  and  calling  for  a  "  dictator."  Think  of  the 
fact  that  his  wisdom  and  ability  were  thus  doubted,  not  merely  in  the  first  year 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       891 

of  repulses  and  disasters,  but  that,  even  within  the  last  eight  months,  some  ot" 
the  most  active  republicans  were  busily  planning  to  supersede  him  as  the 
"weakest  candidate"  for  the  succession.  Consider  the  harassing  pressure 
upon  him  by  visionary  or  selfish  friends  for  widely  opposite  and  variously 
doubtful  schemes  of  public  policy ;  consider  his  quiet  patience,  his  quiet  energy, 
his  modest  and  kindly  bearing  to  all,  his  sublime  and  enduring  faith  in  the  God 
of  justice  and  of  mercy  !  And  now  that  his  bodily  presence  with  us  has  ceased 
forever,  look  around  and  see  this  great  city,  nay,  almost  every  habitation  in  the 
land,  literally  draped  in  mourning — not  dictated  by  imperial  edict,  but  the  spon 
taneous  symbol  of  a  deep  and  earnest  sorrow,  shared,  let  us  believe  sincerely, 
by  thousands  who  had  hitherto  reviled,  while  they  secretly  must  have  respected 
and  admired,  this  "true  man  of  the  people."  Observe  men  of  all  shades  of 
opinion  and  faith  lauding  his  virtues,  doing  homage  to  his  noble  patriotism,  his 
immortal  services  to  the  people  he  loved  so  well. 

Has  any  one  of  us  walked  our  streets  since  Saturday  without  having  tears 
rise  unbidden  at  these  spontaneous  tokens  of  heartfelt  affection  and  respect  for 
our  late  President  I  Has  the  world  ever  seen  a  spectacle  more  touching,  more 
worthy  of  a  free  people  ?  Suppose  he  had  lived  a  few  weeks  longer,  to  see  the 
full  consummation  of  that  glad  time  when  the  old  flag,  waving  in  every  city  and 
village  over  the  broad  land,  is  again  acknowledged  and  respected  and  loved  as 
the  symbol  of  a  great  nationality,  governed  by  the  eternal  principles  of  justice, 
and  enjoying  the  blessings  of  freedom  in  peace  and  prosperity ;  suppose  this 
new  era  had  fully  dawned,  and  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  rail-splitter,  had  again 
visited  our  great  cities,  what  would  have  been  his  reception  I  But  he  was 
permitted  to  reach  only  the  near  view  of  this  glorious  result  of  all  his  patient 
toil  and  quiet  faith,  now  so  well  assured. 

It  has  been  well  said,  also,  by  Mr.  Godwin  that  tRis  event  leaves  a  great 
lesson,  and  a  cause  for  national  gratitude  amidst  our  grief,  in  the  proof  it  has 
given  the  world  of  the  stability  of  our  institutions.  Shrewd  and  judicious, 
though  perhaps  over-timid,  men  feared  at  first  that  a  blow  so  startling  must  be 
followed  by  distrust,  confusion,  anarchy.  But  the  wheels  of  government  have 
moved  steadily  and  serenely  on,  the  gold  thermometer  of  Wall  street  was 
scarcely  disturbed  by  a  fraction,  and  on  the  Saturday  which  proclaimed  the 
national  calamity,  and  while  the  nation  was  almost  paralyzed  with  horror  at  the 
parricide,  the  nation's  popular  loan  received  larger  subscriptions  than  ever 
before.  The  confidence  of  the  people  was  firm  and  unshaken.  Well  may  we 
look  at  the  bow  of  promise,  even  now  visible  over  the  heavy  cloud  of  aflliction. 
Well  may  we  believe  that  the  tears  now  mingled  over  the  bier  of  the  last  great 
victim  of  the  expiring  monsters,  slavery  and  treason,  with  the  blood  of  the 
noble  army  of  martyrs  who  have  gone  before,  will  together  unite  the  hearts  of 
this  great  people,  purified  and  renovated,  and  rising,  as  in  the  resurrection 


892  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

morning,  to  a  future  life  of  happiness  and  peace.     For  well  it  is  already  written 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  : 


-"His  patient  toil 


Has  robed  our  cause  in  victory's  light; 
Our  country  stood  redeemed  and  bright, 
With  not  a  slave  upon  her  soil. 

"A  martyr  to  the  cause  of  man, 
His  blood  is  Freedom's  eucharist, 
And  in  the  world's  great  hero-list 

His  name  shall  lead  the  van." 

Mr.  W.  Gary  Smith  followed  with  these  remarks : 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  I  have  a  natural  hesitancy  in  rising  to  speak  at  such  a 
time,  while  your  minds  are  still  under  the  spell  of  the  eloquent  words  to  which 
you  have  just  listened.  But  as  it  has  been  thought  well  that  there  should  be 
some  expression  on  the  part  of  the  younger  members  of  the  club,  I  beg  your 
indulgence  for  a  moment. 

Sir,  the  President  of  the  United  States  has  fallen  by  the  hands  of  an  assas 
sin.  Such  an  announcement  needs  no  remarks.  For  a  period  of  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  years  no  such  event  has  occurred.  For  the  first  time  in  all  the 
many  vehement  and  heated  struggles  of  our  national  history,  political  animosity 
and  partisan  hate,  defeated  at  the  ballot-box  and  in  the  field,  have  vented  their 
baffled  rage  in  the  perpetration  of  a  crime  at  which  the  civilization  of  the  age 
stands  appalled — a  crime  against  humanity  and  Christianity,  against  man  and 
against  God. 

This  is  no  natural  out-growth  of  our  American  institutions.  But  it  becomes 
us,  as  citizens  of  a  common  country,  to  consider  well  whether  there  be  anything 
in  the  social  organization  of  any  portion  of  it  favorable  to  the  engendering  of 
such  a  moral  monster  as  the  doer  of  this  deed ;  any  habits  of  thought,  of  action — 
any  tone  of  feeling — pervading  a  community  of  which  this  crowning  iniquity  is 
a  legitimate  expression.  I  desire  to  avoid  offence ;  but,  sir,  as  a  southerner  by 
birth,  I  maintain,  and  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  .there  is  a  portion  of  this  land 
whose  leaders,  grown  rich  on  the  unrequited  toil  of  bondsmen,  yet  claiming  to 
be  a  chivalric  nation  of  gentlemen,  have  openly  advocated  this  deed,  the  very 
shadow  of  whose  monstrous  iniquity  darkens  the  heavens. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  this  assassin  can  look  for  approval,  for  aid,  for 
protection  in  no  part  of  Christendom  save  in  the  limits  of  that  section  of  the 
Union  so  recently  in  rebellion  against  the  government. 

The  responsibility  of  this  crime  is  justly  chargeable  upon  the  South. 
Their  so-called  domestic  institutions  and  their  leaders  stand  to-day  arraigned  at 
the  bar  of  the  civilized  world  as  criminals  against  the  rights  of  mankind. 

It  is  our  duty  to  see  to  it  that  the  last  vestige  of  this  barbarism  be  eradi- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       893 

catcd.     We  owe  it  to  ourselves,  to  posterity,  to  liberty,  never  to  pause,  to  rest, 
nor  to  falter  till  the  land  be  purged. 

In  view  of  the  humble  origin  of  the  late  President,  of  his  upright  charac 
ter,  of  his  inestimable  services,  let  no  man  despair  of  the  safety  of  this  republic. 
The  unbroken  civil  order  maintained  during  the  shock  which  followed  his 
untimely  death,  fully  vindicates  the  majesty  of  popular  government. 

The  blow  which  reft  his  life  dissipated  in  an  instant  the  vapors  of  preju 
dice  and  partisan  misrepresentations  which  endeavored  to  impede  his  progress 
His  place  in  history  is  henceforth  secure;  the  memory  of  his  just  deeds, 
immortal. 

His  body  mingles  with  the  sacred  ashes  of  those  over  whom  a  nation 
watches  with  jealous,  loving  care.  His  spirit  has  gone  to  lead  the  van  of  that 
long  triumphant  procession  of  heroes  and  martyrs  of  liberty,  who,  in  all  the 
pomp  and  circumstance  of  a  militant  faith,  have  passed  through  the  portals  of 
time  into  the  light  of  perfect  day. 

Mr.  Francis  A.  Stout  made  the  following  remarks  in  regard  to  a  significant 
fact  connected  with  the  last  hours  of  Mr.  LINCOLN.  Mr.  Stout  said  : 

An  incident  has  come  to  my  knowledge  which  at  this  sad  time  is  of 
unusual  interest. 

About  ten  days  since  one  of  our  members,  General  Van  Alen,  became 
even  more  than  ever  profoundly  impressed  with  the  inestimable  value  to  the 
country,  at  this  peculiar  juncture  of  public  affairs,  of  the  life  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  the  wisest  and  best  of  contemporary  Americans. 

Under  the  impulse  of  an  uncontrollable  and  almost  prophetic  anxiety,  he 
then  wrote  to  the  President,  urging  him  to  guard  his  life  with  greater  care,  that 
his  personal  security  might  suffer  no  detriment  from  rebel  knife  or  bullet,  and 
that  the  nation  might  be  assured  of  its  own  safety  by  contemplating  his. 

On  Friday  last,  the  day  when  he  was  to  be  added  to  the  noble  army  of 
martyrs  who  have  died  for  freedom  and  for  man,  the  President  despatched  to 
General  Van  Alen  a  letter  of  considerable  length,  in  which,  after  touching  upon 
topics  of  public  and  private  concern,  he  stated  his  intention  to  use  hereafter 
"  due  precautionary  measures."  Mr.  President,  I  can  make  no  comment. 

The  resolutions  were  then  unanimously  adopted. 

Mr.  John  II.  White  then  arose  and  said  that  while  the  proceedings  of  the 
evening  would  be  noted  upon  the  records  of  the  club,  he  deemed  it  eminently 
fit  and  proper  that  the  outside  world  should  know  the  horror  and  detestation 
with  which  the  members  of  the  club  looked  upon  the  fiendish  crime  which 
had  filled  the  land  with  mourning.  The  assassination  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  attempted  assassination  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  in  its 
heinousness  and  enormity,  had  no  historic  precedent  or  parallel.  It  stands 
solitary  and  alone,  language  being  inadequate  to  give  it  a  fitting  and  a  proper 
name,  and  it  can  only  be  accounted  for  as  an  emanation  from,  and  the  legitimate 


894  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

fruit  of,  slavery,  secession,  treason,  and  thejiend  incarnate.     He  did  not  intend  to 
take  up  the  time  of  the  club  by  further  remarks;  but  he  hoped  the  mover  of 
the  resolutions  which  had  been  adopted  with  such  unanimity  would  furnish 
copies  of  the  same  to  be  published  with  the  other  proceedings  of  the  club. 
After  the  adoption  of  the  resolution  the  meeting  adjourned. 

GEORGE  V.  N.  BALDWIN,  Secretary. 


ODE, 

WRITTEN     BY     HENRY    T.     TUCKERMAN,     OF    THE     COMMITTEE     ON     RESOLUTIONS     FOR     THE 

FUNERAL   OBSEQUIES,   APRIL   25,  1865. 

I. 

Sliroucl  the  banner !   rear  the  cross ! 
Consecrate  a  nation's  loss; 
Gaze  on  that  majestic  sloop; 
Stand  beside  the  bier  to  weep; 
Lay  the  gentle  son  of  toil 
Proudly  in  his  native  soil: 
Crowned  with  honor,  to  his  rest 
Bear  the  prophet  of  the  west. 

n. 

How  cold  the  brow  that  yet  doth  wear 
The  impress  of  a  nation's  care; 
How  still  the  heart,  whose  every  beat 
Glowed  with  compassion's  sacred  heat; 
Rigid  the  lips,  whose  patient  smile 
Duty's  stern  task  would  oft  beguile; 
Blood-quenched  the  pensive  eye's  soft  light ; 
Nerveless  the  hand  so  loth  to  smite; 
So  meek  in  rule,  it  leads,  though  dead, 
The  people  as  in  life  it  led. 

in. 

O  let  his  wise  and  guileless  sway 
Win  every  recreant  to-day, 
And  sorrow's  vast  and  holy  wave 
Blend  all  our  hearts  around  his  grave! 
Let  the  faithful  bondmen's  tears, 
Let  the  traitor's  craven  fears, 
And  the  people's  grief  and  pride, 
Plead  against  the  parricide! 
Let  us  throng  to  pledge  and  pray 
O'er  the  patriot  martyr's  clay; 
Then,  with  solemn  faith  in  right, 
That  made  him  victor  in  the  fight, 
Cling  to  the  path  he  fearless  trod, 
Still  radiant  with  the  smile  of  God. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       895 

IV. 

Shroud  the  banner!    rear  the  cross! 
Consecrate  a  nation's  loss; 
Gaze  on  that  majestic  sleep; 
Stand  beside  the  bier  to  weep; 
Lay  the  gentle  son  of  toil 
Proudly  in  his  native  soil; 
Crowned  with  honor,  to  his  rest 
Bear  the  prophet  of  the  west. 

In  the  funeral  obsequies  on  the  25th  of  April,  the  Athenaeum  Club  partici 
pated,  bearing  an  appropriate  banner,  the  members  wearing  distinctive  badges 
of  mourning,  and  headed  by  their  vice-president,  Mr.  Henry  E.  Pierrepont ;  the 
president,  Mr.  William  T.  Blodgett,  being  then  absent  as  chairman  of  the 
citizens'  committee. 


MEXICAN  CLUB  IN  NEW  YORK. 

By  direction  of  this  club,  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  to  you  the  manifest 
ation  which  it  has  deemed  proper  to  address  to  the  Secretary  of  State  upon  the 
occasion  of  the  death  of  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  to  request  you  to  do 
us  the  favor  to  cause  it  to  reach  the  hands  of  the  government  of  this  country, 
for  the  club  desires  that  through  your  instrumentality,  who  are  the  worthy 
representative  of  the  lawful  government  of  Mexico,  that  of  the  United  States 
may  be  informed  of  feelings  which  animate  them  on  this  occasion. 

I  protest  to  you  my  distinguished  consideration. 

Independence  and  liberty !     New  York,  April  15,  1865. 

IGNACIO  MEJLA. 

The  MINISTER  OF  MEXICO  at  Washington. 


MEXICAN  CLUB  AT  NEW  YORK, 

New  York,  April  15,  1865. 

SIR:  The  Mexican  Club  of  New  York,  profoundly  affected  by  the  tragic 
and  premature  death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
has  resolved  to  manifest  to  your  excellency  that  the  citizens  which  compose  it 
fully  sympathize  with  the  affliction  of  the  American  people ;  that  they  look 
upon  the  loss  of  this  eminent  patriot  not  only  as  a  great  calamity  to  the  United 
States,  but  as  a  just  cause  of  mourning  for  all  the  peoples  who  in  America  enjoy 
liberty,  or  arc  contending  to  restore  it ;  and  they  believe  that  with  LINCOLN 
there  has  disappeared  from  earth  one  of  the  great  benefactors  of  humanity, 
who,  on  descending  to  the  tomb,  has  been  crowned  with  the  laurel  of  immor 
tality  and  martyrdom. 


896  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

To  the  veneration  which  LINCOLN  will  have  in  history,  as  the  personification 
of  the  great  American  people,  in  his  firmness,  in  his  energy,  in  his  enlighten 
ment,  and  in  his  magnanimity,  to  his  great  title  of  the  emancipator  of  the  slaves, 
he  will  always  add  in  the  hearts  of  the  Mexicans  the  acknowledgment  which 
the  love  of  justice  and  the  respect  for  law  inspires,  of  which  he  gave  proofs,  in 
not  sanctioning  the  outrages  committed  against  Mexico,  and  in  not  acknowledg 
ing  in  that  republic  any  other  power  than  that  which  is  derived  from  the 
institutions  and  the  free  national  will. 

The  Mexican  Club,  in  taking  part  in  the  affliction  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  upon  whom  it  looks  as  a  nation  of  brothers,  cherishes  the  hope 
that  as  the  spirit  of  Washington  has  animated  this  nation  in  the  work  of  con 
solidating  its  institutions,  so  the  spirit  of  LINCOLN  may  continue  to  guide  it 
until  peace  and  union  are  restored,  slavery  abolished,  and  until  it  shall  become 
the  bulwark  of  liberty  for  all  America. 

On  addressing  this  manifestation  to  your  excellency,  we  have  the  honor  to 
offer  to  you  the  assurances  of  our  very  distinguished  consideration. 
In  the  absence  of  the  president,  from  indisposition, 

IGNACIO  MEJIA,  Vice-President. 

CIPRIANO  ROBERT,  Secretary. 

Hon.  SECRETARY  OF  STATE  of  the  United  States. 


Resolutions  adopted  at  a  meeting  of  Frenchmen  held  at  New  York,  on  Tuesday, 

April  18,  1865. 

The  French  residing  in  New  York,  assembled  on  occasion  of  the  deplora 
ble  event  which  has  stricken  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  person  of 
President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  adopt  the  following  resolutions  : 

Resolved,  That  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  aroused  the 
reprobation  of  the  French  population  of  New  York. 

Resolved,  That  we  offer  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  our  mournful 
sympathies  on  the  loss  which  the  death  of  its  Chief  Magistrate  causes  the 
nation  to  experience. 

Resolved,  That  we  offer  up  our  ardent  prayers  for  the  re-establishment  of 
the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  under  the  new 
administration. 

Resolved,  That  we  offer  to  the  family  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  our  sincere 
condolences  on  the  occasion  of  the  sad  trial  to  which  it  is  subjected. 

Resolved,  That  we  equally  regret  the  criminal  attempt  of  which  Mr. 
Seward  is  the  victim ;  that  we  offer  our  prayers  for  his  speedy  restoration,  and 
that  we  seize  this  occasion  to  transmit  to  him  the  expression  of  our  lively 
sympathies. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        897 

It  is  moreover  resolved,  That  the  above  resolutions  be  transmitted  to  the 
legation  of  France  at  Washington  to  be  presented  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  to  the  family  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  and  to  that  of  Mr.  Seward. 

GAULDREE  BOILLEAU, 

Consul  General  of  France. 
L.  DE  GEOFROY, 

Cftargc  d'affaires  of  France. 


At  a  meeting  of  British  residents  in  the  city  of  New  York,  held  at  the 
Astor  House,  on  Tuesday,  the  18th  day  of  April,  1865,  the  following  preamble 
and  resolutions  were  adopted  : 

Whereas  a  suddeii  and  awful  calamity  has  fallen  on  this  nation  in  the 
death,  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  of  its  honored  and  highly  esteemed  Chief 
Magistrate,  President  LINCOLN  : 

Resolved,  That  we  participate  in  the  universal  feeling  of  grief  and  anguish 
caused  by  the  atrocious  and  appalling  crime  which  has  deprived  the  nation  of 
its  revered  Chief  Magistrate,  at  a  most  important  and  critical  conjuncture  of 
public  affairs  ;  and  we  desire  at  the  same  time  to  record  the  expression  of  our 
profound  respect  for  the  eminent  private  virtues  and  public  character  of  the  late 
President,  as  well  as  for  the  integrity  of  purpose  and  uprightness  of  intention 
with  which  he  devoted  himself  to  the  promotion  of  the  prosperity  and  welfare 
of  the  whole  country,  in  whose  service  he  has  fallen  an  honored  and  ever- 
memorable  victim. 

Resolved,  That  we  respectfully  tender  to  the  bereaved  widow  and  family 
of  the  late  Chief  Magistrate  the  assurance  of  our  heartfelt  sympathy  and  con 
dolence  under  this  most  afflictive  dispensation  of  Divine  Providence. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  signed  by  the  chairman  and  secretary, 
on  behalf  of  the  meeting,  and  be  forwarded  to  her  Majesty's  minister  at  Wash 
ington,  with  a  request  that  he  will  communicate  them  in  such  manner  as  he 
may  think  proper,  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  the  widow 

and  family  of  the  deceased  President. 

E.  M.  ARCHIBALD, 

//.  B.  M.  Consul,  Chairman. 
ARTHUR  KENDALL,  Secretary. 


NEW  YORK,  April  20,  1865. 

Whereas  a  dastardly,  foul,  and  infamous  assassination  has  bereaved  our 
dear  adopted  country  of  the  best  and  most  kind-hearted  Chief  Magistrate,  in 
113 


898  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

the  hour  of  victory,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  good  work  of  pardon  and  concilia 
tion  towards  the  vanquished,  and  has  thereby  plunged  in  sorrow  and  grief  all 
true  friends  of  human  liberty  :  Be  it,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we,  citizens  of  this  republic,  of  Polish  and  Bohemian  descent, 
children  of  sires  who  were  never  stained  with  the  blood  of  their  own  chiefs,  on 
that  account  feeling  more  deeply  the  horrid  atrocity  of  the  infamous  parricide, 
participate  more  feelingly  in  the  national  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  a  man  who,  in 
an  hour  of  the  greatest  triumph,  proved  himself  to  be  yet  greater  by  his  benevo 
lence  and  magnanimity  towards  the  erring  and  guilty. 

Resolved,  That  our  heartfelt  sympathy  and  compassion  are  with  the  family 
of  our  lamented  President  in  this  sad  and  painful  bereavement. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  to  the  sorrowing  widow 
and  children  of  our  late  honored  President. 

And  further — 

Whereas,  at  the  very  moment  of  the  infamous  murder  committed  on  our 
beloved  Chief  Magistrate,  another  equally  ignominious  attempt  was  made  on 
the  life  of  our  excellent  Secretary  of  State,  and  his  worthy  assistant,  the  Hon. 
Frederick  W.  Seward :  Be  it,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  our  sympathy  and  compassion  for  their  moral  and  physical 
sufferings,  as  well  as  our  wishes  for  their  speedy  recovery  and  restoration  to 
health,  and  for  the  continuance  of  their  noble  and  useful  career,  are  hereby 
warmly  and  earnestly  expressed.  And 

Resolved,  That  this  expression  of  our  sentiments  be  communicated  to  the 
Hon.  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  and  to  the  Hon.  Frederick  W. 
Seward. 

In  behalf  of  Poles  and  Bohemians: 

HENRY  KALUSSOWSKI, 
Chairman  on  the  part  of  Poles. 

ANSON  MERUNKA, 
Chairman  on  the  part  of  Bohemians. 

U,  J.  JAIVOROWSKI, 

Secretary  on  the  part  of  Poles. 

CENEK  ROCAREK, 

Secretary  on  the  part  of  Bohemians. 


NEW  ORLEANS,  April  28,  1865. 

At  a  public  meeting  held,  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  on  Saturday,  April 
22,  1865,  for  the  purpose  of  honoring  the  memory  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       899 

President  of  the  United  States,  and  expressing  the  universal  condemnation  felt 
by  this  community  of  the  deed  whereby  the  late  President  lost  his  life,  and  the 
life  of  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State  for  the  United  States,  was 
attempted,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted: 

Whereas  it  has 'been  permitted  by  an  All-wise  God  that  the  life  of  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  our  President,  should  be  taken  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  and  that 
a  murderous  attack  should  be  made  upon  William  H  Seward,  the  Secretary  of 
State  for  the  United  States,  and  both  under  circumstances  of  strange  atrocity ; 
and  whereas  the  citizens  of  New  Orleans  have  now  gathered  in  solemn  assem 
bly  to  signify  their  emotion  at  these  awful  dispensations :  Be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  people  of  New  Orleans  utterly  condemn  and  abhor 
these  infamous  deeds,  by  which  the  American  name  has  been  disgraced — the 
American  heart  wrung  with  sorrow. 

Resolved,  Tlfat  the  attack  upon  the  President  and  Secretary  of  State  must 
inspire  all  friends  of  security  and  law  throughout  the  world  with  apprehension 
and  dismay;  that  the  safety  of  every  government  is  endangered,  and  all  the 
dearest  rights  of  the  citizens  given  to  hazard  by  such  appalling,  horrible 
examples. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  President  LINCOLN  we  mourn  the  loss  of 
fervid  patriotism,  unwavering  honesty,  personal  purity,  a  liberality  that  reached 
magnanimity,  a  love  of  liberty  that  was  passionate,  and  practical,  large  ability ; 
we  mourn  a  man  who  more  than  any  other  of  his  time  was  a  representative  of 
the  people  of  America.  By  the  nobility  of  his  nature,  not  less  than  by  the 
value  of  his  services,  he  won  his  way  to  the  hearts  of  his  fellow-countrymen. 
They  loved  and  greatly  respected  him  while  living ;  their  tears  flow  for  him 
now. 

Resolved,  That  we  learn  with  great  satisfaction  that  the  assault  upon  Mr. 
Seward  was  not  wholly  successful,  and  that  the  eminently  serviceable  labors  of 
that  distinguished  statesman  and  true  patriot  may  yet  be  continued  for  the 
benefit  of  the  nation. 

Resolved,  That  out  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  our  late  President  we  will 
wear  badges  of  mourning  for  thirty  days ;  that  we  will  unite  to-morrow  in  our 
several  places  of  public  worship  in  imploring  Divine  assistance,  that  this  great 
public  chastening  may  be  made  the  means  of  good  to  our  national  life,  and  that 
the  Ruler  of  the  Universe  will  continue  to  vouchsafe  to  us  that  loving  protection 
our  fathers  received,  and  which  has  not  been  hitherto  withheld  from  us. 

Resohed,  That  the  citizens  of  New  Orleans  unite  with  the  people  of  the 
nation  which  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  preserved  in  the  expression  of  a  heartfelt 
sympathy  for  the  sorrow  which  has  suddenly  invaded  the  family  of  which  lie 
was  the  loved  and  honored  head. 


900  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Resolved,  That  the  chairman  of  this  meeting  be  requested  to  transmit  a 
copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  late  President,  and  to  the  Sec 
retary  of  State. 

II.  KENNEDY,  Mayor, 

President. 
D.  L.  GIBBONS, 
SIDNEY  G.  BROWER, 
EDW'D  C.  BILLINGS, 
W.  T.  GILBERT, 

Secretaries. 


BRITISH  CONSULATE,  New  Orleans,  April  19,  1865. 

SIR  :  The  painful  intelligence  received  here  from  the  north  this  morning 
of  the  death  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  by  the  hfftid  of  an  assassin 
impels  me  to  offer  you,  general,  and  the  military  authorities  of  this  department, 
my  sincere  condolence  on  this  calamity  which  has  befallen  the  country. 

I  am  sure  that  I  but  express  the  universal  sentiment  of  the  British  sub 
jects  who  reside  in  this  military  division  when  I  say  that  the  intelligence  of 
this  dreadful  calamity  will  be  received  by  all  with  feelings  of  deep  sensibility. 

Occurring  at  a  time  when  the  approaching  return  of  peace  was  being  wel 
comed,  not  only  by  the  people  of  this  country,  but  by  the  whole  civilized  world, 
this  great  national  calamity  is  more  especially  to  be  deplored. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  high  consideration,  sir,  your  most  obedient, 

humble  servant, 

DENIS  DONOHUE,  H.  M.  Consul. 
Major  General  CANBY,  U.  S.  A., 

Commanding  Military  Division  of  the  West  Mississippi 


No.  430 — B.]  CONSULAT  DE  BELGIQUE  A  LA  NOUV'E  ORLEANS, 

New  Orleans,  April  19,  1865. 

GENERAL  :  It  is  with  profound  regret  that  the  people  of  the  United  States 
have  this  morning  heard  of  the  untimely  death,  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  of 
the  honored  and  honorable  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States,  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  and  Secretary  of  State,  William  H.  Seward. 

Fully  appreciating  the  merits  of  the  deceased,  I  feel  it  my  duty,  as  the 
representative  of  the  kingdom  of  Belgium,  to  express  to  you,  as  commander 
of  this  department,  my  most  earnest  sympathies. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  general,  with  the  highest  consideration,  yours,  very 
respectfully, 

JOSH.  DEYNOODT,  Consul  of  Belgium. 

Major  General  E.  R.  S.  CANBY. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF  CONDOLENCE  AND   SYMPATHY.  901 

ORANGE,  ESSEX  COUNTY,  NEW  JERSEY, 

April  22,  1865. 

At  a  meeting  of  Council  No.  30,  Union  League,  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  held  at  their  room  last  evening,  the  21st  April,  1865,  the  following 
preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted : 

Whereas  it  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to  remove  by  death  ABRAHAM  LIN 
COLN,  late  President  of  these  United  States  of  America,  and  an  honored  member 
of  the  League ;  and  whereas  the  circumstances  attending  his  sudden  decease 
are  startling  and  appalling  beyond  all  precedent,  it  becomes  us  as  loyal  citizens 
to  express  our  feelings  and  sentiments  on  this  momentous  occasion :  Be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  bow  in  humble  submission  to  that  Infinite  Wisdom 
which  has  so  suddenly  removed  the  beloved  and  noble  head  of  this  mighty 
nation,  and  while  heart-stricken  ourselves,  tender  our  respectful  sympathies  to 
the  afflicted  family  of  the  deceased. 

Resolved,  That  in  this  dastardly  act  of  an  assassin,  as  in  the  attempt  upon 
the  life  of  the  honored  Secretary  of  State  and  family,  we  recognize  the  same 
infernal  malignity  which  inaugurated  the  rebellion,  and  has  made  Fort  Pillow, 
Belle  Isle,  Lib  by  prison,  Andersonville,  Danville,  and  Salisbury  the  synonyms 
of  "hells  upon  caith"  among  the  civilized  nations  of  the  world. 

Resolved,  That  to  Andrew  Johnson,  the  executive  head  of  this  nation,  we 
pledge  our  firm,  united,  and  loyal  support  in  all  places,  and  under  all  circum 
stances,  to  the  end  that  this  rebellion  be  annihilated,  and  the  Union  be  preserved. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  eloquent  and  almost  inspired  words  of  our  martyred 
President,  "With  malice  towards  none,  and  with  charity  for  all,"  we  still  do 
most  fully  recognize  the  practical  truth  of  the  hour,  that  "  Mercy  to  traitors  is 
cruelty  to  the  state,"  and  that,  in  the  grandest  sense,  this  nation  lives  not  to 
itself  alone  in  the  mighty  sacrifice  it  has  laid  upon  the  altar  of  freedom,  but  its 
example  and  success  shall  be  the  assurance  of  hope  to  every  down-trodden, 
suffering  nationality  of  the  earth. 

SAMUEL  D.  BACCHUS,  President. 
JAMES  D.  BYERTY,  Vice-President. 
ALFRED  F.  MUNN,  Secretary. 


To  the  Honorable  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD,  Secretary  of  State : 

Respectfully  showeth  that  on  the  19th  of  April,  in  the  year  of  grace  1865, 
at  the  hour  appointed  for  the  funeral  rites  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  deceased,  at 
the  city  of  Washington,  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  pf  Oyster  Bay,  in  Quecn*s 
county,  State  of  New  York,  assembled  at  their  respective  places  of  worship, 
and  alter  due  observance  of  religious  services  adapted  to  the  occasion,  they 
again  assembled  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day  in  general  meeting  of  all 


902  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

denominations,  when  a  deeply  impressive  and  interesting  discourse  was  deliv 
ered  by  our  fellow-townsman,  Mr.  Charles  King,  at  the  close  of  which  the 
following  resolutions  were  offered  and  unanimously  adopted  by  the  meeting : 

1.  That  we  deplore  in  common  with  our  fellow-citizens  everywhere  the 
great  loss  sustained  by  our  beloved  country  in  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
twice  elected  by  the  people  to  the  highest  office  within  their  gift,  and  we  cannot 
but  regard  with  horror  and  detestation  "  the  deep  damnation  of  his  taking  off." 

2.  That  we  look  upon  the  manner  of  his  death  as  calculated,  in  the  way 
of  God's  moral  government  of  the  world,  to  arouse  the  nation's  consciousness 
to  a  proper  sense  of  the  enormous  iniquity  of  this  wicked  rebellion,  culminating 
in  the  assassin's  blow  aimed  at  the  nation's  heart. 

3.  Impressed  with  the  foregoing  consideration,  we  believe  that  the  Almighty 
Disposer  of  Events,  in  the  mysterious  workings  of  his  providence,  will  turn  the 
awful  calamity  we  now  deplore  into  a  blessing,  by  strengthening  the  power  of 
the  nation  to  meet  its  foes,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  "  lead  to  a  just  and 
lasting  peace  among  ourselves,  and  with  all  nations.  " 

4.  That  we  have  the  fullest  confidence  in  Andrew  Johnson,  who  was  the 
second  choice  of  the  people,  and  on  whom  has  now  devolved  all  the  power  and 
duties  of  the  Chief  Magistrate.     Guided  by  his  own  practical  good  sense  and 
the  wisdom  of  the  constitutional  advisers  by  whom  he  is  surrounded,  we  doubt 
not  but  the  same  wise  policy  of  his  predecessor  will  be  carried  out  to  a  glorious 
and  happy  termination. 

5.  And  while  we  mourn  our  great  bereavement,  we  return  thanks  for  the 
hope  permitted  us  that  the  life  of  our  fellow-citizen,  Secretary  William  H. 
Seward,  may  still  be  preserved  for  the  benefit  of  our  common  country. 

6.  And  while  we  would  not  intrude  upon  the  sacred  griefs  of  the  widow 
and  family  of  the  deceased  President,  we  must,  nevertheless,  express  our  sincere 
condolence  and  sympathy  for  their  irreparable  loss.     May  the  Father  of  All  be 
with  them. 

Lastly.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  signed  by  the  officers  of  the 
meeting,  be  transmitted  to  President  Johnson  and  to  the  Secretary  of  State, 
and  likewise  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  as  some  humble  expression  of  their  regard  and 
esteem. 

W.  T.  McCOREN,  Chairman. 
CHARLES  KING, 
R.  G.  HUTTON, 

Rector  of  Christ  Church. 
S.  Y.  LUDLAM, 
SOLOMON  TOWNSEND, 

Officers  of  the  Meeting. 
TIIOS.  H.  BRIGGS,  Secretary. 
OYSTER  BAY,  April  21,  1865.  » 


EXP11ESSIONS   OF  CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  903 

HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    OF    PENNSYLVANIA. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania,  held  on  Monday  evening,  April  24,  1865,  the  following  preamble 
and  resolutions..were  presented  and  read  by  Professor  Charles  D.  Cleveland,  and 
unanimously  adopted.  It  was  then  moved  that  a  special  meeting  of  the  society 
be  called  on  Thursday,  the  27th,  to  consider  the  same.  On  that  evening, 
Edmund  A.  Souder,  esq.,  was  called  to  the  chair,  when  the  preamble  and 
resolutions  were  again  read,  and  were  unanimously  adopted  by  the  society. 

Whereas  we  recognize  in  the  recent  calamity  that  lias  fallen  upon  our 
republic,  in  the  violent  death  of  our  President,  an  event  that  not  only  calls  forth 
a  personal  grief  from  every  loyal  heart,  but  rises  above  individual  sorrow,  and 
forms  a  crisis  in  our  national  life — an  epoch  in  our  national  history:  Therefore, 

I.  Resolved,  That  it  is  peculiarly  the  duty  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Penn 
sylvania  to  inquire  into  the  historic  meaning  of  the  sad  occurrence  that  has  thus 
suddenly  overwhelmed  us;  to  read  in  it,  as  well  as  may  be  through  tears,  the 
lessons  of  the  past  of  which  it  is  the   culmination,  and    the  monitions  for  the 
future  to  which  it  sternly  and  undoubtedly  points. 

II.  Resolved,  That  in  the  assassination  of  our  beloved  Chief  Magistrate  our 
sorrow  for  the  bereavement  is  as  intense  as  our  horror  at  the  crime.     A  life  has 
been  lost  which,  by  a  blending  of  mental  and  moral  qualities  in  a  union  of  rare 
completeness,  had  a  hold  upon  the  heart  of  every  loyal  citizen,  and  made  the  tie 
that  bound  him  to  his  government  no  less  a  personal  than  a  civic  attachment; 
and  gratefully,  therefore,  do  we  bear  our  earnest  testimony  to  the  consummate 
ability,  the  enduring  faithfulness,  the  political  sagacity,  the  far-seeing  wisdom, 
the  lofty  patriotism,  the  enlarged   humanity,  the  proverbial  honesty,  and   the 
ever-overflowing  goodness  which  marked  the  character,  through  his  whole  term 
of  office,  of  our  late  honored  and  loved  President. 

III.  Resolved,  That  while  with  deep  grief  we  mourn  the  loss  of  him  who 
on  the  22d  of  February,  1861,  when  he  raised  the  national  flag  over  the  State 
House  in  which  our  Constitution  was  framed,  declared,  with  what  now  seems 
prophetic  sign ificancy,  that  "he  would   rather  be  assassinated  upon  the  spot 
than  fail  to  maintain  the  great  principles  of  constitutional  liberty;"  and  who, 
in  the  four  years  of  his  able  and  momentous  administration,  so  nobly  and  firmly 
acted  up  to  that  declaration,  showing  at  all  times  a  heart  beating  in  full  sym 
pathy  with  the  objects  of  our  Constitution,  as  declared  in  its  preamble,  "  to  form 
a  more  perfect  Union,  and  to  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty,"  and   crowding 
into  that  brief  period  events  and  principles  of  deeper  historic  interest  and  of 
wider  and  farther  reaching  influence  than  were  ever  before,  in  so  short  a  time, 
recorded  in  history,  it  is  peculiarly  fitting  in  the  Historical  Society  of  Penn 
sylvania  to  declare  it  to  be  their  deepest  conviction  that,  under  God,  it  was  the 
wonderfully  attempered  prudence  and  energy,  justice  and  mercy,  caution  and 


904  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

decision,  breadth  of  view  and   strength  of  purpose  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  that 
led  us  triumphantly -through  the  perils  of  this  atrocious  rebellion. 

IV.  Resolved,  That,  by  his  wise,  persistent,  and  finally  successful  efforts 
in  crushing  the  rebellion,  and  thus  breaking  down  forever  the  vilest  and  most 
tyrannical   oligarchy  the  sun  ever  shone  upon,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  has  made 
American  citizenship  mean  protection  to  American  citizens  in  every  portion  of 
the  republic;  and  that,  by  his  proclamation  of  the  1st  of  January,  18(i3,  giving 
immediate  liberty  to  millions  long  held  in  bondage,  and  by  his  large-hearted 
humanity,  everywhere  conspicuous,  he  has  earned  for  himself  the  richest  of  all 
blessings — "  the  blessings  of  those  who  were  ready  to   perish ;"  and  has  thus 
engraved  his  name  upon  the  page  of  history,  for  all  time  to  come,  as  the  friend 
of  man. 

V.  Resolved,  That,  when  we  view  the  parricide's  crime,  which  has  thus 
whelmed  our  nation  in  mourning,  as  the  result  of  a  cause — the  natural  out 
growth  of  some  principle  of  action — history  and  its  philosophy  utter  no  doubtful 
teachings ;  they   say,  as  distinctly  as  voices   from    the   past  can  say,  that   the 
murderous  hand  which  took  the  life  of  the  head  of  our  republic  is  but  the  sym 
bol  of  that  stealthy,  deadly  blow  which  must  always,  sooner  or  later,  be  dealt 
to  any  republic,  when  it  either  cares  not,  or  dares  not,  to  cast  out  from  its  midst 
elements  that  give  the  lie  to  the  simplest  and  most  fundamental  conditions  of 
political  liberty  ;  and  that  our  land,  as  a  whole,  must  either  be  a  unity  of  homo 
geneous  principles  in  its  parts,  or  else  be  dashed  into  a  shapeless  wreck  by  the 
clashing  currents  within  it. 

VI.  Resolved,  That,  in   the  long  catalogue  of  crimes   committed  by  the 
slave-power  against  liberty  and  humanity  for  the  last  fifty  years — crimes  too 
numerous  to  recount,  and  many  of  them  too  foul  to  particularize — consummated 
in  the  rebellion  and  all  the  atrocious  deeds  committed  in  it,  and  culminating  in 
the  murderous  assault  upon  our  Secretary  of  State  and  the  Assistant  Secretary, 
and  in  that  crowning  crime  of  horror,  stealthily  taking  the  life  of  our  Chief 
Magistrate,  this   same   slave-power  has  shown  itself  to  the  world  in  its  true 
character,  in   acts  of  malignity  and  wickedness  unparalleled  on  the  page   of 
history;  and  has  shown  to  us  the  utter  incompatibility  of  its  existence  with  our 
own  national  life. 

VII.  Resolved,  That  as,  by  the  avowed  declarations  of  the  slaveholders 
themselves — who  quoted  the  words  of  the  Saviour,   "  the    stone  which   the 
builders  rejected,  the  same  is  become  the  head  of  the  corner,"  and  with  bold  but 
characteristic  blasphemy  applied  these  sacred,  heaven-descended  words  to  the 
foulest  of  crimes,  intending  to  make  it  the  "corner-stone"  of  anew  government — 
slavery  was  the  cause  and  origin  of  the  rebellion,  and  to  extend  it  indefinitely 
the  purpose,  by  their  own  avowal,  of  those  who  aimed  to  destroy  our  national 
life,  so  now  it  conclusively  follows,  and  should  everywhere  be  held,  that  there 
can  be  no  true  patriotism  without  hostility  to  that  "sum  of  all  villanies,"  and 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       905 

a  fixed  determination  that  it  shall  never  be  the  cause  of  another  rebellion,  and 
no  longer,  in  any  way  or  shape,  curse  our  land. 

VIII.  Resolved,  That,  while  we  tender  to  the  wife  and  childen  of  the  illus 
trious  deceased   our  sincerest  sympathies    in  this  their  irreparable  loss,  and 
fervently  pray  that  they  may  be  sustained  under  it  by  Him  who  alike  "  gives 
and  takes  away,"  we  at  the  same'time  rejoice  that  he  has  bequeathed  to  them 
so  rich  and  precious  a  legacy  of  public  and  private  virtues,  which  they  will  ever 
fondly  cherish,  and  which  will  grow  brighter  and  brighter  as  time  rolls  on. 

IX.  Resolved,  That  to  our  honored  Secretary  of  State,  Hon.  William  H. 
Sevvard,  who  has  conducted  our  foreign  relations  with  such  signal  ability  and 
wisdom  in  a  period  of  unprecedented  difficulty,  and  to  his  able  and  courteous 
Assistant  Secretary,  Hon.  Frederick  W.  Seward,  both  prostrated  by  the  dagger 
and  bludgeon  of  the    assassin,  we  extend   our  deepest  sympathies,  fervently 
praying  that  a  kind  Providence  may  so  restore  them  to  health  and  strength  that 
they  may  be  able  again  to  labor  for  their  country  in  years  to  come  with  the 
same  ability  as  they  have  in  years  past. 

X.  Resolved,  That  to  our  new  President,  Andrew  Johnson,  thus  suddenly 
called  to  his  high  station,  we  pledge  our  earnest  and  cordial  support,  with 
fervent  prayers  that  he  may  be  guided  in  all  his  varied  and  responsible  duties 
by'  Infinite  Wisdom  ;  rejoicing  that,  in  the  patriotism  and  firmness  of  his  past 
life,  as  well  as  in  his  recent  public  declarations  that  "  treason  is  the  highest  of 
all  crimes,"  we  have  the  fullest  assurance  that,  while  he  will  show  mercy  to 
their  misguided  and  deluded  followers,  he  will  visit  the  guilty  authors  and 
leaders  of  the  rebellion,  however  numerous  they  may  be,  with  the  punishment 
they  so  richly  deserve ;    so  that  thus   peace,  tranquillity,  and  unity  may   be 
restored  to  every  part  of  our  land,  and  that  thus  a  warning  may  be  left  to 
traitors  for  all  coming  time. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Pliny  Earle  Chase,  seconded  by  Mr.  J.  A.  McAllister,  it  was 
resolved  that  these  resolutions,  signed  by  the  officers  of  the  society.be  published  in 
three  of  our  newspapers, and  that  copies, engrossed  or  printed.be  sent  to  the  family 
of  the  deceased,  to  thePresident  of  the  United  States,  and  to  theSccretary  of  State, 
requesting  that  they  be  deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  United  States,  in  perpetua 
tion  of  the  sense  of  the  society  upon  our  great  national  bereavement. 

JOSEPH  U.  IXGERSOLL,  President. 

SAMUEL  L.  SMEDLEY,  Recording  Secretary. 


Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  by  the  Baptist,  ministers  of  Philadelphia. 

PHILADELPHIA.  April  18,  18G5. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Baptist  ministers  of  Philadelphia  and  vicinity,  held 
this  day,  in  reference  to  that  unparalleled  crime,  the  assassination  of  AISUAIIAM 
114 


906  ASSASSINATION   OF    ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

LINCOLN,  President  of  the  United  States,  on  the  evening  of  April  14,  1865,  it 
was  unanimously 

Resolved,  That  the  tremendous  blow  which  has  fallen  on  the  nation  fills 
our  hearts  with  grief  and  dismay.  A  crime,  for  which  our  language  has  no 
name,  and  which  startles  every  citizen  by  its  magnitude  and  atrocity,  has  been 
committed,  tending  to  loosen  the  bonds  of  society  and  abolish  all  individual 
safety. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  feel  our  hearts  stricken  with  profound  sorrow,  we 
rest  in  confident  assurance  that  God  doeth  all  things  well,  and  will  still  have 
our  beloved  country  in  His  holy  keeping,  and  so  order  the  issue  of  this  appall 
ing  calamity  that  unborn  generations  will  see  His  goodness  even  in  the  terrible 
event  which  He,  for  wise  but  inscrutable  purposes,  has  suffered  to  befall  our 
nation. 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  in  this  atrocious  deed  the  ripened  fruit  of  the 
vile  spirit  of  the  rebellion,  and  hereby  express  our  hope  that  the  government 
will  see  to  it,  that  the  full  measure  of  a  righteous  retribution  be  meted  out  to 
the  instigators  and  accomplices  of  this  deed  of  blood. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  family  of  our  late  President  our  profound 
sympathy  in  their  deep  affliction,  prayerfully  commending  them  to  the  God  of 
grace  and  all  comfort. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  sympathies  to  William  II.  Seward,  Secretary 
of  State,  whose  life  has  been  so  mavellously  preserved  from  the  strokes  of  the 
assassin,  and  earnestly  pray  that  he  may  be  fully  restored  to  his  country,  which 
he  has  served  with  such  pre-eminent  ability. 

Resolved,  That  we  will  sustain  with  our  utmost  influence  and  prayers  our 
new  President,  Andrew  Johnson,  so  unexpectedly  called  to  discharge  the  duties 
of  his  high  office  in  the  solemn  crisis  which  is  now  upon  us. 

Rev.  S.  J.  CRESWELL,  D.  D.,' Chairman. 
Rev.  J.  NEWTON  BROWN,  D.  D., 
Rev.  HOWARD  MALCOM,  D.  D., 
Rev.  JOSEPH  H.  KENNARD,  D.  D., 
Rev.  JOHN  H.  CASTLE, 
Rev.  J.  E.  CHESHIRE, 

_ 

Committee  on  Resolutions. 
Rev.  JAMES  COOPER,  Secretary. 


At  a  meeting  of  Council  No.  12,  National  Union  League  Association,  of 
the  seventh  wacd  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  held  April  19,  18G5,  the  follow 
ing  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Whereas  the  traitorous  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       907 

and  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  has  overwhelmed  the  nation  with  consternation, 
and  suddenly  transformed  its  rejoicings  over  its  successes  into  the  deepest 
mourning  and  lamentation ;  and  whereas  the  assassination  of  his  Excellency 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  8f  the  Secretary  of  State,  was  timed  for  the  evening  of 
the  day  upon  which  the  nation's  flag  was  re-raised  upon  Fort  Sumter;  and 
whereas  tfiis  act  of  assassination  is  the  crowing  infamy  of  the  rebellion:  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  while  we  unite  our  lamentations  with  the  mourning  wail 
of  the  nation,  we  do  at  the  same  time  pledge  ourselves  anew  to  the  service  and 
the  support  of  the  government  whose  chief  has  thus  in  a  moment  been  stricken 
down  by  the  assassin. 

Resolved,  That  in  view  of  the  murderous  event  which  has  deprived  the 
n.ation  of  its  Executive,  we  declare  it  to  be  our  firm  conviction  that  the  hour 
for  mercy  to  the  rebels  has  passed  away  forever. 

Resolved,  That  from  this  day  the  iron  hand  of  relentless  doom  should  take 
hold  of  treason,  whether  armed  in  the  field  or  unarmed  in  our  midst,  and  that 
a  terrible  retribution  should  be  visited  thereon,  in  vindication  of  the  dignity,  the 
power,  and  the  justice  of  government. 

Resolved,  That  further  mercy  towards  the  rebels  is  an  injustice  to  the 
nation,  a  mockery  of  the  heroes  who  have  laid  down  their  lives  in  their  coun 
try's  defence,  and  an  act  of  gross  inhumanity  towards  the  many  thousands  of 
our  sons  and  brothers  who  are  still  starving  in  rebel  prisons,  the  victims  of  the 
relentless  cruelty  of  the  authors  of  the  rebellion,  who  are  justly  chargeable  with 
the  assassination  of  our  martyred  and  nationally  mourned  President. 

Resolved,  That  we  deem  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  the  legiti 
mate  fruit  of  the  secession  sympathies  of  disloyal  men  in  our  midst,  and  we 
believe  the  "time  has  come"  when  all  such  base  ingrates  should  be  held  to  a 
strict  accountability  for  their  sentiments. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  his  Excellency 
President  Johnson,  to  the  Secretaries  of  the  several  executive  departments  ;  and, 

Resolved,  That  we  will  wear  an  appropriate  badge  of  mourning  for  such 
length  of  time  as  the  authorities  may  direct.. 

ARCH.  CATANACII,  President. 

JOHN  JJARU,  Recording  Secretary. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER,  Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


COUNCIL    NO.     4,    NATIONAL     UNION    LEAGUE    ASSOCIATION,     THIRTEENTH     WARD, 

PHILADELPHIA. 

At  a  meeting  held  April  20,  A.  D.  18G5,  the  following  preamble  and  reso 
lutions  were  unanimously  adopted  by  a  rising  vote : 

Whereas  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the  Unilrd 


908  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

States,  at  the  capital,  and  the  murderous  assault  upon  the  Secretary  of  State, 
while  lying  disabled  at  his  home,  by  emissaries  of  the  slave  power  of  the  South, 
has  overwhelmed  the  nation  with  anguish  and  filled  all  loyal  hearts  with  indig 
nation  and  sorrow  in  that  which  should  have  been  throughout  the  Union  the 
hour  of  congratulation  and  joy ;  and  whereas,  for  the  space  of  four  years, 
traitors  in  arms  have  warred  against  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and 
have  bathed  their  hands  in  the  best  blood  of  the  nation;  and  upon  the  evening 
of  the  day  on  which,  conquered  and  humiliated,  they  were  compelled  to  witness 
the  restoration  of  the  old  flag  to  its  legitimate  place  upon  the  battlements  of 
Fort  Sumter,  the  herald  of  freedom  to  a  land  redeemed,  their  hired  assassins 
crowned  the  infamy  of  the  rebellion  by  stealing  upon  the  secure  moments  of 
the  revered  heads  of  the  nation,  and,  by  the  perpetration  of  a  crime  without  a 
name,  effected  that  from  the  contemplation  of  which  humanity  turns  with 
mourning  and  execration ;  and  whereas,  since  these  things  have  come  to  pass, 
it  becomes  the  duty  of  every  man,  as  he  values  the  perpetuity  of  free  institu 
tions,  and  the  permanency  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  as  the 
martyred  LINCOLN  left  it,  to  take  his  place  under  the  banner  which  proclaims 
freedom  to  every  American  in  the  land,  whatever  be  the  color  the  great  Creator 
of  the  Universe  designed  him  to  wear;  and  as  He  to  whose  ordinations  in  this 
our  hour  of  sore  affliction  we  submit  with  humble  resignation  prompted  our 
forefathers  to  make  the  declaration,  "  that  all  men  are  born  free  and  equal,"  we, 
their  descendants,  must  see  to  it  that  our  inheritance  be  transmitted  to  pos 
terity  unimpaired,  and  with  that  declaration  sustained  to  the  letter  in  all  its 
integrity  :  Therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  view  the  assassination  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
nation  (at  any  time  most  barbarous  and  unnatural,  forbidden  by  all  laws,  human 
and  divine)  as  being  at  this  particular  juncture  utterly  at  variance  with  known 
causes  or  existing  circumstances,  and  altogether,  according  to  human  "calcula 
tions,  unjustifiable ;  it  therefore  must  have  been  prompted  by  that  spirit  of 
fiendish  malice  and  savage  hate  which  has  characterized  the  wicked  leaders  of 
the  slave  faction  in  the  South,  in  all  their  rebellious  acts  against  the  States 
of  the  North  and  the  government  of  the  Union. 

Resolved,  That  in  view  of  the  extraordinary  and  unprecedented  events  of 
the  past  four  years,  and  of  the  outrages  in  every  form  which  have  been .  com 
mitted  by  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion,  and  their  aiders  and  abettors  in  the 
North,  we,  citizens  of  the  13th  ward,  will  steadily  and  firmly  exhibit,  by  voice 
and  example,  our  determined  hostility  to  any  party  or  candidate  for  office  that 
will  fraternize  with  such  blood-stained  traitors,  or  who  favor  their  election  or 
appointment  to  any  position  under  any  future  administration  of  the  government 
of  the  United  States. 

Resolved,  That  the  time  has  now  fully  arrived  when  the  nation  must  look 
on  treason,  wherever  it  exists,  as  a  crime,  and  as  such  to  be  denounced  and 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       909 

punished,  that  justice,  strict  and  inexorable,  shall  exert  its  power,  and  the  laws 
and  the  government  be  maintained  with  the  dignity  and  propriety  becoming  a 
united,  sovereign,  and  free  people. 

Resolved,  That  while,  as  a  people,  we  ask  not  for  vengeance  against  the 
vanquished,  we  deserve  protection  from  any  similar  attempt  in  the  future ;  and 
hereby  call  upon  his  Excellency  Andrew  Johnson,  President  of  the  United 
States,  to  administer  those  laws  against  traitors  which  will  give  to  loyal  men, 
and  loyal  women  too,  their  fullest  rights,  and  mete  out  to  traitors,  of  whatever 
class  or  condition,  their  justly  deserved  reward. 

Resolved,  That  we  indorse  the  principle  enunciated  by  our  present  respected 
Chief  Magistrate,  "that  mercy  towards  the  rebels  is  injustice  to  the  nation,"  an 
insult  to  the  memory  of  the  heroes  who  have  laid  down  their  lives  in  defence 
of  their  country,  and  an  act  of  gross  inhumanity  towards  the  thousands  of  our 
sons  and  brothers  who  still  are  starving  in  rebel  prisons ;  and  to  the  support 
of  his  administration  we  hereby  pledge  our  full  and  undivided  support. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  above  preamble  and  resolutions  be  forwarded 
to  his  Excellency  the  President,  and  to  the  heads  of  the  several  departments  at 
Washington,  and  to  the  governor  and  heads  of  departments  at  Ilarrisburg. 

Resolved,  That  we  will  wear  an  appropriate  badge  of  mounting  for  such 
length  of  time  as  the  authorities  of  the  city  may  direct,  in  honor  of  the  late 
Chief  Magistrate  of  the  nation,  ABKAUAM  LINCOLN. 

ROBERT  M.  FOUST,  President. 

Attest : 

STOCKTON  BATES,  Secretary. 


At  a  meeting  of  Council  No.  1,  National  Union  League  Association,  of  the 
fifteenth  ward  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  held  April  15,  1865,  the  following 
preamble  and^resolutions  were  offered  by  J.  Emerson  Kent,  M.  D.,  seconded 
by  General  William  F.  Small,  and  unanimously  adopted : 

Whereas  the  traitorous  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  has  overwhelmed  the  nation  with  consternation, 
and  suddenly  transformed  its  rejoicings  over  its  successes  into  the  deepest 
mourning  and  lamentation ;  and  whereas  the  assassination  of  his  Excellency 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  was  timed  for  the  evening  of 
the  day  upon  which  the  nation's  flag  was  re-raised  upon  Fort  Sumter ;  and 
whereas  this  act  of  assassination  is  the  crowning  infamy  of  the  rebellion: 
Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  while  we  unite  our  lamentations  with  the  mourning  wail 
of  the  nation,  we  do  at  the  same  time  pledge  ourselves  anew  to  the  service  and 


910  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

support  of  the  government  whose  chief  has  thus  in  a  moment  been  stricken 
down  by  the  assassin. 

Resolved,  That  in  view  of  the  murderous  event  which  has  deprived  the 
nation  of  its  Executive,  we  declare  it  to  be  our  firm  conviction  that  the  hour 
for  mercy  to  the  rebels  has  passed  away  forever. 

Resolved,  That  from  this  day  the  iron  hand  of  relentless  doom  should  take 
hold  of  treason,  whether  armed  in  the  field  or  unarmed  in  our  midst,  and  that 
a  terrible  retribution  should  be  visited  thereon  in  vindication  of  the  dignity,  the 
power,  and  the  justice  of  the  government. 

Resolved,  That  further  mercy  towards  the  rebels  is  an  injustice  to  the 
nation,  a  mockery  of  the  heroes  who  have  laid  down  their  lives  in  their  coun 
try's  defence,  and  an  act  of  gross  inhumanity  towards  the  many  thousands  of 
our  sons  and  brothers  who  are  still  starving  in  rebel  prisons,  the  victims  of  the 
relentless  cruelty  of  the  authors  of  the  rebellion,  who  are  justly  chargeable 
with  the  assassination  of  our  martyred  and  nationally  mourned  President. 

Resolved,  That  we  deem  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  the  legiti 
mate  fruit  of  the  secession  sympathies  of  disloyal  men  in  our  midst,  and  we 
believe  "  the  time  has  come"  when  all  such  base  ingrates  should  be  held  to  a 
strict  accountability  for  their  sentiments. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  his  Excellency 
President  Johnson,  to  the  Secretaries  of  the  several  executive  departments ; 

and 

Resolved,  That  we  will  wear  an  appropriate  badge  of  mourning  for  such 

length  of  time  as  the  authorities  may  direct. 

HENRY  L.  SMITH,  President. 
ISAAC  A.  PEARSON,   Vice-President. 
Attest: 

J.  EMERSON  KENT,  M.  D., 
Recording  Secretary,  2100  Green  Street. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER, 

Acting  Secretary  of  State. 


From  the  yearly  meeting  of  Friends,  of  Philadelphia,  for  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey,  Delaware,  and  parts  of  Maryland,  now  in  session. 

FIFTH  MONTH,  19th,  1865. 
To  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  members  of  the  administration  : 

We  have  felt  constrained,  as  a  religious  body,  to  convey  to  you  the  expres 
sion  of  the  deep  sympathy  that  we  feel  in  the  great  sorrow  that  has  fallen  upon 
all  of  us  in  the  bereavement  sustained  by  the  violent  removal  from  this  life  of 
our  late  beloved  President,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.        911 

We  feel  greatly  thankful  that  his  heart  was  imbued  with  a  regard  for  con 
scientious  scruples  in  relation  to  war,  and  for  the  relief  that  he  extended  to  us 
therein. 

While  we  mourn  the  destruction  of  human  life,  and  the  sad  consequences 
ever  attendant  upon  a  state  of  war,  and  while  we  cannot  regard  carnal  warfare 
as  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  we  desire  to  impart  to  you  our  heart 
felt  rejoicing  that  millions  of  our  fellow-beings  have,  by  the  power  of  Him  who 
overrules  the  purposes  of  men,  been  released  from  cruel  bondage. 

As  "  righteousness  exalteth  a  nation,"  we  fervently  hope  that  the  great 
principles  of  equality  and  justice  may  ever  be  recognized  in  the  future  of  our 
beloved  country,  and  we  would  express  our  solicitude  that  in  the  performance 
of  the  momentous  duties  that  now  devolve  upon  you,  your  reliance  may  be  upon 
God  for  wisdom,  and  that  justice  may  be  so  tempered  with  mercy  that  your 
counsels  may  be  influenced  for  the  good  of  all. 

Signed  by  direction  and  on  behalf  of  the  meeting  aforesaid : 

DILLWYN  PARRISH, 

Clerk  of  the  Men's  Meeting. 

MARY  S.  LIPPINCOTT, 

Clerk  of  the  Women's  Meeting. 


[Translation.  ] 

* 

Extract  from  the  minutes. 

PHILADELPHIA,  April  22,  1865. 

At  an  extraordinary  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  French 
Society  of  Beneficence  of  Philadelphia,  held  this  22d  day  of  April,  at  1 1  a.  m., 
at  the  house  of  Mr.  M.  Bouvier,  No.  141  South  Second  street,  on  the  occa 
sion  of  the  horrible  catastrophe  which  has  befallen  the  United  States  in  the 
assassination  of  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  and  the  no  less  wicked  attempt 
committed  upon  the  person  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward,  and  upon 
his  family,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted : 

Resolved,  First,  that  the  French  Society  of  Beneficence  of  Philadelphia, 
in  the  name  of  the  French  population  of  this  city,  desires  to  express  the  deep 
sorrow  caused  by  the  murder  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Resolved,  Second,  that  we  tender  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  the 
expression  of  our  dolorous  sympathies  for  the  loss  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of 
the  nation. 

Resoh-ed,  Third,  that  we  also  offer  to  the  family  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  our 
sincere  condolence  in  the  terrible  trial  to  which  it  has  been  subjected. 


912  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolved,  Fourth,  that  we  offer  up  our  prayers  for  the  restoration  to  health 
of  Mr.  Seward  and  his  family,  and  that  we  avail  ourselves  of  this  occasion  to 
transmit  to  him  expressions  of  our  lively  sympathies. 

Resolved,  Fifth,  that  the  present  resolutions  shall  be  sent  to  Washington 
through  the  consul  of  France  at  Philadelphia,  to  be  handed  to  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  to  the  government  of  the  United  States. 

By  the  president  : 

S.  DESTGOET. 

A.  LAFOKE,  Secretary. 


CONSULATE  OF  SWITZERLAND, 

Philadelphia,  April  19,  1865. 

To  the  honorable  Department  of  State  of  the 

United  States  of  America,  Washington  : 

The  friendly  and  near  relations  which  connect  your  country,  the  great  sister 
republic,  with  the  one  they  have  the  honor  to  represent  for  their  respective 
departments,  will  justify  the  undersigned,  apart  from  the  steps  undoubtedly 
taken  by  their  representative  in  your  city,  to  respectfully  tender  to  your  honorable 
department,  in  representation  of  this  sadly  bereaved  country,  his  Excellency  the 
President,  and  the  mourning  family  of  the  noble  deceased,  in  the  name  of  their 
country  as  well  as  for  themselves,  their  most  deeply  and  sincerely  felt  expres 
sions  of  condolence  at  the  lamentable  loss  sustained  by  this  country  in  the  death 
of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  its  late  great  and  noble  President. 

The  undersigned  are  the  more  deeply  impressed  by  the  feelings  of  pro 
found  sorrow  at  this  lamentable  loss,  as  their  country  as  well  as  themselves 
have,  from  the  beginning,  taken  the  liveliest  interest  in  the  great  struggle  and 
the  heavy  trials  this  sister  republic  has  had  to  undergo,  resembling  so  much  a 
recent  epoch  in  their  own  country's  history,  and  have  greeted  with  joy  the 
splendid  morning  dawning  after  the  night  of  war  and  anxiety. 

To  him,  the  illustrious  deceased,  with  the  aid  of  the  Almighty,  and  the 
great  statesmen  and  generals  at  his  side,  the  glorious  achievements  of  this  strug 
gle  for  the  preservation  of  liberty  are  due,  and  when  he  died,  a  martyr  for  liberty, 
by  the  hands  of  a  wretched  assassin,  the  people  of  this  country  lost  not  only 
the  preserver  of  the  republic,  but  a  magnanimous  father  and  friend,  and  well 
can  we  appreciate  and  feel  with  them  their  deep  mourning,  though  sublime  be 
the  lot  and  glorious  the  memory  of  him  whom  we  have  lost. 

Trusting  in  God  that  to  his  Excellency  the  new  President  will  be  granted 
to  follow  up  the  glorious  results  attained  by  his  noble  predecessor,  and  that  a 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       913 

long  time  of  peaceful  prosperity  may  heal  up  the  wounds  of  a  lamentable 
bloody  war,  we  feel  assured  that  the  friendly  connectious  between  the  two 
sister  republics  will  continue  the  same,  uninterrupted  for  all  future,  and  have 
the  honor  to  remain,  with  feelings  of  the  highest  respect,  your  most  obedient 

servants, 

RUDOLPIIE  KORADI, 

Consul  of  Switzerland. 
[SEAL.]  P.  J.  WILDBERGER, 

Vice  Consul  of  Switzerland. 


CAMP  116'i'H  REGIMENT  PENNSYLVANIA  VOLUNTEERS, 

First  Division,  td  Army  Corps,  April  17,  1865. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  commissioned  officers  of  the  116th  regiment  Penn 
sylvania  volunteers  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  proposed  and 
unanimously  adopted: 

Whereas  our  beloved  commander-in-chief  and  President  of  the  United 
States,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  came  to  his  death  on  the  loth  of  April,  1865,  from 
wounds  received  at  the  hands  of  a  cowardly  assassin  :  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  our  Chief  Magistrate  our  country  has  lost 
its  truest  friend;  liberty,  justice,  and  virtue  their  warmest  advocate,  and  the 
oppressed  of  all  nations  an  indulgent  father. 

Resolved,  That  the  officers  of  this  regiment,  in  common  with  their  fellow- 
countrymen,  deplore,  with  inexpressible  sorrow  and  anguish,  this  country's 
greatest  calamity ;  and  that  while  we  bow  in  submission  to  the  decree  of  an 
all-wise  Providence,  we  pray  that  peace  and  unity  may  reign  throughout  the 
land.  Then  will  the  object  be  obtained  for  which  our  illustrious  President 
has  died. 

Resolved,  That  we  will  ever  hold  in  grateful  remembrance  his  illustrious 
character  as  a  patriotic  statesman  and  a  sincere  Christian. 

Resolved,  That  we  sincerely  sympathize  with  the  honorable  William  H. 
Seward,  our  worthy  Secretary  of  State,  in  his  sufferings  and  affliction,  brought 
on  by  the  cowardly  hand  of  a  would-be  assassin. 

ST.  CLAIR  A.  MULHOLLAND,  S.  G.  VANDERHYDEN,  1st  Lieut.  Co.  G. 

Colonel  Commanding  Brigade.  THOMAS  A.  GRAY,  1st  Lieut.  Co.  C. 

JOHN  11.  DRELTNER,  GEORGE  LEBER,  1st  Lieut.  Co.  F. 

Captain  Commanding  Regiment.  JACOB  FOREST,  1st  Lieut.  Co.  H. 

LOUIS  J.  SACUISTE,  Captain  Co.  D.  ROBERT  J.  TAGGERT,  1st  Lieut.  Co.J. 

FRANK  A.  McGUIGAN,  Captain  Co.  G.  ZELOCK  Z.  SPRINGER,  2dLieut,  Co.  K. 

ROBERT  J.  ALSTIN,  Captain  Co.  II.  THOMAS  McKNIGIIT,  2d  Lieut.  Co.  B. 

WILLIAM  J.  BURK,  Captain,  Co.  C.  THOMAS  S.  EWING, 
GEORGE  HALPIN,  1st  Lieut.  Co.  A.  1st  Lieut,  and  Adjutant. 

115 


914  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolutions   adopted    in   a   public   meeting   at   Pella,    Marion   county,   Iowa, 

Wednesday,  April  19,  1865. 

Whereas  the  wicked  spirit  of  rebellion  lias  succeeded,  by  murder  and 
assassination,  in  throwing  a  jubilant  nation  in  mourning,  killing  the  honored 
head  of  our  national  government,  and  inflicting  serious  and  mortal  wounds  on 
our  Secretary  of  State,  his  sons  and  attendants,  the  loyal  citizens  of  Pella,  deeply 
grieved  and  mourning,  have 

Resolved,  That  we  acknowledge  in  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  the  genuine  embodi 
ment  of  true  democracy;  and  a  model  of  an  upright,  honest,  unselfish,  kind- 
hearted,  wise,  and  moderate  American  statesman,  whose  memory  will  live  in 
the  hearts  of  all  true  and  honest  citizens,  not  only  in  our  beloved  country,  but 
also  in  the  whole  civilized  world. 

Resolved,  That  we  sympathize  heartily  with  the  family  of  the  late  President, 
and  hereby  tender  to  them  the  expression  of  our  sorrow  and  grief,  and  praying 
that  our  gracious  God,  whose  ways  are  inscrutable,  will  pour  upon  them,  in  their 
sad  bereavement,  his  heavenly  balm  of  consolation. 

Resolved,  That  we  humbly  implore  the  Ruler  of  the  Destiny  of  Nations  as 
well  as  of  individuals  to  spare  the  life  of  Secretary  Seward  and  his  son  to  their 
families  and  to  the  nation,  and  we  hereby  tender  them  our  sympathy  in  their 
afflictions. 

Resolved,  That,  not  scrutinizing  the  seemingly  dark  ways  of  Providence  in 
the  present  critical  period  of  our  national  existence,  we  humbly  bow  before 
Him,  praying  that  He  will  sanctify  this  bereavement  to  the  nation,  so  as  to  lead 
us  to  put  all  our  confidence  in  Him  for  the  restoration  of  peace  and  harmony 
in  all  our  borders,  by  converting  or  destroying  the  armed  and  unarmed  enemies 
of  our  beloved  country. 

Resolved,  That,  while  mourning  over  our  departed  President,  we,  with  all 
loyal  men  of  our  country,  will  truly  and  faithfully  support  Andrew  Johnson  as 
our  present  Chief  Magistrate  in  his  arduous  duties  of  finishing  the  work  so 
nobly  begun  by  his  predecessor ;  and  we  pray  for  him  that  the  Almighty  may 
sustain  and  guide  him,  so  that,  under  his  administration,  not  only  the  vestiges 
of  rebellion  may  be  obliterated,  but  peace  and  harmony  restored  in  all  the  United 
States,  and  that  we,  as  a  nation,  may  give  to  the  whole  world  the  noble  example 
of  liberty  without  licentiousness,  independence  without  self-glory,  and  union 
without  destruction  of  individuality. 

HENRY  P.  SCHOLTE, 

B.  F.  ROBERTS, 

C.  S.  WILSON, 

Committee. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND   SYMPATHY.  915 

PROVIDENCE,  R.  I.,  April  29,  1865 

SIR :  At  a  meeting  of  the  Rhode  Island  Baptist  State  Convention,  held  in 
the  city  of  Providence,  April  25,  1865,  the  following  resolutions,  reported  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Caswell,  were  unanimously  adopted,  and  the  secretary  was  instructed 
to  forward  a  copy,  duly  signed,  to  the  President. 

A.  J.  PADELFORD,  Secretary. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  assassination  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President  of 
the  United  States,  we  are  compelled  to  recognize  the  fruit  of  that  spirit  of 
rebellion  which,  blinded  by  its  own  wickedness,  seeks  to  found  a  government 
on  human  slavery  as  its  chief  corner-stone,  and  can  see  no  rights  in  a  colored 
man  which  a  white  man  is  bound  to  respect.  We  aver  that,  in  our  opinion, 
murder  and  assassination,  and  every  outrage  which  can  subserve  the  ends  of 
unhallowed  ambition,  may  be  regarded  as  the  just  sequence  of  trampling  under 
foot  the  most  solemn  oaths,  and  setting  at  defiance  the  Constitution  and  laws 
which  hold  a  nation  in  security. 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  premature  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN,  the  country  has 
lost  a  great  and  good  man,  whose  name,  in  the  annals  of  our  history  and  of 
freedom,  will  stand  second  only  to  the  name  of  Washington.  His  life  was  long 
enough  for  fame,  but  all  too  short  for  his  country's  good. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  heartfelt  sympathy  to  the  bereaved  family  in 
their  heavy  and  most  bitter  affliction. 

Resolved,  That  we  give  to  President  Johnson,  in  the  great  and  trying 
responsibilities  which  the  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  has  imposed  upon  him,  our 
united  and  untiring  support.  As  God  has  permitted  one  illustrious  leader  to 
be  cut  off  by  violence,  so  we  believe  He  has  prepared  another  to  conduct  the 
nation  to  peace  and  universal  freedom ;  and  it  is  our  ardent  prayer  that  this 
may  be  done  in  such  a  manner  as  to  add  new  grace  to  the  charms  of  mercy, 
and  new  dignity  to  the  majesty  of  justice  and  of  law. 

We  may  add  that  the  above  resolutions  express  the  unanimous  feeling  of 
the  largest  denomination  of  Christians  in  the  State. 

We  are,  very  truly,  your  most  obedient  servants, 

JONATHAN  BRAYTON,  President. 
Rev.  A.  J.  PADELFORD,  Secretary. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  HUNTER,  Acting  Secretary  of -State. 


Resolutions  of  the  city  council  of  the  city  of  Salem,  Massachusetts. 

IN  CITY  COUNCIL,  CITY  OF  SALEM,  MASSACHUSETTS, 

April  17,  1865. 

Resolved,  That  the  city  council  of  Salem  shares,  with  unfeigned  sensibility 
the  profound  grief  of  the  loyal  people  of  the  United  States  in  view  of  the  sudden 


916  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN 

death,  by  the  hand  of  violence,  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  honored  and  beloved 
Chief  Magistrate  of  our  country.  An  event  so  impressive  in  itself,  and  accom 
panied  by  acts  of  such  awful  criminality,  renders  us  more  than  ever  conscious 
of  the  great  and  desperate  struggle  from  which  our  government  is  now  just 
emerging,  and  of  the  value  of  the  precious  sacrifices  which  have  been  required 
of  our  people.  We  recognize  that  in  this  inexpressibly  sad  and  fearful  event, 
not  only  was  a  patriotic,  magnanimous,  and  admirable  magistrate  stricken  down 
in  the  highest  place  of  our  land,  but  the  assassin's  blow  was  aimed  at  the 
country  itself.  In  view  of  such  perils  and  such  wickedness  it  becomes  all  loyal 
people  to  renew  their  confidence  in  the  Divine  Providence,  as  leading  and 
directing  the  cause  of  the  nation ;  and  when  the  exultation  of  victory  is  sud 
denly  changed  into  mourning  we  may  accept  it  as  admonition  that  there  are 
still  further  trials  and  duties  before  us  ere  the  blessings  of  a  free  and  stable 
government  shall  be  perfectly  secured. 

Resolved,  That  the  city  council  recommends  to  the  citizens  that,  in  accord 
ance  with  the  suggestion  of  the  Acting  Secretary  of  State,  they  assemble,  on 
the  day  of  the  funeral  of  President  LINCOLN,  in  their  respective  houses  of  wor 
ship  for  religious  services ;  and  that  the  mayor  be  requested  to  cause  such 
further  notice  to  be  taken  of  the  solemn  occasion  as  he  may  deem  suitable. 

Resolved,  That  we  extend  our  heartfelt  sympathy  towards  Mrs.  Lincoln  in 
her  appalling  sorrow,  and  to  the  members  of  her  family. 

Resolved,  That  the  city  council  regards  the  murderous  and  desperate  attack 
upon  the  Secretary  of  State  with  abhorrence  and  indignation,  and  rejoices  in 
the  assurance  that  the  assassin's  blows  failed  of  their  deadly  purpose. 

Resolved,  That  the  present  occasion  suggests  the  further  duty  of  acknowl 
edging  the  lawful  authority  of  Andrew  Johnson,  now  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  recognizing  the  loyal  purpose,  the  patriotic  fidelity,  the  firm 
character,  and  the  eminent  services  which  he  has  contributed  to  the  public 
cause.  We  pledge  to  him  the  prompt,  cordial,  and  unhesitating  support  of  the 
loyal  people  of  Salem,  and  offer  him  our  best  wishes  for  success  in  the  respon 
sible  and  trying  but  noble  duty  that  he  has  undertaken. 

Resolved,  That  the  two  chambers  of  the  city  council  be  hung  with  appro 
priate  mourning  drapery  for  the  space  of  thirty  days,  and  that  the  members  of 
the  city  government  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning  for  the  same  period. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  to  the 
President,  and  to  the  Secretary  of  State. 

The  foregoing  resolutions  were  adopted  by  a  unanimous  vote  in  each  board 
of  the  city  council  of  the  city  of  Salem,  Massachusetts,  April  17,  1865. 

Attest : 

[SEAL.]  STEPHEN  P.  WEBB, 

City  Clerk. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       917 

Resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  Grand  Council  Union  League  Association 

of  the  State  of  California. 

GRAND  COUNCIL  UNION  LEAGUE  ASSOCIATION,  STATE  OF  CALIFORNIA, 

San  Francisco,  April  20,  1865. 

GENTLEMEN  :  At  a  meeting  of  the  Grand  Council  Union  League  Associa 
tion  held  on  the  18th  instant,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were 
unanimously  adopted : 

Whereas  information  has  been  received  of  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 
President  of  the  United  States,  by  assassination  at  the  national  capital  on  the 
14th  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1865,  after  a  protracted  and  successful  contest  with 
the  treason  and  rebellion  of  the  slave-power  against  the  life  of  the  nation,  which 
act  of  assassination  has  caused  the  deepest  emotion  of  sympathy  and  the  most 
intense  sorrow  to  be  felt  by  all  loyal  people  throughout  the  land ;  and  whereas 
we  believe  that  this  act  of  treason  and  murder  which  has  deprived  the  nation 
of  its  Chief  Magistrate  is  the  result  of  the  teachings  of  the  institution  of  slavery: 
Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States 
we  recognize  the  legitimate  fruit  of  the  "  barbarism  of  slavery"  and  its  antago 
nism  to  religion  and  civilization ;  and  we  believe  it  to  be  a  duty  to  God, 
humanity,  and  the  country  to  forever  abolish  it  throughout  the  United  States, 
and  that  the  government  should  listen  to  no  terms  of  pacification  except  on  the 
basis  of  its  immediate  and  total  extinction,  and  the  punishment  of  the  leaders 
and  instigators  of  the  rebellion  to  the  full  measure  which  retributive  justice 
demands. 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  grand  and  subordinate  councils  of  the 
Union  League  of  the  State  of  California,  in  view  of  the  virtue,  patriotism,  and 
high  national  character  of  our  late  beloved  President,  and  in  sorrow  for  this 
great  national  calamity,  wear  the  usual  emblem  of  mourning  during  the  continu 
ance  of  the  rebellion. 

Resolved,  That  the  secretary  transmit  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  preamble 
and  resolutions  to  the  national  grand  council  and  to  the  subordinate  councils  in 

this  State. 

By  order  of  the  grand  council : 

S.  H.  PARKER,  Grand  President. 
ALFRED  BARSTOW,  Grand  Secretary. 
The  OFFICERS  AND  MEMBERS  OF  THE  UNION  LEAGUE. 


Pursuant  to  a  call  of  his  honor  Mayor  Arnold,  a  large  assemblage  of  the 
citizens  of  Savannah  met  at  the  Exchange  to-day,  Thursday,  April  20,  to  give 
expression  to  their  sentiments  in  relation  to  the  assassination  of  President 


918  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN 

LINCOLN  and  the  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Secretary  of  State  Seward,  and  upon 
the  lives  of  members  of  his  family. 

The  room  being  incapable  of  holding  the  vast  assemblage,  the  meeting  was 
adjourned  to  Johnson  Square,  where,  upon  motion  of  the  Hon.  W.  B.  Hodgson, 
the  mayor  was  chosen  to  preside,  and  on  motion  of  H.  Brigham,  esq.,  Henry  C. 
Freeman  was  requested  to  act  as  secretary. 

Upon  taking  the  chair  the  mayor  addressed  the  meeting  in  the  following 
remarks : 

"  FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  We  have  assembled  to-day  under  circumstances 
unparalleled,  not  only  in  the  annals  of  the  history  of  this  country,  but  in  that 
of  the  whole  civilized  world.  The  unanimous  request  of  every  citizen  whom  I 
met  yesterday,  according  with  my  own  judgment  and  feelings,  was  that  a  meeting 
of  citizens  should  be  called  to  give  authentic  record  to  their  feelings  and  senti 
ments  in  relation  to  the  most  atrocious  assassination  of  President  LINCOLN,  and 
the  probably  fatal  attempt  at  that  of  Secretary  Seward  and  his  family. 

"  Twice  before  has  this  nation  been  called  upon  to  mourn  the  death  of  th->, 
occupant  of  the  White  House,  the  residence  of  the  ruler  of  a  great  republic, 
Presidents  Harrison  and  Taylor ;  but  they  had  been  stricken  down  by  the  hand 
of  Providence  ;  they  were  the  common  inheritors  of  'all  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir 
to'  They  yielded  their  lives  in  accordance  with  the  great  law  of  our  Creator. 

"  But  to-day  we  are  called  upon  to  chronicle  an  event  of  a  very  different 
kind  ;  a  deed  has  been  committed  repugnant  to  every  feeling  of  justice  and 
humanity  ;  a  scene  which  has  inscribed  on  it,  by  every  book  of  law,  the  stigma 
of  (he  vilest  crime,  and  the  penalty  justly  due  such  a  crime.  I  refrain  from 
further  expressions,  because  I  cannot  trust  myself  without  trespassing  on  your 
patience.  Your  immense  assemblage  is  a  sufficient  guarantee  that  you  compre 
hend  the  awfulness  of  the  crime,  socially,  morally,  and  politically,  and  that  you 
wish  to  set  upon  it  the  seal  of  your  emphatic  condemnation. 

"  In  the  unsuspecting  enjoyment  of  a  public  entertainment,  seated  by  his 
own  wife  and  near  another  lady,  a  base,  cowardly  assassin  enters  the  private 
box  occupied  by  the  President  at  the  theatre,  presents  a  pistol  at  the  back  of 
his  head,  and  discharging  it,  in  a  moment  inflicts  a  fatal  wound  which  precipi 
tates  him  into  eternity. 

"  If  this  had  happened  to  an  ordinary  private  citizen,  the  feelings  of  the 
country  would  have  been  justly  excited  against  such  an  act,  so  base,  so  cowardly, 
and  our  sympathies  would  have  been  excited  for  the  suddenly  bereaved  family; 
but  in  a  case  like  the  present,  private  griefs  are  swallowed  up  in  a  calamity 
which  affects  the  interests  and  feelings  of  a  wide-spread  country ;  and  I  would 
not  profane  the  sanctity  of  domestic  grief  by  mingling  it  with  our  present 
meeting.  Circumstances  had  so  ordered  it  that,  in  my  opinion,  n  >  life  in  the 
whole  country  was  more  important  than  that  of  President  LINCOLN,  in  settling 
the  unfortunate  condition  of  affairs  which  now  exists. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       919 

"  Next  to  his  in  importance  was  that  of  Secretary  Seward.  The  assassina 
tion  of  the  one,  and,  I  fear,  the  too  successful  attempt  on  the  life  of  the  other, 
are  events  which,  from  our  surrounding  circumstances,  I  believe,  will  be  ever 
marked  with  a  cursed  pre-eminence  of  evil  in  the  annals  of  time.  It  is  right 
that  our  city  should  place  upon  record  its  abhorrence  of  the  awful  crime  per 
petrated  and  its  views  of  the  lamentable  consequences  which  may  How  from  it. 
It  remains  for  the  meeting  to  appoint  a  committee  to  report  suitable  resolutions 
for  its  consideration." 

On  motion,  a  committee  of  thirteen  was  appointed  to  draught  suitable 
resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  meeting  who  retired,  and,  after  delib 
eration,  reported  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions : 

Whereas  authentic  information  has  reached  the  city  of  Savannah  that 
President  LINCOLN  has  been  murdered  by  an  assassin,  and  that  an  attempt  has 
been  made  upon  the  life  of  Secretary  Seward  and  on  the  lives  of  several  members 
of  his  family  :  Therefore, 

Resolved,  by  the  citizens  of  Savannah  in  public  meeting  assembled,  in 
obedience  to  a  call  from  his  honor  the  mayor — 

1st.  That  we  regard  with  deepest  pain  and  sorrow,  as  a  calamity  to  the 
whole  country,  the  assassination  of  the  President  and  the  attempt  on  the  life 
of  the  Secretary  of  State  and  on  the  lives  of  members  of  his  family. 

2d.  That  while  we  should  have  been  pained  to  hear  of  these  events,  even 
if  they  had  occurred  in  the  providence  of  God,  without  human  agency,  we  are 
especially  and  profoundly  grieved  at  the  manner  of  their  occurrence. 

3d.  That  we  sincerely  trust,  for  the  honor  of  human  nature,  that  investiga 
tions  may  prove  these  horrid  acts  to  have  been  perpetrated  by  a  madman,  whose 
loss  of  reason  has  made  him  irresponsible  for  his  deeds. 

4th.  That  in  case  it  be  ascertained  that  these  deeds  have  been  committed 
by  any  person  or  persons  of  sound  mind,  or  that  they  arc  the  result  of  deliberate 
conspiracy,  then  we  regard  the  criminals  with  abhorrence  and  detestation,  as 
enemies  of  the  South,  enemies  of  the  North,  and  enemies  to  mankind,  and  our 
hope  is  that  they  may  meet  with  speedy  justice  in  the  extreme  penalties  of  the 
law. 

5th.  That  this  meeting  most  deeply  sympathizes  with  the  families  of  the 
late  President  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  will 
unite  in  any  further  mark  of  respect  that  may  be  proposed. 

6th.  That  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  forwarded  to  the 
family  of  the  late  President  and  to  Mr.  Seward. 

7th.  That  a  copy  be  furnished  to  Major  General  Grover,  commanding  this 
post,  and  that  the  same  be  published  in  the  public  prints. 

R.  1).  ARNOLD,  Chairman. 
II.  C.   FREEMAN,  Secretary. 

SAVANNAH,  April  20,  1865. 


920  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

SANTA  FE,  NEW  MEXICO,  May  8,  1865. 

SIR  :  At  a  public  meeting  of  the  colored  citizens  of  Santa  Fd,  N.  M  ,  held 
on  the  5th  instant,  we,  the  undersigned  committee,  were  appointed  and  instructed 
to  forward  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  to  you,  and  through  you  to 
his  Excellency  the  President  of  the  United  States.  The  above-mentioned 
meeting  was  convened  upon  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  the  late  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  resolutions  were  adopted  unanimously.  We  present 
this  as  a  token  of  respect  for  the  memory  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  late  President 
of  the  United  States,  in  consideration  of  the  many  noble  deeds  that  he  performed 
and  has  left  on  record  in  behalf  of  our  long-degraded  race  ;  and  also  to  manifest 
our  devotion  to  tlie  present  administration,  and  our  respect  for  that  time-honored 
old  Hag  which  we  can  now  joyfully  hail  as  the  true  emblem  of  the  free. 
Most  respectfully  submitted : 

W.  W.  TATE, 

CHARLES  A.  PRALL, 

WILLIAM  JAS.  B.  B.  STEVENSON, 

Committee. 
Hon.  WILLIAM  II.  SEWARD,  Secretary  of  State. 


RESOLUTIONS. 

Whereas,  by  the  arrival  of  the  last  mail  from  the  east  we  learned  with  the 
deepest  regret  the  very  sad  intelligence  of  the  untimely  death  of  the  great 
American  philanthopist,  statesman,  and  liberator,  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM 
LINCOLN,  late  President  of  the  United  States ;  and  whereas,  as  we  feel  that  in 
the  death  of  so  great  and  good  a  man  as  we  are  proud  to  acknowledge  that  our 
late  beloved  President  was,  it  highly  and  indispensably  becomes  our  duty,  as  a 
part  and  parcel  of  the  American  people,  and  more  especially  as  we  are  identi 
fied  by  race,  language,  and  oppression  with  that  class  of  mankind  for  whom  the 
deceased  so  nobly  and  manfully  labored,  and  for  the  advocating  of  the  ameliora 
tion  of  whose  condition  he  came  to  an  untimely  death  by  the  hand  of  a  brutal, 
heartless,  and  fiendish  midnight  assassin  in  the  stolen  garb  of  a  man ;  yet, 
inasmuch  as  it  has  pleased  an  all-wise  God,  in  His  kind  and  inscrutable  provi 
dence,  to  so  suddenly  remove  from  a  field  of  useful  labor  here  to  his  reward 
in  heaven  our  late  much-beloved  President,  we  will  submissively  bow,  in  a 
Christian  spirit,  to  the  will  of  Him  who  rules  the  destinies  of  the  universe  and 
causes  all  things  to  work  in  unison  with  his  own  celestial  will  for  the  good  of 
mankind:  Therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  colored  citizens  of  Santa  Fe,  N.  M.,  tender  our 
heartfelt  and  sincere  sympathy  to  the  mourning  widow  and  relatives  of  the 
deceased,  who  by  a  single  blow  of  the  assassin's  unhallowed  hand,  have  sus- 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       921 

tained  an  irreparable  loss,  and  which  has  caused  a  vacancy  that  all  future  time 
can  never  fill;  and  that,  to  show  our  due  homage  and  respect  for  the  moral 
worth  and  Christian  virtues  which  he  so  truly  manifested  while  living,  we  will 
wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning  on  our  left  arms  for  the  space  of  thirty  days. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  the  cause  of  free  gov 
ernment  and  free  institutions  has  lost  a  mighty  advocate ;  the  United  States  a 
wise,  honest,  and  patriotic  President;  the  laboring  classes  throughout  the  world 
a  true  exponent  and  powerful  co-laborer,  and  the  panting  slave  a  devoted  friend 
and  successful  liberator,  and  who  will  ever  hold  the  name  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
in  grateful  remembrance  as  the  earnest  friend  of  liberty  and  equality,  without 
regard  to  color,  and  will  henceforth  speak  of  his  name  with  due  reverence  only 
as  the  great  American  emancipator. 

Resolved,  That  in  consideration  of  the  many  noble  and  manly  virtues  of  the 
lion.  William  II.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  as  a  wise  counsellor  of  the  nation, 
long  tried  and  sincere  friend  of  our  oppressed  race  in  the  United  States,  we 
received  with  the  deepest  sorrow  the  intelligence  of  the  attempted  assassination 
of  1  hat  noble  officer  and  friend,  and  that  we  hereby  express  the  fond  hope  that 
he  may  soon  recover,  and  again  assume  the  helm  of  that  good  old  ship  of  state 
which  he  has  so  judiciously  managed  for  the  last  four  years,  and  for  which  we 
will  earnestly  hope  and  pray. 

Resolved,  That  we  hereby  renew  our  devotion  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  and  solemnly  pledge  our  loyalty  and  support  to  the  new  adminis 
tration  just  inaugurated  under  the  leadership  of  his  Excellency  Andrew  Johnson, 
in  whose  ability,  sagacity,  and  integrity  we  possess  the  most  implicit  confidence. 

W.  W.  TATE, 
WM.  S.  KINLEY, 

Committee. 

On  motion  of  W.  W.  Tate,  seconded  by  G.  W.  Carter,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  we  send  copies  of  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  to  the 
publishers  of  the  Colored  Citizen,  Christian  Recorder,  and  Anglo-African, 
respectfully  requesting  that  they  publish  the  same  in  their  respective  journals, 
and  that  an  authenticated  copy  be  forwarded  to  the  widow  of  the  lamented 
President,  and  also  one  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

On  motion  of  James  B.  13.  Stevenson  it  was 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  forward  these  pro- 
cedings  to  the  publishers  of  the  above-named  journals,  and  also  a  copy  each  to 
Mrs.  Lincoln  and  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

W.  W.  Tate,  Charles  A.  Frail,  and  Wm.  J.  13.  Stevenson  were  the  committee. 

On  motion,  adjourned  sine  die. 

WM    S.  KINLEY.  President. 
CHARLES  A.  PRALL,  Vice-President . 

W.  W.  TATE,  Secretary. 
116 


922  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

CITIZENS'  MEETING. 

In  pursuence  of  the  call  of  the  mayor  a  large  number  of  citizens  assembled 
in  the  theatre  to  express  the  sentiments  of  the  community  in  regard  to  the 
assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  attempt  upon  the 
lives  of  Mr.  Seward  and  his  son. 

Mayor  Davvson  took  the  chair  and  announced  the  object  of  the  meeting 
in  a  brief  address,  which  was  in  substance  as  follows: 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  I  have  called  you  together  this  evening,  by  request  of 
many  citizens,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  our  condemnation  and  abhorrence 
of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  ; 
also  of  the  attempts  to  assassinate  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward  and  his  son.  I  can 
truly  say,  for  the  citizens  of  this  town,  that  none  condemn  the  act  more  than 
we  do.  It  is  for  you,  fellow-citizens,  to  give  expression  to  the  feelings  enter 
tained  by  us  all.  The  first  thing  in  order  will  be  to  choose  a  secretary,  and 
after  that  to  appoint  a  committee  to  prepare  suitable  resolutions. 

On  motion  of  S.  D.  Wallace,  esq.,  Mr.  George  0.  Van  Amringe,  jr.,  was 
appointed  secretary  of  the  meeting. 

On  motion  of  A.  M.  Waddell,  esq.,  a  committee  of  seven  was  appointed  to 
draught  resolutions.  The  chairman  appointed  the  following  persons  :  Alfred  M. 
Waddell,  Stephen  D.  Wallace,  John  A.  Baker,  James  Anderson,  Alfred  Martin, 
P.  W.  Fanning,  M.  Mclnnis. 

After  retiring  for  a  short  time  the  committtee  submitted,  through  their 
chairman,  the  following  resolutions  : 

Whereas  the  intelligence  lately  received  in  this  city  of  the  brutal  assassi 
nation  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  equally  brutal  attempt  to 
murder  the  Secretary  of  State,  calls  for  a  public  expression  of  the  feeling  with 
which  that,  intelligence  has  been  received  by  this  community,  be  it 

1.  liesolred,  By  the  citizens  of  Wilmington,  that  we  regard  with  unfeigned 
horror  this  last  most  frightful  and  most  disgraceful  national  calamity. 

2.  Resolved,  That  we  are  penetrated  with  deep  and  sincere  sorrow  for  the 
loss  of  a  Chief  Magistrate  who  has  presided  over  the  destinies  of  this  nation, 
during  four  years   of  bloody  war,  with  firmness    and  sagacity,  and  who  we 
believe  was  about  to  crown  his  administration  and  signalize  the  advent  of  peace 
by  a  course  of  magnanimity  which  must  have  secured  him  the  respect  and 
friendship  of  the  southern  people. 

3  Resolved,  That  the  assassins  who  perpetrated  this  foul  deed  not  only 
deserve  the  execration  of  mankind,  but  have  proved  themselves  the  worst  ene 
mies  to  our  common  country,  and  we  trust  they  may  soon  meet  the  punishment 
which  is  so  richly  their  due. 

4.  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  the  Depart 
ment  of  State  at  Washington  city. 


EXPRESSIONS   OF   CONDOLENCE   AND    SYMPATHY.  923 

Mr.  "Waddcll  being  called  upon,  addressed  the  meeting  in  the  following 
pertinent  remarks : 

Mr.  CHAIRMAN  :  I  have  been  requested  to  offer  a  few  remarks  upon  the 
propriety  of  these  resolutions.  It  is  not  a  proper  occasion  for  eulogy,  if  I  was 
qualified  for  that  task,  and,  therefore,  I  shall  not  indulge  in  it ;  what  I  shall  say 
will  be  brief,  sincere,  and  true. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  this  nation,  its  Chief  Magistrate  has 
died  by  violent  hands,  and  at  an  hour,  too,  when  such  a  crime  will  be  more 
severely  felt  than  it  would  have  been,  perhaps,  at  any  previous  period. 

After  a  long  night  of  sorrow,  and  trial,  and  agony,  and  just  as  the  blessed 
dawn  of  peace  is  lighting  the  land  with  gladness,  when  the  nobler  sentiments 
of  charity  and  generosity  are  taking  possession  of  all  hearts,  an  attempt  is  made 
to  plunge  us  again  into  darkness  and  bitterness.  He,  the  Chief  Magistrate, 
who,  in  the  language  of  the  resolutions,  was  about  to  crown  his  administration 
and  signalize  the  advent  of  peace  by  a  coui-se  of  magnanimity  which  must  have 
secured  him  respect  and  friendship  of  those  of  his  fellow-citizens  from  whom 
he  has  been  estranged  for  the  past  four  years,  is  taken  from  us  at  the  hour 
when  he  appeared  to  be  the  most  needed,  and  in  a  manner  which  must  mantle 
every  cheek  with  the  blush  of  shame  and  indignation. 

It  is,  sir,  in  every  point  of  view,  a  most  lamentable  event,  and  one  over 
which  every  good  man  in  the  land  must  sincerely  mourn.  I  am  happy  to  say, 
that  since  the  sad  intelligence  reached  our  town  I  have  not  met  a  single  indi 
vidual  who  has  not  thus  expressed  himself. 

And  1  think  it  peculiarly  appropriate,  Mr.  Chairman,  in  us,  who  have,  since 
his  first  elevation  to  power,  only  seen  the  victim  of  this  foul  murder  through  the 
mists  of  passion  and  prejudice,  and  have  therefore  been  unable  to  do  full 
justice  to  his  character,  now,  in  the  light  of  existing  facts,  to  be  among  the 
first  to  come  forward  and  offer  our  sympathy  and  sorrow.  This  is  doing  justice 
to  ourselves. 

For  one  I  am  unwilling,  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  to  suffer  this 
atrocious  crime,  which  is  a  stain  upon  the  nation's  character,  to  pass  by  without 
raising  my  voice  in  indignation  and  abhorrence,  to  protest  against  and  denounce 
it;  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  this  is  the  feeling  of  every  one  present. 

Let  us  ponder  the  lessons  of  the  hour,  sir,  and  strive  to  profit  by  them. 
Let  us  cultivate  our  better  nature  more,  and  endeavor  to  develop  sentiments  of 
kindness,  and  charity,  and  forbearance  among  ourselves  as  fellow-citizens  of  u 
common  country. 

The  liiilure  to  do  this  in  the  past  has  eventuated  in  the  calamity  and  dis 
grace  which  now  afflicts  us,  and  to  mourn  over  which  we  are  here  assembled 
to-night.  God  grant  that  it  may  be  the  last  of  our  national  calamities,  and  that 
there  may  be  no  more  sorrow  and  lamentation  among  a  people  who  have- 
drained  the  cup  of  bitterness  to  the  dregs,  and  who  are  now  awaiting  witli 


924  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

anxious  and  yearning  hearts  and  eager  eyes  for  happier  days  for  themselves 
and  their  country. 

On  motion  of  Dr.  Freeman,  the  meeting  adjourned. 

JOHN  DAWSON,  Chairman. 


WASHINGTON,  April  17,  1865. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  New  York,  held  in  this  city  on  the  even 
ing  of  April  17, 1865,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously 
passed : 

Whereas  his  Excellency  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  died  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  April  from  wounds  received  at  the 
hands  of  an  assassin  :  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  our  beloved  President,  our  whole  country 
has  lost  its  best  and  dearest  friend ;  that  his  life  is  the  brightest  page  of  our 
nation's  glory ;  his  death  the  saddest  of  our  nation's  sorrow ;  that  we  prayer 
fully  ask  Him  who  ruleth  all  the  people  of  the  earth,  in  His  providence,  to 
work  out  His  purpose  in  this  appalling  calamity,  that  has  gone  so  near  to  the 
hearts  of  the  American  people,  and  to  decree  and  hasten  that  end  which  our 
lamented  President  so  nearly  consummated,  and  to  which  he  died  a  martyr, 
namely,  Christian  liberty  and  the  restoration  and  perpetuation  of  the  American 
Union. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  bereaved  wife  and  children  of  him  who 
has  been  so  suddenly  stricken  down  our  warmest  sympathies  and  condolence ; 
that  we  offer  also  to  the  highly  esteemed  Secretary  of  State,  and  each  member 
of  his  family,  our  earnest  hopes  for  their  recovery  to  health  and  usefulness  in 
the  high  places  which  they  have  so  long  and  honorably  filled. 

Resolved,  That  we  give  our  earnest  assurance  to  his  Excellency  Andrew 
Johnson,  President  of  the  United  States,  that  we  will  bring  to  his  administration 
the  .same  hearty  adherence  and  support  as  we  have  always  borne  to  that  of  his 
predecessor. 

Resolved,  That  we  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning  for  the  period  of 
sixty  days,  and  that  we  attend  the  funeral  of  our  deceased  President  in  a  body. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  to  the  family 
of  the  late  President,  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  to  his  Excellency  Andrew- 
Johnson. 

Respectfully,  yours, 

A.  G.  PRATT, 
*        Secretary  Excelsior  Union  Club. 

Hon.  WILLIAM  H  SKWARD, 

Secretary  of  State. 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  A\D  SYMPATHY.       925 

* 

At  a  meeting  of  citizens  of  Connecticut,  held  at  Willards'  Hotel,  Washing 
ton,  D.  C.,  April  17,  1865,  Governor  Buckingham  was  called  upon  to  preside, 
and  W.  A.  Benedict  was  chosen  secretary. 

Governor  Buckingham  stated  that  the  object  of  the  meeting  was  to  give 
some  fitting  form  of  expression  to  the  feelings  of  the  citizens  of  Connecticut  in 
view  of  the  great  calamity  which  has  spread  its  pall  of  darkness  over  the  nation 
in  the  death  of  its  honored  head,  and  to  make  arrangements  for  participating 
in  the  approaching  funeral  ceremonies. 

The  following  committees  were  appointed  :  On  resolutions  expressive  of 
the  feelings  of  the  meeting,  Hon.  La  Fayette  S.  Foster,  Hon.  James  Dixon,  and 
H  II.  Starkweather. 

On  arrangements  for  participating  in  the  funeral  ceremonies,  Governor 
Buckingham.  Hon.  James  Dixon,  W.  A.  Thompson,  Colonel  H.  H.  Osgood,  J. 
A.  Whitlock,  and  Colonel  J.  H.  Almy. 

Hon.  James  Dixon  presented  the  following  resolutions,  which  were  unani 
mously  adopted : 

Resolved,  That,  sharing  with  the  people  of  Connecticut  the  unutterable 
sorrow  which  saddens  every  household  and  wrings  every  patriotic  heart  with  a 
sense  of  personal  bereavement  in  the  death  of  the  lamented  late  President  of 
the  United  States,  we  unite  with  them  in  expressing  our  profound  grief,  and 
mingle  our  lamentations  with  theirs  under  the  crushing  blow  which  has  struck 
our  nation  from  the  summit  of  universal  gratitude  and  joy  into  the  utmost 
depths  of  affliction  and  mourning. 

Resolred,  That  we  mourn  the  loss  of  the  preserver  of  the  Union,  raised  up 
by  the  hand  of  the  Almighty  to  lead  our  nation  through  the  perils  of  the  great 
rebellion;  that  in  him  we  recognize  the  guiding  intellect,  the  conscientious 
purpose,  the  unfailing  judgment,  the  resolute  will,  the  unselfish  heart,  which 
were  needed  to  constitute  the  leader  of  the  nation  in  its  hour  of  deepest  peril; 
and  that  his  humanity,  his  confiding  trust  in  God,  his  devoted  love  of  his  coun 
try  and  of  the  human  race,  his  entire  consecration  to  the  spirit  of  universal 
liberty,  have  placed  him  among  the  foremost  of  the  great  benefactors  of  man 
kind  who  have  blessed  the  world  and  shed  honor  upon  the  human  character. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  mourn  the  unspeakable  loss  which  our  nation  has 
suffered,  we  devoutly  offer  the  Great  Ruler  of  the  Universe  our  reverent  and 
earnest  thanks  that  He  permitted  our  departed  and  lamented  President  to  live 
and  rule  over  our  imperilled  country  until,  under  his  wise  and  firm  control, 
aided  by  the  Almighty  hand,  he  was  permitted  to  see  the  rebel  hosts  defeated 
and  surrendered ;  their  capital  and  seaports  restored  to  the  authority  of  the 
nation;  their  military  power  overthrown;  their  wicked  leaders  driven  from 
their  seats  of  power;  the  great  cause  of  the  rebellion,  human  slavery,  abolished 
and  destroyed  ;  and  liberty  ami  equal  rights  tor  all  made  the  basis  of  our 
national  existence. 


926  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the 
honorable  Andrew  Johnson,  the  assurance  of  our  earnest  and  unqualified 
support  in  the  performance  of  the  arduous  and  responsible  duties  now  devolved 
upon  him,  and  that  we  invoke  for  him  the  same  conscientious  purpose,  the 
same  divine  inspiration,  and  support  from  the  Almighty  hand  by  which  his 
great  predecessor  was  sustained. 

Resolved,  That  we  acknowledge  with  gratitude  the  providential  interposi 
tion  by  which  our  beloved  and  honored  Secretary  of  State,  the  confidential 
friend  and  adviser  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  has  been  protected  and  preserved 
from  the  dangers  and  violence  to  which  he  lias  been  exposed ;  that  we  offer  to 
him  our  deepest  sympathy,  and  unite  in  the  prayers  of  the  nation  for  his  speedy 
and  perfect  restoration  to  health,  and  for  the  safety  and  preservation  of  his 
family. 

Resolved,  That  we  will,  as  representatives  of  our  State,  attend  the  funeral 
services  of  our  lamented  President  in  a  body,  and  wear  the  usual  badge  of 
mourning  for  sixty  days. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  family  of  the  deceased  President  the 
assurance  of  our  deep  and  heartfelt  sympathy  in  the  great  affliction  to  which 
God  has  called  them  ;  and  that  we  humbly  and  devoutly  supplicate  for  them 
the  blessing  and  support  of  their  Heavenly  Father. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  to  the  family  of 
the  late  President ;  also  to  the  honorable  Secretary  of  State,  and  to  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  and  that  they  be  published  in  the  public  press  of 
Connecticut. 

W.  A.  BUCKINGHAM, 
Governor  of  Connecticut,  and  Chairman  of  the  Meeting. 

W.  A.  BENEDICT,  Secretary. 


WASHINGTON  LODGE,  No.  6, 1.  0.  0.  F., 

Washington,  April  17,  1865. 

At  the  regular  meeting  of  the  lodge  this  evening  the  following  preamble 
and  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted : 

Whereas  this  lodge  has  learned  with  heartfelt  sorrow  of  the  assassination 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  brutal  and  fiendish  attempt  on 
the  life  of  the  Hon.  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  in  his  helpless 
condition ;  find  whereas  our  worthy  brother,  E.  H.  Hansell,  in  the  performance 
of  his  duty  to  the  honorable  Secretary,  was  also  wounded  by  the  assassin's 
knife :  Therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  lodge  be  and  are  hereby  tendered  to  the 
family  of  the  Secretary,  particularly  to  Mrs.  Seward,  who,  in  their  hour  of  deep 


EXPRESSIONS  OF  CONDOLENCE  AND  SYMPATHY.       927 

affliction,  forgot  not  our  worthy  brother,  but  gave  him  all  the  care  and  tender 
treatment  his  situation  required. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  above  be  transmitted  to  the  family  of  the 
honorable  Secretary. 

WILLIAM  H.  JOHNSON,  Noble  Grand. 

AUGUSTUS  DAVIS,  Vice  Grand. 

J.  P.  M'KEAN,  Permanent  Secretary. 


IK    MEMORIAM. 

ZANESVILLE,  OHIO,  April  15,  1865. 

Pursuant  to  adjournment  from  the  spontaneous  meeting  held  in  front  of 
the  court-house  at  9  o'clock  this  morning,  an  immense  assemblage  of  the  citi 
zens  of  Zanesville  and  vicinity  convened  in  the  Market-house  Hall  at  2  o'clock 
p.  m.  Mr.  Henry  Blandy  occupied  the  chair,  and  C.  W.  Potvvin  continued  to 
act  as  secretary.  Rev.  D.  D.  Mather  offered  an  eloquent  and  impressive 
prayer. 

The  committee  appointed  at  the  morning  meeting,  composed  of  the  Rev. 
H.  K.  Foster,  Rev.  J.  M.  Platt,  Rev.  N.  A.  Reed,  A.  A.  Guthrie,  esq.,  Colonel 
Granger,  and  Messrs.  V.  Best  and  H.  Blandy,  reported,  through  their  chair 
man,  A.  A.  Guthrie,  esq.,  the  following  resolutions,  which  were  adopted  unani 
mously  : 

Resolved,  That  this  community  learns  with  consternation  and  profound 
sorrow  of  the  death,  by  the  hands  of  murderers,  of  President  LINCOLN  and 
Secretary  Seward. 

Resolved,  That  in  deliberate  and  cautious  wisdom  in  judging,  in  steady 
spirit  and  unsullied  integrity,  and  sincere  and  disinterested  devotion  to  his 
country's  cause,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  closely  resembled  him  whom  a  grateful 
people  have  named  the  "  Father  of  his  Country." 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Mr.  LINCOLN  at  this  juncture  of  our  national 
affairs  the  country  suffers  a  loss  the  magnitude  of  which  we  cannot  in  our 
present  sorrow  adequately  estimate,  and  were  it  not  for  our  knowledge  that 
God  reigns  over  human  affairs,  our  grief  would  utterly  prostrate  and  over 
whelm  us. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Mr.  Seward,  a  learned,  liberal,  and  wise 
statesman  has  been  taken  from  us ;  he  had  ever  been  a  faithful  counsellor  of 
his  chief;  and  "  in  death  they  were  not  divided."  He  also  died  for  his  country. 

Resolved,  That  in  these  diabolical  murders  we  have  but  the  fuller  develop 
ment  of  the  spirit  of  the  rebellion  and  its  acknowledged  cause,  and  the  consum 
mation  of  purposes  and  plans  formed  before  Mr.  LINCOLN'S  first  inauguration ; 


928  ASSASSINATION    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

and  that  the  teachings  and  acts  of  the  rebel  leaders  have  all  tended  to  this 
result;  and  that  they  are  justly  held  responsible  before  God  and  the  world  for 
these  hellish  deeds  ;  and  in  the  name  of  humanity,  as  well  as  that  of  justice,  we 
demand  their  punishment. 

Resolved,  That  our  confidence  still  rests  in  the  great  truth  that  God  lives 
and  governs,  and  our  recourse  must  be  continually  unto  Him,  beseeching  him 
to  preserve  and  direct  the  Vice  President,  who  now  succeeds  to  the  chief  mag 
istracy  ;  to  guide  the  counsels  of  his  cabinet  and  Congress,  and  sustain  the 
armies  and  navy  in  their  self-sacrificing  devotion  to  the  national  cause  ;  to 
cause  the  plots  of  murderous  men  to  recoil  upon  themselves,  and  to  deliver  our 
nation  from  all  its  present  peril. 

Resolved,  That  in  this  latest  development  of  the  spirit  and  plans  of  traitors 
we  find  an  insuperable  objection  to  all  schemes  of  adjustment  which  ignore  the 
cause  of  the  rebellion,  or  propose  an  indiscriminate  pardon  of  its  leaders 

Resolved,  That  we  deem  this  occasion  a  fitting  one  to  renew  our  conse 
cration  to  our  beloved  country  ;  and,  now  and  here,  we  do  solemnly  pledge 
ourselves  to  our  imperilled  government  to  maintain  and  sustain  it  against  all 
its  foes ;  trusting  in  God,  '•  sink  or  swim,  live  or  die,  survive  or  perish,"  we  will 
stand  by  our  glorious  flag 

Resolved,  That  in  our  deep  sorrow  for  our  country  we  would  not  forget  the 
deeper  sorrow  of  the  families  who  are  utterly  overwhelmed  by  this  inscrutable 
providence;  and  that  we  tender  to  them  our  deepest,  heartfelt  condolence,  and 
the  assurance  of  a  nation's  fullest  sympathy. 

On  motion,  a  committee  was  appointed  consisting  of  A.  A.  Guthrie,  Charles 
C.  Russell,  Colonel  Gilbert,  and  General  Ball,  to  make  proper  arrangements 
for  funeral  services  to  be  held  in  this  city  at  the  same  time  that  they  occur  at 
Washington. 

On  motion,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  and  resolutions  of  this  meeting  be  published 
in  the  city  papers,  and  in  the  Ohio  State  Journal,  and  a  copy  thereof  be  for 
warded  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  families  bereaved. 

Following  the  proceedings,  eloquent  addresses  were  delivered  by  Revs 
Foster,  Platt,  Read,  Mather,  and  by  Hons.  T.  J.  Maginnis  and  T.  A.  Reamy. 

H.  13LANDY,  Chairman. 

C.  W.  POTWIN,  Secretary. 

NOTE. — It  is  proper  to  notice  here  that  since  the  adjournment  of  this 
meeting  of  citizens  the  joyful  intelligence  reaches  us  that  Secretary  Seward  is 
still  living,  and  hopes  are  entertained  of  his  recovery. 


APPENDIX. 


MEETING  OF  AMERICAN  CITIZENS  AT  HALIFAX,  NOVA  SCOTIA. 

At  a  meeting  of  American  citizens  held  at  the  consulate  of  the  United 
States  at  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  on  the  18th  of  April,  1865.  for  the  purpose  of 
expressing  their  sorrow  for  the  death  by  the  hands  of  an  assassin  of  President 
LINCOLN,  and  of  testifying  their  respect  for  his  memory,  on  motion,  the  Hon. 
Judge  Jackson,  United  States  consul,  was  appointed  chairman,  and  Robert 
Belloni,  esq ,  of  New  York,  appointed  secretary. 

The  chairman,  after  stating  the  object  of  the  meeting,  adverted  in  appro 
priate  and  eloquent  terms  to  the  atrocious  crime  of  the  assassin — a  crime  against 
all  mankind — which  had  deprived  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  a  wise, 
virtuous,  and  patriotic  Chief  Magistrate,  whose  life  had  been  devoted  to  the 
service  of  his  country,  and  whose  name  will  ever  be  associated  in  history 
with  the  emancipation  of  an  oppressed  race  and  the  cause  of  human  freedom. 

He  also  expressed  his  own  and  the  warm  and  heartfelt  sympathy  of  all 
loyal  Americans  for  Secretary  Seward,  whose  valuable  life,  he  hoped,  a  kind 
Providence  would  spare  to  his  country. 

He  also  assured  his  fellow-countrymen  that  in  the  integrity,  ability,  and 
patriotism  of  Vice-President  Johnson  they  might  safely  confide  to  uphold  and 
maintain  the  great  cause  of  human  freedom  and  constitutional  government. 

"Let  us,"  he  concluded,  "amidst  every  trial,  be  faithful  to  duty,  securely 
trusting  in  Him  '  who  ruleth  in  the  armies  of  Heaven  and  over  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth,'  that  He  will  keep  our  country  '  under  the  protection  of  His  good 
providence,'  and  give  us  peace  at  home  and  with  all  nations." 

On  motion,  a  committee  of  five  were  appointed  by  the  chairman  to  prepare 
resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the  meeting,  when  the  following  named 
persons  were  appointed  :  Rev.  N.  Gunnison,  Halifax;  Win.  L.  Lowell,  Halifax; 
E.  W.  Bancroft,  New  York;  T.  E.  Dorr,  Massachusetts;  Richard  Tucker,  jr., 
Maine. 

The  committee  afterwards  reported  the  following  resolutions,  which  were 
unanimously  adopted  : 

1.  Resolved,  That  we  have  heard  with  deep  and  inexpressible  grief  of  the 
death,  by  the  hands  of  an  assassin,  of  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  President  of  the 
United  States. 

2.  Resolved,  That  in  President  LINCOLN'S  death  the  country  has  lost  a 

117 


930  ASSASSINATION    OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

public  benefactor,  the  cause  of  Ireedom  an  incorruptible  champion,  and  the 
oppressed  of  all  lands  a  faithful  and  sympathizing  friend. 

3.  Resolved,  That  while  our  sorrow  for  the  loss  which  our  country  and  the 
world  have  sustained  in  his  death  is  greatly  heightened  by  the  fact  that  it  came 
by  the  hand  of  violence,  it  is  a  source  of  consolation  to  know,  and  it  will  be 
remembered  to  his  honor  in  all  coming  time,  that  his  life  was  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  law  and  order. 

4.  Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  bereaved  widow  and 
afflicted  family  of  the  late  President,  and  trust  that  "  He  who  tempers  the  wind 
to  the  shorn  lamb"  will  enable  them  to  bear  with  Christian  resignation  this 
afflictive  dispensation  of  Divine  Providence. 

5.  Resolved,  That  we  have  also  heard  with  mingled  feelings  of  grief  and 
horror  of  tire  atrocious  and  well-nigh  successful  attempt  of  an  assassin  to  take 
the -life  of  Hon.  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  and  of  his  son,  Hon. 
Frederick  W.  Seward,  Assistant  Secretary  ;  that  our  horror  of  the  atrocity  of 
the  act  is  only  equalled  by  our  sense  of  the  loss   which  our  country  would 
sustain   by   their  death;    that  the    eminent  ability,    wise    statesmanship,   and 
enlightened  policy  which  have  distinguished  the  diplomatic  career  of  the  Sec 
retary  of  State  have  won  universal  respect  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  we 
fervently  hope  that  through  a  kind  and  gracious  Providence  his  life  may  be 
spared  to  his  country  and  mankind. 

6.  Resolved,  That  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  published 

N.  GUNN1SON 
W.  L.  LOWELL. 
E.  W.  BANCROFT. 
R.  H.  TUCKER,  JR 
T.  E.  DORR. 


On  motion, 

Resolved,  That  we  have  been  deeply  impressed  with  manifestations  of 
respect  and  sympathy  shown  by  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  Sir  Richard  Graves 
MacDonnell,  by  both  branches  of  the  Provincial  Parliament,  and  the  mayor 
and  common  council  of  the  city. 

On  motion,  adjourned. 

M.  M.  JACKSON,  Chairman. 

ROBERT  BKLLONI,  Secretary. 


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